National POW/MIA Recognition Day

| September 21, 2018

Presidential Proclamation on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2018

 

Throughout American history, the men and women of our Armed Forces have selflessly served our country, making tremendous sacrifices to defend our liberty. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor all American prisoners of war and express our deep gratitude for the courage and determination they exemplified while enduring terrible hardships. We also pay tribute to those who never returned from the battlefield and to their families, who live each day with uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones. These families are entitled to the knowledge that their loved ones still missing and unaccounted for will never be forgotten.

As a Nation, it is our solemn obligation to account for the remains of our fallen American service members and civilians and to bring them home whenever possible. We owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to these patriots who gave their last full measure of devotion for our country. For this reason, I have pledged my Administration’s best efforts to account for our country’s missing heroes. We continue to work to account for the missing personnel from the Vietnam War. American and partner nation search teams are also working tirelessly in South Korea, Europe, the South Pacific, and elsewhere around the world to recover and identify those who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, and other past conflicts.

During my meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in June, I raised my concern for the thousands of grieving American families whose loved ones remain missing from the Korean War uncertainty. As a result, I secured a commitment from Chairman Kim to recover and repatriate the remains of those Americans who were prisoners of war or killed in action. Last month, we repatriated the remains of some of those courageous service members to American soil. As a result of this homecoming, two of our missing fallen have already been identified, renewing our hope for the fullest possible accounting of the Americans who have yet to be recovered from the Korean War. These recovery efforts are vital to fulfilling our Nation’s promise to leave no fellow American behind.

On September 21, 2018, the stark black and white banner symbolizing America’s Missing in Action and Prisoners of War will again be flown over the White House; the United States Capitol; the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs; the Selective Service System Headquarters; the World War II Memorial; the Korean War Veterans Memorial; the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; United States post offices; national cemeteries; and other locations across the country. We do this, each year, to recognize those who have suffered the horrors of enemy captivity, those who have still not returned from war, and the families who have yet to lay their loved ones to rest with the honor and dignity they deserve.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 21, 2018, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United States to join me in saluting all American POWs and those missing in action who valiantly served our country. I call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third.

DONALD J. TRUMP

Category: POW

22 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
A Terminal Lance Coolie

Never forgotten.

Wilted Willy

Always Remember!

1stCavRVN11B

I NEVER forget!

Here is one in the following bio who is surely in Fiddler’s Green. We were in communication and visual contact Kenneth Yonan by PRC 25 immediately before he was captured.

http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/y/y007.htm

BTW, he was on the 1973 U.S. and NVA list to be returned from captivity, but never was. The NVA supposedly found his bones about 1988 and there are many who still doubt that the ID was correct.

5th/77thFA

Excellent post 1stCAV, and thanks for that link. No way you ever forget, cannot imagine, being in radio contact up to the capture, knowing he was alive, and then remains not being returned until so much later. That, and the story of the LTC Brownlee that took himself out to avoid capture. It brought back home to me what several of our DS kept emphasizing to us; save the last round for yourself boys. Are there any of our people still alive as POWs? Doubtful. Did we get all of our people back? Not just no, but HELL to the no. Will we ever know the full truth? Hell to the no again. God’s Peace to the Families and maybe, one day, the truth will be known.

OWB

We never forget. There are many ways to commemorate this day. I am honored this year to participate in a ceremony at my VFW Post.

1stCavRVN11B

Being that John Fn Kerry and McCain chaired the POW/MIA committee and sealed all files, Kerry needs to go ahead and move on to where McCain is….Hell! Fuck ’em!

26Limabeans

Every day is POW/MIA at Camp Lima.
Six by nine foot heavy duty flag just below Old Glory at seven by ten on a 40 ft Spruce pole. All weather 24/7 with night lighting.

Nobody sees it but me and my neighbor.

2/17 Air Cav

Roger that, man.

Skyjumper

Same, same here 26Limabeans.

3’x 5′ POW flag flying underneath the Stars & Stripes…….all day everyday with night light.

They only come down for replacement or when the wind gets a bit strong.

AW1Ed

Stand-up move, President Trump.

USAFRetired

Locally we are having an event in commemoration of POW/MIA Day.

https://www.macon.com/news/local/community/houston-peach/article218606985.html

More than 100 former prisoners of war from around the country are expected in Warner Robins beginning Thursday.

They are here for The Ride Home, an annual event recognizing POWs and those missing in action, to be held in conjunction with the annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony to be held Thursday. Events related to The Ride Home will continue Friday and Saturday, including two caravans through the city escorted by law enforcement and expected to include several hundred vehicles.

The Ride Home, formerly held at the Andersonville National Historic Site, is being held in Warner Robins for the first time. It had been planned here last year but was canceled when Hurricane Irma struck, disrupting the ability of the POWs to travel.

Read more here: https://www.macon.com/news/local/community/houston-peach/article218606985.html#storylink=cpy

Its only about 1-1/2 hours from to Andersonville NHS and the National POW/MIA museum.

Any time we have visitors that is one of the places we try to take them. Regardless, we try to get down there at least once a year. Memorial with the flag display is pretty impressive at the National Cemetery there. The 13,000+ shoulder to shoulder graves and flags from the Civil War makes you think.

My wife’s grandfather was a member of USAFFE killed at Bataan, remains not recovered. I take the opportunity to impress on my kids that Freedom isn’t Free. The fact they have the cement cross and monument from the Camp O’Donnell Prison Camp at the museum, helps bring the point home

AW1Ed

Andersonville was a Confederate Civil War POW camp, right? The other side of the coin, the Union’s Camp Lookout is right down the road. It’s supposed to be one of the more haunted places in the U.S., if one goes for that sort of thing.

5th/77thFA

USAF Ret, you’re just across the river and Big Road from my AO. I’m real close to the eastern most former NIKE Site that used to defend your former SAC and now depot body and fender shop. Older Brother is a retired Chief wing wiping airdale, he’s up in Dakota. We’ll see if admin can swap our e mail thingys, get together & raise a Toast. There’s a good chance that we either know one another or have mutual friends. AW1Ed, yeah per my research Point Lookout is eat up with haints, was a very nasty place to be. A number of the Confederate Officers that were there got transferred South to Morris Island (Charleston SC area) and Ft. Pulaski (Savannah GA). Became known as the Immortal Six Hundred. Don’t know how to make that linky thingy pop up, but Google Fu will give you that story. They and some of their Union Counterparts were used a human shields. Bad business that was. Another bad spot up there was Elmira NY. Confederates called it Hellmira. Very bad place to be also. We won’t even discuss Camp Douglas Illinois or Johnson Island Ohio here yet.

AW1Ed

Son #1 was doing mandatory community service the PDRofMD demands to graduate high school at Point Lookout. He says he and his crew were on a tractor pulled trailer on the back trails when the DNR cop stopped the motor and asked if anyone heard bells?
Yes, a faint ringing of a bell could be heard from deep in the swamp. The DNR cop said, “There’s nothing back there.”

AnotherPat

Had the opportunity to do a Staff Ride at Andersonville. Yes, is was a Prisoner of War Camp for the Union Soldiers known as Camp Sumter. The camp was a No Win Situation for both sides considering the geographic location, the logistics to take care of the POWs, etc. It suffered from severe overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, an extreme lack of food, tools, medical supplies, and potable water, similiar to what the Confederate Soldiers were experiencing.

Captain Henry Wirz, a Swiss-American Officer, was the prison’s Commandant. After the War, he was arrested and charged with conspiring with high Confederate officials to “impair and injure the health and destroy the lives…of Federal prisoners” and “murder in violation of the laws of war.” Such a conspiracy never existed, but public anger and indignation throughout the North over the conditions at Andersonville demanded appeasement. Tried and found guilty by a military tribunal, Wirz was hanged in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 1865. Wirz was the only person executed for war crimes during the Civil War.

As I said, Andersonville was a No-Win situation for both sides.

5th/77thFA

Well AP Brother you win the Google Fu/Wiki/Hondo Facts of the Day Award. Why are you putting all of these facts out there when everyone knows the politically correct answer to the question of Camp Sumter is that it was the only POW Camp during the War where men died. I’d bet that you also know the real reason why POW exchanges broke down in late ’63/early ’64? Hint; it wasn’t exactly due to the Black POW question. You could also wax eloquently on the subject of guards dying off at the same level of prisoners, or even that many ultimately buried there arrived there already dead, badly wounded, and/or very sick. I could go on but won’t. We have been honored for 40 years to be part of the Memorial Services and Living History Programs conducted there, along with some of the documentaries. We take some credit and a measure of pride in helping secure funding to get the Park Service to expand the museum to tell the entire story of American POWs through out History. They do a pretty good job. Disclaimer: I had Confederate Ancestors that were POWs and some that died in Camp Douglas, Point Lookout, and Johnson Island. Camp Sumter was predominately for enlisted. A lot of Federal Officers were held at Camp Oglethorpe in Macon, GA. Most folks also don’t know that Camp Sumter was only in operation for about 9 months. 1st POWs started arriving in Feb ’64, and they were being moved out Sep/Oct of ’64 (concerns over Sherman’s March) Always thought it odd that Hollywood WBTS Movies in ’50s and ’60 show the Camp being opened way yonder before it was. A POW Camp is THE classic example of man’s inhumanity to mankind. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, you need to.

AnotherPat

Thank you so much for the input, 5th/77thFA.

It was a sobering experience to visit the Camp. As one of the staff members of my unit, I had to cover the logistical aspects of Sumter based on historical documentation from both sides of the Civil War. Together with the G1, the JAG and the Med guy, we all came to an agreement that the prisoners died from disease based on the conditions they were “living” in, i.e. extreme close quarters, lack of santitation, medical supplies, food, etc. The Confederate Soldiers were suffering the same fate. Also a sobering fact that Captain Wirz tried to negotiate a release of the POWs with the Union Army due to the poor conditions of Sumter, but was turned down.

Yes, you are right…if one ever has the opportnity to visit Camp Sumter with a tour guide, they should. Definitely an eye opening.

Thank you, again, 5th/77thFA for sharing the rest of the story.

AnotherPat

Bring them ALL home…

5th/77thFA

^this^ (+_+)

Jon The Mechanic

Here is my POW.

https://www.pownetwork.org/bios/z/z352.htm

I graduated from the same high school as Jerry Zimmer (quite a few years after him), and one of the first things that I did upon getting to my first duty station was get a POW bracelet in his name. To this day I still wear that bracelet, and I will continue to wear it until he comes home.

Messkit

Our regional American Legion Riders supported the 24 hour POW/MIA march, at Vandenberg AFB here in California. We escorted 2 POW/MIA flags for 20 miles onto the base, then thundered past Base HQ (and their awesome P-40), to go the long way to the PT track where the start ceremony began. Air Force personnel of all rank, will carry the flags for 24 hours, non-stop around the track and base. Some of these die hard wingnuts, filled rucks with weights up to 60lbs, to hump during their pledge. Obviously, us Army and Marine retirees made fun of the Infantry wanna-bees 🙂

I went to the BX before I left the base, and encountered the first team coming back from the front gate, flags flying loud and strong in the cool coastal winds.

Hooah, flyboys. Hooah.

trackback

[…] This Is #Resistance The Political Hat: Trump’s Greatest Asset, Redux This Ain’t Hell: National POW/MIA Recognition Day, also, Marine Barracks Jarheads Saving The World Victory Girls: It’s Not Fear But Opportunism […]