National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Boston, MA. - On June 4, 1979, Proclamation 4664 was issued by President Jimmy Carter. This Presidential Proclamation established National POW/MIA Recognition Day. This day of recognition honors American service members who were imprisoned and returned and also those who remain unaccounted for from military conflicts.

POW/MIA plaque & seat, MA State House

Last year, National POW/MIA Recognition Day was held on September 16, 2021. In paying tribute to American service members who are still missing, President Joe Biden said: "On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we remember the debt we owe to them and to their families. We pay tribute to our former prisoners of war and recommit to the difficult but essential task of seeking out answers for the families of those still missing. We will always remember and honor our Nation's prisoners of war and those still missing in action, and keep faith with our promise as a Nation to bring all of our heroes home." 

At the Massachusetts State House in Boston, there is a plaque dedicated to American prisoners of war and missing in action. The plaque reads: "You are not forgotten: Since World War I more than 92,000 Service Members are unaccounted for. This unoccupied seat is dedicated to the memory of those brave men and women and to the sacrifices each made in serving this country. Rolling Thunder: Mass Chapter I; Bradley H. Jones, Jr. - House Minority Leader. God Bless You. God Bless America. 2013.

From World War II until the present-day, there are about 81,600 American service members who remain missing according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Approximately 75% of those who are missing are presumed to be in the Indo-Pacific region. About 41,000 of the 81,600 still missing are presumed lost at sea.

For more information about National POW/MIA Recognition Day visit: 

Defense Department Observes National POW/MIA Recognition Day > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-4664-national-pow-mia-recognition-day-1979

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