On this National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we are honored to, along with you, salute the men and women who served and sacrificed everything they had to keep America free; and to recognize the families of our missing who continue to hope and pray that their loved ones will someday come home.
Today, we are not here to just remember, but to reaffirm a solemn promise the Veterans of Foreign Wars made decades ago. It is a promise in our hearts and our minds: We will never forget the more than 142,000 servicemen and women who are former prisoners of war, and the less than 81,000 American service members who remain unaccounted for from conflicts dating back to World War Two.
To the VFW, these are not just numbers. They are our brothers and sisters-in-arms. They are the sons and daughters who never came home, the husbands and wives whose chairs at the dinner table remain empty. They are the heroes who fought for our great country and were denied the honor of a final homecoming.
For more than a century, the VFW has been at the forefront of this mission, working tirelessly to support the vital work the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, has done to ensure a full accounting of all our missing. This isn’t just about closure for the families – it’s about our national character. It’s about upholding the values we hold dear and demonstrating to the world and our service members that America leaves no one behind.
The VFW has seen DPAA’s dedication firsthand. We have walked alongside them on hallowed ground in Vietnam, in Korea and across the globe. We have met and talked with their teams of historians, analysts and recovery experts who painstakingly sift through soil and analyze every scrap of available evidence to bring our missing home. The DPAA’s work is not just a government job; it is a sacred duty.
Their success stories are a testament to their unwavering commitment. In fiscal year 2025 alone, they have accounted for 213 service members. These identifications from World War Two, the Korean War and the Vietnam War are not just press releases and headlines. They are moments of profound peace and a long-overdue welcome home. They represent a family’s decades-long wait for answers finally ending.
But we know the mission is not complete. With less than 81,000 service members still unaccounted for, the work continues. And it’s up to us – the veterans, the families and the American people – to keep this a national priority. We must continue to support the DPAA’s efforts, to advocate for the resources and funding they need and to keep the memory of our missing alive.
Let us never forget the bitter fate of those who were captured or went missing. We must honor the families who have waited with such quiet strength and determination. We must remind Americans that the empty chair, the black and white POW/MIA flag, they aren’t just symbols. They are the nation’s constant reminder of a shared responsibility.
Today, as we join together, may we reflect on the sacrifices of the past and renew our commitment to the future. May we stand together and say, unequivocally, that as along as a single American service member remains unaccounted for, our mission continues. They are not forgotten. They will never be forgotten.