WEBVTT

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Ladies and gentlemen , moving into

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position as a commander of troops for

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today's ceremony , Colonel Thomas

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Kilbride , Commander , 3rd Infantry

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Regiments , the old guard .

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Body tracking already told the podium

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team they're tracking .

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To

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Good morning and thank you for joining

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us for the 2025 Department of War POW

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and MIA recognition Day ceremony in

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honor of prisoners of war and those

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still missing in action . In just a few

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moments , the United States Marine Band

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under the direction of drum major

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Master Gunnery Sergeant Stephen F .

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Williams will conduct a pre-ceremonial

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concert featuring the following musical

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selections Americans We and Hands

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Across the Sea .

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I

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Standby

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Honor guard . 0

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Colors , right , sold on .

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Black

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Flat . Colors ready to .

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Ladies and gentlemen , Ladies and

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gentlemen , please stand for the

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arrival of the official party and

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remain standing for the playing of the

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United States national anthem followed

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by the invocation offered by Deputy

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command chaplain Lieutenant Colonel

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Kevin Trimble .

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Is this the one ?

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Taking the reviewing stand is General

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Randy George , Chief of Staff of the

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Army , accompanied by the host , the

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Honorable Pete Hexeth , the Secretary

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of War .

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Yeah . Good morning .

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And

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According to your faith tradition ,

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would you bow with me in a word of

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prayer ? Lord our God , as we pause

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before you this morning . We are so

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grateful for your rich blessings . For

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each of us personally . And for the

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blessings nationally you have provided

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granting freedom that our nation enjoys .

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We pray this morning for those who

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continue to be missing at the hands of

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their captors . We gratefully

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acknowledge their sacrifice and we pray

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for peace and protection as you shelter

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all prisoners of war and those

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continually missing missing in action

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in Southeast Asia and those from whom

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all wars have yet to come . We

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recognize that you alone know where

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each soul is today . We pray that you

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bring comfort to each one who remains

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alive and to their families and those

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struggling with questions . We pray for

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hope for each of them as a sign of your

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presence , for each one has carried the

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burden of battle , courageously

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discharge his or her duty for their

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nation , and has been subjected to

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hazards , pains or imprisonment .

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Lord , these gallant men and women who

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have borne so great a burden must not

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be forsaken . God of justice to whom we

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pray , Your compassion we beseech for

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those for whom no accounting has been

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made . Please lift their burden , give

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them strength , and strike the shackles

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that deny them freedom . For those

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whose fate we now know , we give you

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thanks that the long period of

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uncertainty is over and that he or she

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have been returned to our presence .

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Father , our eyes are focused on you

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today , and we pray the deepest of

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blessings on each one gathered today .

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Amen .

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Please be seated . Ladies and gentlemen ,

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General Randy George .

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Good morning . Secretary of War Hegseth ,

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sir , thank you for the honor of having

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me . We are grateful for your steadfast

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leadership of the department and for

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your energy you put towards making our

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war fighters the most lethal in the

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world . And to the many distinguished

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visitors here today , thank you all for

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coming . I know that there's a former

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POW in the audience as well as families

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of POWs and service members missing in

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action . We are grateful to have you

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with us . There are so many moving

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stories to tell today of courage ,

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strength , sacrifice , and of the

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incredible efforts made to locate and

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recover those service members still

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missing . I'll highlight just one .

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This past June we finally laid to rest

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a man who grew up down the road from my

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tiny hometown in Iowa . His name was

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Army Corporal Melvin Huff . Melvin

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enlisted right out of high school in

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1943 and became an aerial gunner on an

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A-20 havoc , a versatile bomber capable

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of delivering intense offensive power .

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As gunner , Melvin's job was to defend

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the crew's rear or 6 with the 50

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caliber machine guns mounted on the

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plane's dorsal turret . On January 20th ,

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1945 , he and his crew were attacking

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enemy defensive positions in the jungle

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near Cape Wam , Papua New Guinea when

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his unit lost contact with the plane .

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Corporal Huff and his teammates were

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missing until late 2022 when a dive

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team from Defense POW MIA MIA

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accounting agency recovered his remains

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from a swamp near Wam village . Melvin

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was identified in the summer of 2024

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and finally brought home this past June .

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He is now buried back in Iowa Falls ,

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Iowa in his hometown . But there's a

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second layer to Melvin's story .

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Melvin's mother Florence and Father

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Klebler did not have anyone knock on

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their door to let them know their son

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had died . They did not get to hear the

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story of his sacrifice . They did not

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get to bury Melvin . Instead they

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worried , hoped , and anguished for

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years . They prayed every night for him

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to return , even after the army

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presumed Corporal Huff to be lost .

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After Florence and Klebler passed ,

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Melvin's sister Edith continued to wait ,

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never quite at peace . She was 94 when

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she heard the news that the wreckage

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from Melvin's plane had been found .

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Finally , the question that haunted her

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family for a generation was answered .

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So today we remember our teammates who

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were held prisoner or missing in action .

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We are grateful for their service and

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sacrifice . And we also remember the

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families and friends who spent years

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like the Huff family waiting for their

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father or brother or son to come home

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and fill the empty seat at their dining

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table . Many are still missing their

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loved ones and still waiting for news

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until everyone comes home . Again ,

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thank you all for being here . This

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will defend .

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Ladies and gentlemen , the Secretary of

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War , Pete Hexeth .

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Welcome . On this beautiful and

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fitting day . We're gathered here to

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commemorate National POW missing in

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Action recognition Day . Today we honor

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those who were held as prisoners of war

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and those still missing in action .

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It's a day when we can tell those who

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are here and those who have not yet

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returned , you are never forgotten .

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I'd like to first spend a moment

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remembering our nation's former

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prisoners of war . These men went

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through the fire of war and captivity

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and emerged on the other side . While

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we will never know all that they

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endured , we give them our deepest

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respect , honor , and gratitude . We're

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fortunate enough to have one of them

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here today , serving as a living ,

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breathing example of the warrior ethos

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at its best . Rear Admiral Robert

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Shoemaker . Spent over 8 years as a POW

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in Vietnam and he actually coined the

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phrase , the Hanoi Hilton . Please

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stand up and be recognized for your

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bravery and service .

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Thank you , Admiral . I , I hope

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someday my kids and grandkids . Come to

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understand what that would take . The

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sheer courage , the fortitude it would

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take . Yeah , and most Americans , I ,

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I can't fathom . Uh , but we have such

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men . And may we always honor and

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recognize them . Thank you .

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We also want to recognize the families

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of those who went missing in action ,

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your gold star families who have

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sacrificed and carry a heavy burden .

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Miss Jeannie Huffman . Is one of those

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She was just 5 months old when her

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father , Navy Commander Edward James

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Jacobs Junior went missing off the

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Vietnam coast in 1967 . I had a chance

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to meet her just moments ago . She gave

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me . Her father's bracelet .

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This year , she designed our national

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POW MIA recognition Day poster of copy

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of which is on your program . On the

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poster are a Marine and 4 Army ROTC

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cadets from Old Dominion University .

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They're in period uniforms , all

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pointing in one way or another ,

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binoculars , compass , radio , all

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pointing to the way home . All of the

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cadets are here and represent the

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future of the warrior ethos . Welcome

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to all of them and to Jeannie . Jeannie ,

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if you would stand , please . Thank you

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very much .

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We have combat veterans here today as

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well . You have a unique perspective .

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You all served alongside those who went

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MIA shoulder to shoulder and you long

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for your brothers in arms to return

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home . Thank you for your service and

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your unfailing devotion . And thank you

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to the ambassadors . And defense

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attaches that are here today as well .

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Your partnership and cooperation with

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other nations helps ensure we find and

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recover our warriors in far flung

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nations . I've met many of you , and

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that persistence and dedication on the

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ground ultimately is what culminates in

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these returns and these remains . At

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the Department of War , we are working

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every day to restore the warrior ethos

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and one of those elements , core

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elements of the warrior ethos is I will

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never leave a fallen comrade .

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It is our sacred duty to uphold that

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ethos and ensure that we return

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whenever possible and until the end ,

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every fallen hero . There are nearly

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nearly 81,000 MIA who never made it

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back home . World War II , Cold War ,

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Korean War , Vietnam War , the Persian

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Gulf Wars , many of them were prisoners

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of war as well . And it's our mission

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to deliver a final answer to the

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families who lie awake asking God for

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the return of their loved one . Again ,

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most of us cannot imagine . It's our

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mission to return them to American soil

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and provide a final resting place here

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at home for the heroes who fought for

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their country . It is our commitment to

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you that we will work unceasingly . To

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bring our warriors home and we will

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never forget their service and

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sacrifice . The department's agency

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that's primarily responsible for that

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sacred mission is the Defense POW MIA

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accounting agency . It is their sole

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objective to provide the fullest

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possible accounting for our missing

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personnel and their families and the

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nation . Using painstaking historical

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research , exhaustive on the ground

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excavations , and the most advanced

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forensic science techniques , the DPAA

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is steadfast and it's accounting for

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missing Americans no matter how far

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away , no matter how long ago .

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Earlier this year , because it was one

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of our priorities , I had the

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opportunity to visit one of the DPAA's

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forensic laboratories . And I was

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floored by the dedication and the

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talent of their over 700 military and

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civilian professionals . Again ,

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Americans working quietly in far-flung

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places to keep the promise we made to

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these troops . While I was there ,

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DPAA's identification of the 100th

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service member identified from remains

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turned over by North Korea in 2018 was

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announced . Thanks to a historic

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agreement secured by President Trump in

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his first term . Army First Lieutenant

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William H . Hot . An Ohio native

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was killed in action in 1950 in North

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Korea and was missing in action until

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his remains were repatriated 78 years

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later . DPAA identified Lieutenant

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Hot this year and he finally received a

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military funeral last month back home

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in Ohio , where he is now buried ,

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fittingly next to his parents . It

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matters . Over the years , the DPAA has

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returned the remains of thousands of

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Americans to their families , given

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them long sought answers and some

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semblance of closure . And the

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opportunity to finally lay their loved

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ones to rest . So far this fiscal year ,

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DPAA has identified 220 personnel , an

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unprecedented number , including 157

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from World War 2 , 55 from the Korean

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War , and 8 from Vietnam . One of those

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recently identified was Navy Captain

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Thomas Shurich of Norfolk , Nebraska .

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He was killed during the Vietnam War

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conducting a night strike mission over

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northern Vietnam . After decades of

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investigations yielding no results , a

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recovery team last year recovered

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material evidence and human remains

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from a remote and overgrown crash site .

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DPAA analyzed the remains and

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identified the captain this past April .

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His funeral will be in November , this

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November at Arlington National Cemetery .

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And today I would like to announce for

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the first time that the DPAA recently

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identified the remains of US Army

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captain . Willibald C . Bianchi .

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A Minnesota native , Captain Bianchi

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served in the Philippines during which

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he received multiple wounds in battle

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and still volunteered to clear Japanese

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machine gun nests . For his valorous

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actions he was posthumously awarded the

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Medal of Honor . He was later captured

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and survived the Bataan Death March .

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Then he moved between POW camps where

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he saved the lives of several other

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POWs . He then survived the inadvertent

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bombing of a Japanese POW transport

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ship and was eventually killed in the

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mistaken sinking . Of the

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Enoa Maru , another Japanese ship

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transporting American POWs at the time .

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Bianchi's accounting is part of the

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DPAA's laboratories Inoro Maru project .

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Which aims to identify the 431 unknowns

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associated with the ship's sinking .

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Thanks to their steadfast work ,

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Captain Bianchi will be coming home to

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his family in New Ulm , Minnesota .

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We'll finally be able to give him the

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burial he deserves 80 years later . We

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are privileged this beautiful morning

27:23.859 --> 27:26.420
to have Captain Bianchi's family with

27:26.420 --> 27:28.699
us if you would please stand .

27:39.270 --> 27:41.492
I had a chance to meet them before this

27:41.492 --> 27:43.381
ceremony as well , a nephew and 3

27:43.381 --> 27:46.410
nieces , uh , all from New Orm ,

27:46.439 --> 27:48.661
Minnesota , which is a Minnesota native

27:48.661 --> 27:50.661
born and raised not that many miles

27:50.661 --> 27:52.772
away . I'm familiar with New Om and ,

27:52.772 --> 27:54.550
and . And whether it's Newall ,

27:54.550 --> 27:56.606
Minnesota or Forest Lake , Minnesota

27:56.606 --> 27:58.717
where I'm from or Jumingo , Minnesota

27:58.717 --> 28:01.199
where my parents from or Iowa or Ohio

28:01.569 --> 28:03.739
when you add up all the memorial Day

28:03.739 --> 28:05.795
and the memorial parks and the small

28:05.795 --> 28:07.906
places in the graveyards when you add

28:07.906 --> 28:10.770
up all those small towns and you it

28:10.770 --> 28:13.859
gives you a tiny sense . Of the depth

28:13.859 --> 28:16.380
of the investment that is required on

28:16.380 --> 28:19.050
behalf of free people . Uh , so today

28:19.050 --> 28:21.050
we honor Newalm and we should , and

28:21.050 --> 28:23.272
it'll go back to the town and that will

28:23.272 --> 28:25.439
be properly , uh , but may we remember

28:25.439 --> 28:27.661
every single new alm , every single one

28:27.661 --> 28:29.661
of Mingo , every single forest lake

28:29.661 --> 28:31.883
across our entire country and those who

28:31.883 --> 28:34.050
left those small towns and big towns .

28:34.050 --> 28:36.750
To serve our nation We've also

28:36.750 --> 28:38.750
accounted for many other war heroes

28:38.750 --> 28:40.972
this year , too many to list , but each

28:40.972 --> 28:43.670
of them represents a soul . A life

28:43.670 --> 28:45.670
given for the sake of our country .

28:45.670 --> 28:47.670
Each of these identifications means

28:47.670 --> 28:49.892
that we can eventually properly honor a

28:49.892 --> 28:51.948
warrior who died for his brothers in

28:51.948 --> 28:54.890
arms and his fellow Americans . DPAA

28:54.890 --> 28:57.057
will show an unwavering dedication and

28:57.057 --> 28:59.489
passion , ensuring that we we do right

28:59.489 --> 29:02.000
by our troops and their families .

29:02.969 --> 29:05.130
There remain over 38,000 Americans

29:05.130 --> 29:07.186
across the world unaccounted for and

29:07.186 --> 29:10.619
estimated to be recoverable . They

29:10.869 --> 29:14.729
are our goal . Their

29:14.729 --> 29:16.840
gold star families still carry a void

29:16.840 --> 29:18.785
in heart and mind that passes from

29:18.785 --> 29:21.910
generation to generation . That is my

29:21.910 --> 29:25.150
commitment to you . On behalf of the

29:25.150 --> 29:28.150
entire war department , we will never

29:28.150 --> 29:31.650
stop . We will never cease . We will

29:31.650 --> 29:35.170
never give up . The final commitment to

29:35.170 --> 29:37.503
the final act of the greatest Americans .

29:38.599 --> 29:40.599
Prisoners of war , those missing in

29:40.599 --> 29:42.655
action and their families have borne

29:42.655 --> 29:44.877
the greatest sacrifices for our country

29:44.877 --> 29:46.932
that we can imagine . We owe them an

29:46.932 --> 29:48.821
immeasurable debt . They gave the

29:48.821 --> 29:50.932
greatest possible sacrifice you could

29:50.932 --> 29:53.300
give on the altar of freedom . We will

29:53.300 --> 29:55.510
never leave them . And we will not

29:55.510 --> 29:58.150
forget them because what we do now for

29:58.150 --> 30:00.750
them then says a lot about us today and

30:00.750 --> 30:03.829
we all pray that someday a secretary of

30:03.829 --> 30:06.150
war here 50 years from now on this

30:06.150 --> 30:08.349
field is ensuring that anyone lost in

30:08.349 --> 30:10.460
future battlefields is brought home .

30:10.460 --> 30:12.670
It's all I'd want for myself , for my

30:12.670 --> 30:14.869
kids , for our generation of warriors

30:14.869 --> 30:17.036
is the same level of commitment that's

30:17.036 --> 30:19.469
unrelenting and never stops . So thank

30:19.469 --> 30:21.525
you for all you've given . thank you

30:21.525 --> 30:23.525
for joining us . Thank you for this

30:23.525 --> 30:25.858
commitment . And God bless our warriors .

30:25.858 --> 30:26.858
Thank you .

30:41.410 --> 30:43.188
Would all families representing

30:43.188 --> 30:45.021
prisoners of war and those still

30:45.021 --> 30:47.188
missing in action , please stand to be

30:47.188 --> 30:48.188
honored .

31:12.250 --> 31:13.306
Please be seated .

31:51.939 --> 31:52.560
and

31:55.900 --> 31:59.000
Underguard In review .

32:00.040 --> 32:01.520
Right , backwards .

33:03.390 --> 33:03.689
Oh

33:25.119 --> 33:28.630
Right . Right .

34:27.669 --> 34:27.949
Try

34:39.580 --> 34:41.868
S All right .

34:53.868 --> 34:54.868
Uh right .

35:04.189 --> 35:05.189
Right .

37:48.199 --> 37:50.421
At this time , the United States Marine

37:50.421 --> 37:52.755
Band will play the joint service melody .

42:17.179 --> 42:19.235
Ladies and gentlemen , please direct

42:19.235 --> 42:21.290
your attention skyward as the United

42:21.290 --> 42:23.346
States Navy's instructor pilots from

42:23.346 --> 42:26.100
the Gladiators of VFA 106 perform a

42:26.100 --> 42:28.929
Missy Man flyover in honor of our POW

42:28.929 --> 42:30.090
and MIA .

43:05.199 --> 43:07.255
Ladies and gentlemen , please remain

43:07.255 --> 43:09.143
seated until the departure of the

43:09.143 --> 43:10.143
official party .

43:30.669 --> 43:31.669
Do you have

44:15.060 --> 44:16.060
What

44:32.610 --> 44:34.721
Ladies and gentlemen , this concludes

44:34.721 --> 44:38.169
the the Department of War 2025 POW and

44:38.169 --> 44:41.010
MIA recognition Day ceremony . Thank

44:41.010 --> 44:43.232
you for attending and enjoy the rest of

44:43.232 --> 44:43.449
your day .