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POW/MIA recognition day ceremony

Members of the Base Honor Guard fold the American flag during the POW/MIA recognition day ceremony Sept. 16, 2016, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. The ceremony serves two purposes: first it signals the official end of the duty day and it also serves as a tribute to the POW/MIA flag and the people for which it flies. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Taylor Shelton)

POW/MIA recognition day ceremony

A UH-1 helicopter displaying the American flag and the POW/MIA flag does a fly over during the POW/MIA recognition day ceremony Sept. 16, 2016, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. The ceremony honored American prisoners of war and those missing in action. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Taylor Shelton)

POW/MIA recognition day ceremony

Col. Frank Capillupo, U.S. Air Force retired, speaks during the POW/MIA recognition day ceremony Sept. 16, 2016, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. During his service Capillupo was the commander of the 3612th Combat Crew Training Squadron, which is now known as the U.S. Air Force Survival School. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Taylor Shelton)

POW/MIA recognition day ceremony

Published Sept. 16, 2016
By Airman 1st Class Taylor Shelton
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- A Prisoner of War/Missing in Action recognition day ceremony was held Sept. 16, at Fairchild Air Force Base. The ceremony honored American Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action.

The first POW/MIA recognition day took place on July 18, 1979, at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Originally established by Congress, the recognition day continues to commemorate those left overseas and unaccounted for with an annual proclamation sighted by the president.

“The ceremony serves two purposes, first it signals the official end of the duty day,” said Master Sgt. Andrew Dunn, 22nd Training Squadron training superintendent. “It also serves as a tribute to the POW/MIA flag and the people for which it flies.”

During the ceremony members from the 336th Training Group placed a remembrance wreath near the base of the flag pole to honor the courageous leadership of the American men and women during their time as Prisoners of War.

President Woodrow Wilson said, “The things the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.”

These lives are not just of those lost overseas, but those taken prisoner and those who remain missing, said Dunn. Each year we continue to honor these heroes during the national POW/MIA Recognition Day, and today is no different.

U.S. Air Force retired Col. Frank Capillupo, the guest speaker for the ceremony, said he firmly believes the ceremony is of even greater importance now as we find the aging and the passing of our Vietnam veterans.