Flame of Hope
N 36° 49.027 W 076° 00.472
18S E 410108 N 4075058
POW/MIA Memorial at NAS Oceana, VA.
Waymark Code: WMA388
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 11/09/2010
Views: 21
The Flame of Hope monument was conceived in 1972 as a volunteer project headed by Attack Squadron 43 at Naval Air Station Oceana. The monument was built by volunteers from Construction Battalion 415 and sponsored by the Virginia Beach Jaycees and Oceana wives of the "They're Not Forgotten" committee. The original intent of the monument was to have a live flame light the way for the return of all POW/MIAs from South East Asia, after which the flame would be extinguised.
When "Operation Homecoming" ended, the fate of over two thousand military men remained a myster and the Flame of Hope continued to burn. However, the oil embargo of 1973 brought public pressure to extinguish the flame as an energy saving measure. On November 20, 1973, the flame was extinguished over the objections of those who feared for a loss of awareness of those servicemen who were left behind. The flame was transferred to the NAS Oceana chapel and replaced with a cold bronze "flame" until March 25, 1994 when the Flame of Hope was reignited.
On May 1, 1994, the Flame of Hope was rededicated as a continuous reminder that those who were killed or remain missing in Vietnam must never be forgotten.