JPAC TO HOST POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY CEREMONY
Annual event honors the sacrifice, commitment made by our Nations heroes
HONOLULU, Hawaii (Sept. 7, 2010) – The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command will commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day with a ceremony at 10 a.m., Sept. 17, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific [Punchbowl], to honor prisoners of war and fallen U.S. personnel whose identities remain unknown.
Highlights this year include a wreath laying ceremony, speeches and a poignant and emotional rendition of taps played to our nation's Prisoners of War and those Americans who are still Missing in Action.
This year's program will be lead by Mr. Johnie Webb, JPAC's Deputy to the Commander for Public Relations and Legislative Affairs. The keynote speaker, Mrs. Carole Hickerson, is a POW/MIA advocate who helped design the POW/MIA Flag—an iconic, revered symbol of the efforts America's men and women have given to their nation while serving in our Armed Forces.
The ceremony is free and open to the public. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the audience will be invited to tour the cemetery and/or lay wreaths at the monument. Appropriate attire for the event is military Class B or service equivalent, or civilian casual attire.
Organizations that would like to participate in the wreath laying ceremony must R.S.V.P. to Mrs. Elizabeth Feeney no later than 12:00 p.m., Sept. 10.
Media wishing to attend the ceremony must contact Mrs. Feeney before noon, Sept. 14, to receive instructions. All media will be escorted.
Falling directly under the U.S. Pacific Command, the jointly-manned organization of more than 400 military and civilian specialists has investigated and recovered missing Americans since the 1970's. To date there are approximately 84,000 unaccounted-for Americans from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War.
The ultimate goal of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, and of the agencies involved in returning America's heroes home, is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of Americans lost during the nation's past conflicts.
