October 29, 2025 — It was a full house for the annual Veterans’ Luncheon at Convention, save for one chair left empty at a small table set for one, in recognition and honor of prisoners of war and comrades missing in action, a dignified and solemn symbol at many formal dinners and occasions.
“This is our way of symbolizing the fact that some are missing from our midst,” said Veterans Committee member Bruce Jagroop, an occupational and environmental therapy specialist at Roswell Park in Buffalo. “They are commonly called prisoners of war and missing in action, but we call them brothers. They are unable to be here today, so we remember them.”
Veterans’ Committee chairman David Krobe, who is the president of PEF Retirees in Region 1, was unable to attend, so committee member Christopher Buman, a real property analyst at Tax & Finance in Batavia, conducted the Missing Man Table ceremony. He explained each item on the table and its significance — from the small size of the table, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against his oppressors; to the single red rose displayed in a vase, reminding us of the families and loved ones keeping the faith, awaiting their return.
This year, Jeffrey Todd, a veterans’ benefits advisor in the Potsdam office of the New York State Department of Veterans Services, not to be confused with the federal Veterans Administration or VA, spoke to attendees about services the state provides and advised them to contact the New York State Veterans Services Office nearest them for assistance.
“There are two types of VSOs, state and county,” Todd said. “County offices only work within their county. State offices work throughout the state, and we can also go outside the state as far as representation, so if you have a veteran that moves around, it’s always best to divert them to the state office.”
The PEF Veterans Committee also includes Troy Decker, a municipal auditor with the Comptroller’s Office, Retirees Representative Robert Harms and PEF Associate Counsel Ben Traslaviña.