Team Fairchild completes 24-hour ruck march in remembrance of POW/MIA

Col. Garret Bilbo, 92nd Air Refueling Wing deputy commander, speaks during a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action recognition ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, Sept. 15. 2023. The ceremony followed a 24-hour ruck march, during which Airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base kept the POW/MIA flag in constant motion to honor National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The ruck march began on Sept. 14 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in downtown Spokane and continued through Airway Heights before concluding at Fairchild AFB. The event culminated with a recognition ceremony on Sept. 15 to honor all American prisoners of war and those Americans still missing in action, as well as their families. Every year, the third Friday in September is recognized in the United States as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The Department of Defense is steadfast in its commitment to finding, recovering, identifying and repatriating the remains of its heroes who are unaccounted for. (U.S. Air Force photo by A1C Lillian Patterson).