When fighter pilot Edward Leonard was shot down during the Vietnam War and found himself in a prison camp in Laos for five years, he met many other Americans in a similar situation, including an Oregon State University graduate who was an expert in swine.

Decades later, Leonard still proudly recalls those fellow prisoners.

“Your life is somehow poorer for never having known them,” Leonard said.

The rain held off just long enough for OSU’s annual POW/MIA ceremony Friday, which included a keynote address by Leonard, who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, and following a career as a prosecutor in Texas, was mayor of Ilwaca, Wash., until earlier this year.

Leonard said he has never shied away from speaking about his time as a prisoner of war, especially not to future leaders like the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine ROTC students who were in attendance during Friday’s event.

“I did a lot of things in my youth, and one of them was being in the military,” he said. “I’m proud of my service and proud of the people I served with. My only regret is I’m too old to do it again.”

During his speech, Leonard recalled the times he welcomed relatives home from war, whether it was from World War II or Korea. When he returned home after being rescued from the prison camp, his relatives greeted him with flags, the way he’d greeted them upon their return. In three months time, his grandson will depart to serve in Iraq.

Serving in the military is a proud and important tradition, Leonard said, that is honored on Veterans Day. Freedom, he said, isn’t free.

“We have a duty to our principles, our parents’ memories and our children’s dreams,” he said, to defend that freedom.

Air Force ROTC Cadet Nick Anderson led the ceremony, and said this year, branches of all ROTC groups on campus were represented.

“We wanted to do a joint event,” he said. The OSU singing group the Meistersingers also participated by performing the national anthem.

The ceremony included a 21-gun salute, and the lighting of a candle on a table set symbolically for those military personnel who never returned from war. A 24-hour vigil and 12-hour flag march followed the ceremony.

Theresa Hogue is features reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at theresa.hogue@lee.net or by phone at 758-9526.