National POW/MIA Recognition Day: Honoring the Imprisoned and Remembering the Missing

As the title says, this is a day for us to honor those who suffered through captivity and remember those whose fate remains unknown. POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed annually on the third Friday of September.

Ceremonies commemorating the POW/MIA are held at the Pentagon and military bases worldwide. The POW/MIA Flag is flown at federal buildings, and many states fly the flag as well. In some areas, schools hold museum visits and other field trips so the upcoming generation does not forget the people for whom this day is named. POW/MIA recognition rides are commonplace now, with service members, veterans, and families joining in motorcycle rides across the country.

What became POW/MIA Recognition Day began with the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1966, the organization was the first to lobby the U.S. government and the United Nations for the humane treatment of POWs and information on those declared MIA.

In 1972, the League adopted the POW/MIA flag, giving it an incredible visual that has appeared on nearly every national magazine and is recognized around the world. Seven years later, POW/MIA the first National POW/MIA Recognition Day was observed with an official ceremony in Washington, D.C.

In the forty-six years since 1979, the federal government has had several agencies dedicated to finding and identifying service member remains. On January 15, 2015, those were folded into one organization based out of the Pentagon. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency follows leads, performs searches, and identifies remains from every conflict since WWII in their laboratories and partnership with private organizations.

These teams work around the world, still searching for service member remains. Shortly before this article was written, the remains of U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Henry G. Gish were fully identified and his family informed. SSgt Gish, with ten of his brothers, was killed in Vietnam forty-seven years ago.

This month, find out what your community is doing and take some time to honor these men and women. Do something to follow what it says on the POW/MIA Flag, “You Are Not Forgotten”.

Find Out More with My Military Savings and Holidays & More!