State Will Celebrate POW-MIA Recognition Day September 15th (RESOURCE GUIDE INCLUDED)

The movement to investigate missing POW's left in Vietnam by the Nixon/Kissinger administration has gained and lost momentum over the past 30 years.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - Governor Ted Kulongoski has proclaimed September 15th to be "POW-MIA Recognition Day" in Oregon, the state Department of Veterans' Affairs announced Tuesday.

The proclamation honors the service and sacrifice of American military personnel who have been captured and held as prisoners of war, as well as those who remain missing in action.

POW bracelet from the 70's

Oregon's observance coincides with the annual National POW-MIA Recognition Day that is celebrated annually on the third Friday in September. In his official proclamation, the Governor stressed America's determination to gain a full accounting of POWs and MIAs, so they may be brought home with the honor and dignity that they deserve. "We honor our missing countrymen who fought for freedom and who endured the worst of war," the Governor said, "as well as those who suffered capture at our enemies' hands. More than 88,000 Americans remain missing and unaccounted for.

Their families stand as living memorials to loved ones who have yet to return and still endure uncertainty concerning their fate."

Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Jim Willis said Americans must never forget those who have experienced the indignities and sufferings of captivity while in service to our country.

"It is on this day that we reaffirm our commitment to the courageous Americans who have suffered the horrors of enemy captivity, to those who have yet to return from battle, and their families," Willis said. "When we raise the black-and-white POW-MIA flag as a symbol to these missing Americans, it's a powerful reminder to our Government's unwavering commitment to pursue the fullest possible accounting for all our service members missing in action."

Willis will be the keynote speaker at a ceremony and luncheon to honor former prisoners of war on September 15th at 12:00 PM at the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs Medical Center in Roseburg, located at 913 NW Garden Valley Blvd.

The Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs joins Governor Kulongoski and invites all Oregonians to honor American prisoners of war and those missing in action, and to remember their extreme sacrifices. ============================================================

Resources:

www.jpac.pacom.mil/

lcweb2.loc.gov/pow/powhome.html

www.dtic.mil/.../pow_rec_day_05_poster.htm

www.arlingtoncemetery.org/

ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/

www.hrc.army.mil/site/active/TAGD/CMAOC/NavigationPages/nav_RFAD.htm

www.army.mil/cmh-pg/

www.npc.navy.mil/CommandSupport/CasualtyAssistance/POW_MIA.htm

korea50.army.mil/

www.defenselink.mil/specials/koreanwar/