September 2013 -AMERICANS ACCOUNTED FOR: There are still 1,645 personnel listed by the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) as missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. The number of Americans announced by DPMO as returned and identified since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is still 938.Another 63 US personnel, recovered by the US and ID’d before the end of the war, bring the official total of remains repatriated from the Vietnam War to 1,001. VIETNAM OPERATIONS: Another month-long JPAC mission, involving six RTs and two ITs, began August 2nd and is scheduled to conclude on September 5th. CURRENT PRISONER OF WAR: Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, US Army, was captured in Afghanistan on 30 June 2009 by members of the Haqqani network, a Taliban allied insurgent group. He is currently being held as a prisoner of war. 2013 NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY Friday, September 20, 2013, will be proclaimed by President Obama as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Over the past several years, all or most of the 50 states have proclaimed POW/MIA Recognition Day in conjunction with the national effort. Across the country, local POW/MIA ceremonies are encouraged throughout POW/MIA Recognition Week, culminating with countless events and the national ceremony in Washington, DC, on Recognition Day. Support for these missing Americans and their families is deeply felt. America’s POW/MIAs should be honored and recognized, rather than memorialized, with the focus on the need to account as fully as possible for those still missing, alive or dead. Strong, united support by the American people is crucial to achieving concrete answers, and now is the time to start planning for this year’s ceremonies.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 20:54:24 +0000