This House resolution says the third Friday of September should be recognized as "National POW/MIA Recognition Day." It explains that "POW/MIA" means prisoners of war and service members who are missing in action or whose whereabouts are unknown. The resolution quotes Department of Defense and Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) figures: over 80,000 U.S. servicemembers are missing-in-action; about 41,000 are presumed lost at sea; and approximately 38,000 are listed as recoverable. The DPAA counts by conflict in the text are: 73,000 from World War II; 7,000 from the Korean War; 1,500 from the Vietnam War; 120 from the Cold War; and 6 from conflicts since 1991. The resolution also lists recoveries since the early 1970s and how many remain unaccounted for by conflict, notes that roughly 75 percent of POW/MIA cases are in the Asia-Pacific region, and gives state counts of unaccounted and recovered personnel. The text notes the POW/MIA flag was adopted in 1972, first flown over the White House (other than the U.S. flag) in 1982, and that a 2019 law requires the POW/MIA flag to be flown on Federal properties when the U.S. flag is flown.
The resolution expresses the House's view and encourages Americans to honor POW/MIA. It asks people to join local commemorations, display the POW/MIA flag, and do acts of goodwill and support for families of POW/MIA. The resolution acknowledges a moral obligation to try to account for missing service members. It does not itself say it creates new legal requirements or funding.
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Supporters in the text say the Nation should recognize a day to honor POW/MIA, express gratitude to those who fought and sacrificed, and support efforts to fully account for missing personnel. The resolution encourages public commemorations and proper display of the POW/MIA flag.
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