NEVER FORGET

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is an agency within the United States Department of Defense whose mission is to recover missing personnel who listed as Prisoners of War (POW), Missing in Action (MIA), from all past wars and conflicts and from countries around the world.

It was formed on January 30, 2015, as a result of the merger of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office and parts of the Air Force’s Life Sciences Lab. DPAA laboratories are located at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska & Joint Base Pearl Harbor/ Hickam, Hawaii. The Agency is Headquartered in Washington, D.C.

At every function, from a Post meeting to the National Convention, we salute our POW/MIA by placing a POW/MIA flag over an empty seat to honor their memory in hopes that they will return home.

POW/MIA TABLE SERVICE

Those who have served, and those currently serving in the uniformed services of the United States, are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice. We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation and imprisonment.

Before we begin our activities, we pause to recognize our POWs and MIAs.

We call your attention to this small table which occupies a place of dignity and It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that members of our armed forces are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POWs and MIAs.
We call them They are unable to be with their loved ones and families, so we join together to pay humble tribute to them, and to bear witness to their continued absence.
The table is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her
The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their Country’s call to arms.
The single red rose in the vase signifies the blood they may have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep faith, while awaiting their return.
The red ribbon on the vase represents an unyielding determination for a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us.
A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter
The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they
The glass is inverted, they cannot toast with us at this
The chair is empty. They are NOT

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope, which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation.
The American flag reminds us that many of them may never return – and have paid the supreme sacrifice to insure our freedom.

Let us pray to the Supreme Commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks. Let us remember – and never forget their sacrifice. May God forever watch over them and protect them and their families.

POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY HISTORY

Until July 19, 1979, no commemoration was held to honor America’s POW/MIAs, those returned and those still missing and unaccounted for from our nation’s wars. That first year, resolutions were passed in the Congress and the national ceremony was held at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. The missing man formation was flown by the 1^st Tactical Squadron, Langley AFB, Virginia. The Veterans Administration published a poster including only the letters “POW/MIA” and that format was continued until 1982, when a black and white drawing of a POW in harsh captivity was used to convey the urgency of situation and the priority that President Ronald Regan assigned to achieving the fullest possible accounting for Americans still missing from the Vietnam War.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day legislation was introduced yearly, until 1995 when it was deemed by Congress that legislation designating special commemorative days would no longer be considered by Congress. The President now signs a proclamation each year. In the early years, the date was routinely set in close proximity to the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia’s annual meetings. In the mid-1980’s, the American Ex-POWs decided that they wished to see the date established as April 9^th, the date during World War II when the largest number of Americans were captured, As a result, legislation urged by the American Ex-POWs was passed covering two years July 20, 1984 and April 9, 1985, as the commemoration dates.

In 1984 National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony was held at the White House, hosted by President Ronald Regan. At that most impressive ceremony, the Regan Administration balanced the focus to honor all returned POWs and renew national commitment to accounting as fully as possible for those still missing. Perhaps the most impressive Missing Man formation ever flown was that year, up the Ellipse and over the White House. Unfortunately, the 1985 ceremony was canceled due to inclement weather, a concern that had been expressed when April 9^th date was proposed.

Subsequently, in an effort to accommodate all returned POWs and all Americans still missing and unaccounted for from all wars, the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia proposed the third Friday in September, a date not associated with any particular war and not in conjunction with any organization’s national convention. Most National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremonies have been held at the Pentagon. On September 19, 1986, however, the national ceremony was held on the steps of the U. S. Capitol facing the Mall, again concluding with a flight in Missing Man formation.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremonies are now being held throughout the nation and around the world on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, at school, churches, national veteran and civic organizations, police and fire departments, fire stations, etc.

POW / MIA FLAG HISTORY

In 1971, the wife of MIA serviceman Michael Hoff was a member of the National League of Families. She recognized the need for a symbol for the POW/MIAs, and contacted Norman Rivkees, the Vice President of Annin & Company to make a flag. The company commissioned Newton Heisley, a creative director for an advertising firm in New Jersey to design the flag. A former World War II pilot, Heisley sketched several designs based on his wartime memories.

The design that was chosen depicted a silhouette of a man’s head with barbed wire and a watchtower in the background. Below the design, the flag bears the motto “You Are Not Forgotten.” Following the approval of the National League of Families, flags were manufactured and distributed.

In 1990, the 101st Congress officially recognized the POW/MIA flag, designating it “the symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for the families and the Nation” (Public Law 101-355).

The flag’s message is spread through its visibility. The POW/MIA flag has flown over the White House on National POW/MIA Recognition Day since 1982. With the exception of the American flag, the POW/MIA flag is the only flag to fly over the White House and fly continually over the Capitol’s rotunda.

Occasions for Displaying the POW/MIA flag.

Armed Forces Day (3rd Sat. in May)
Memorial Day (Last in May)
Flag Day (June 14)
Independence Day (July 4)
National POW/MIA Recognition Day (3rd in Sept.)
Veterans Day (Nov. 11)

Locations for Displaying the POW/MIA flag

The White House
The Capitol
The Korean War Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The World War II Memorial
Each national cemetery
Each United States Postal Service
Buildings containing the offices of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, the Director of the Selective Service System
Each major military installation, as designated by the Secretary of Defense.

PROTOCOL FOR FLYING THE POW/MIA FLAG

On one flagpole, the POW/MIA flag is flown below the American flag and above any state flag.
On two flagpoles, the POW/MIA flag is flown on the same pole as the American flag, below the American flag (this pole should be to the flag’s own right of the second pole). Any state flag should fly on the second pole.
On three flagpoles, the American flag should be flown on the pole located to the flag’s own right, the POW/MIA flag should be flown on the middle pole, and any state flag should be flown on the pole to the (flag’s own) left.

THE POW-MIA

BY TIM MURPHY-1986

I’m just a nameless silhouette; Nobody knows my face.

Though many of you pray for me each day.

The man you said you won’t forget, in the dark and distant place.

I AM THE POW; I am a dead Marine;

I am the wounded grunt they couldn’t find.

BUT I’M LIVING STILL, and I am long dead and I am somewhere in between.

I can’t believe that I was left behind.

They killed me in and ambush, and they captured me alive, and I died when my huey crashed and burned.

They over-ran my unit, but I managed to service,

And they beat me and they whipped me, and they worked me till I dropped.

To break my will, they made their best endeavor.

When great despair had gripped me, still the torture never stopped.

And they told me, We can keep you here forever.

They told me that my parents died, that my kids were grown and gone; and my wife lost hope, and married my best friend. But there.

A PRAYER I HOLD INSIDE THAT HELPS ME TO GO ON, That someone still

remembers, and will bring me home again.

I’M JUST A NAMELESS SILHOUETTE; NOBODY KNOWS MY FACE.

Though many of you pray for me each day;

The man you said you won’t forget in a dark and distant place.

I AM THE POW; I AM THE MIA.