An update from Rep. Ingraham

National POW/MIA Recognition Day is a day of commemoration for servicemen unaccounted for or missing and will soon be celebrated in America on September 19th, the official date for 2014 as established by a proclamation signed by the President on a yearly basis.  This day of recognition is a day not only to remember our Prisoners of War and our Missing in Action (POW/MIA) servicemen and women, but is a day to remind America of its responsibility to do everything in its power to account for those who are missing or captive.

The National POW/MIA day had its beginnings in the 1960’s when the National League of Families, comprised of wives, children, parents, siblings and relatives of military servicemen who were prisoners of war, were missing in action or killed in action and whose bodies not recovered, was organized.  Unsatisfied with the government’s policy of keeping the POW/MIA situation secretive, the wife of a POW began the movement to gain publicity for the POW/MIAs plight.  Through her efforts, the group gained recognition.  In 1970, POW/MIA family members met in Washington, D.C. at Constitution Hall, where the Leagues’ charter and by-laws were officially adopted.

Throughout the early 1970’s, during the Viet Nam conflict, another organization called Voices in A Vital America (VIVA) launched the first public awareness campaign for POW/MIAs.  Although the issue was featured occasionally on the news and in magazines, no formal organization existed for POW/MIAs.  A group of volunteers, many of them college students and a returning veteran who would later become a Congressman, Bob Dorman, distributed bracelets to gain publicity for the POW/MIA issue.  The bracelets were a peaceful means of awareness.  The bracelets were made from donated brass and copper and engraved by a Santa Monica engraver with the MIA or POW serviceman’s name, rank and date of loss, and worn by the supporter of the bracelet until the POW or MIA was accounted for or brought home.

In 1971, the wife of an MIA serviceman and member of the Nation League of Families recognized the need for a symbol for the POW/MIAs and contacted the Vice President of Annin & Company to make a flag.  The company commissioned Newton Heisley, a creative director of 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 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 or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for the families and the Nation.”

The first commemoration of the National POW/MIA Recognition day was held July 18, 1979 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  The date was chosen because it was around the time the National League of Families had its yearly meeting. On that day, the 1st Tactical Squadron from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia flew the Missing Man Formation and the Veterans Administration made posters.  These posters contained only the POW/MIA acronym.  To show the urgency of the situation in recovering POW/MIAs from the Vietnam War, the poster later was changed to include a black and white image of a prisoner of war in distressing circumstances, the same symbol used on the POW/MIA flag.

The POW/MIA 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.

While there are other occasions in which the POW/MIA flag is displayed, such as Armed Forces Day, the 3rd Saturday in May, Memorial Day, the last Monday in June, Flag Day on June 14th, Independence Day on July 4th and Veterans Day on November 11th, the flag is not limited to just special occasions but is often found proudly displayed at memorials dedicated to our military servicemen and women letting them know they are not forgotten while their families, friends and comrades wait their return home.

 Now it is your turn to “Keep in Touch” by contacting me regarding your questions or concerns. I can be reached via e-mail at pathd13@blackfoot.net, or call me at 827-4652 or by mail at P.O. Box 1151, Thompson Falls, Montana 59873.