ARLINGTON, Virginia –
Every year, on the third Friday in September, the nation remembers our service members and civilians who never returned from war. The National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony, which will be held at the Pentagon River Terrace Parade Field, Sept. 15, will highlight our commitment to account for them and pay respect to the families of the missing, as well as former prisoners of war. The event will be hosted by Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Patrick M. Shanahan.
While nearly 83,000 service members and civilians remain missing from the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Cold War and World War II, over the past year, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has conducted 40 recovery missions and 34 investigative missions in countries worldwide for personnel lost in the Vietnam War, the Korean War and WWII. These missions have resulted in the identification and accounting of 155 previously-missing service members. DPAA continues to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation, and to Fulfill Our Nation's Promise.
To read the White House Proclamation regarding National POW/MIA Recognition Day, visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/09/13/president-donald-j-trump-proclaims-september-15-2017-national-powmia