At noon on Friday, November 8, the City of Somerville will join the New England Patriots, Lowell Spinners baseball team, and 14 other Massachusetts municipalities in establishing a POW-MIA chair at City Hall. This chair will remind the public of the 42,000 American servicemembers who have taken as prisoners of war and the 83,000 servicemembers who have declared missing in action since World War II. The display will consist of a chair, American and POW-MIA flags, and a plaque.

The dedication ceremony will begin promptly at noon on the main floor of City Hall, opposite the City Clerk’s office. Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Alderman Jack Connolly, and Joseph D’Entremont of Operation Rolling Thunder are expected to speak. Operation Rolling Thunder is the organization of Vietnam veterans that originally proposed the idea of such displays. The public is invited to the ceremony.