POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action) is a National Recognition Day to honor and remember those who served this country during war time and never returned home. This day was established in 1979 through a proclamation signed by President Jimmy Carter and every year after commemorating the third Friday in September as National POW/MIA Day.
The POW/MIA flag, also known as the National League of Families POW/MIA flag, can be seen flying in defense department installations and in many other government and private locations and it flies directly below the United States flag. If there are two flagpoles, it is always flown to the viewer’s left of the U.S. flag.
The POW/MIA flag itself was created by Newton F. Heisley in 1972 for the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. That nonprofit organization, which has been recognized by Congress, was created to account for those who are still prisoners or missing in Southeast Asia. The flag is a silhouette of a man, head bowed, with a guard tower in the background with colors of black and white.
Besides being flown on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, Congress in 1998 legislated that it can also be flown on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day. In 2019, Congress authorized the POW/MIA flag to be flown at certain locations on all days that the U.S. flag is flown.
According to the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) there are about 81,600 Americans missing-from the battlefields of World War II to recent conflicts. About 75 percent of those are in the Indo-Pacific region. About 41,000 of the 81,600 missing are presumed lost at sea. This agency is tasked with providing the fullest possible accounting for missing personnel, from past conflicts to their families and the nation. The agency continually revises its missing count as more are accounted for each week.
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