National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Photo By Sgt. Victor Ayala | Retired Air Force Col. Vincent A. Fonke stands with a picture of himself at the age of his imprisonment in World War II era Germany.  

FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

09.12.2008

Story by Pfc. Victor Ayala 

49th Public Affairs Detachment   

By Pvt. Victor J. Ayala
49th Public Affairs Detachment (Airborne)

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - On September 19, 2008, the flag of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia will fly beside the red, white and blue of Old Glory. The flag is a promise to U.S. military prisoners of war and those missing in action that their sacrifices will not be forgotten. It's a promise the military will not rest until there is full accountability of the captured and missing.

The flag will fly over the White House and U.S. military installations in commemoration of National POW/MIA Recognition Day. From Washington, D.C., to the smallest U.S. military installation, the sacrifices of American prisoners of war and those missing in action will be remembered during this solemn day of remembrance.

According to the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office, there are more than 80,000 service members still classified as missing in action from World War II to present.

"These people need to be accounted for," said retired Air Force Col. James Q. Collins, a former prisoner of war. "Every effort must be made. The American fighting man must know that his country is going to do everything in its power to account for him."

Collins spent over seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and believes firmly in continuing the search for Americans missing in action. He has acted as a guest speaker for numerous POW/MIA events, to include previous National POW/MIA Recognition Days.

"There's a certain consolation for the families when they learn where their loved one is, even if they've been missing for more than 50 years," said Retired Air Force Col. Vincent A. Fonke.

Fonke was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II and is president of the American Ex-Prisoners of War Inc.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day event is observed the third Friday of September, and ceremonies are performed nationwide in its honor.

In the past, ceremonies have included a proclamation by the president at the Capitol, a special aerial display known as the missing man formation and a dinner, which includes the missing man table and honors ceremony.

In most variations of the missing man formation, an incomplete formation of military planes flies over and past the audience. The gap left in the formation represents the ones who never made it back. Similarly, at the missing man table and honors ceremony there is one table set aside which sits empty in honor of those missing in action.

Locally, the National League of POW/MIA Families and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States will be holding ceremonies and a candle light vigil at Freedom Memorial Park in Fayetteville, N.C., beginning at 6:30 p.m. September 19th.

The memorial park is at 100 Bragg Blvd., across from the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.

"This is our opportunity to honor and recognize these special service members and the sacrifices they have made," said Mike Surles, North Carolina Coordinator for the National League of POW/MIA Families. "We also hope to renew efforts to make people aware of the plight of our MIA's."

Also, the Cumberland County Political Action Committee of North Carolina will hold a breakfast at the Highland Country Club on Raeford Road in Fayetteville. The special guest speaker will be retired Air Force Col. James Q. Collins. For reservations, call 910-484-7957.

• Date Taken: 09.12.2008
• Date Posted: 09.12.2008 17:38
• Story ID: 23568
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US