National POW/MIA Day

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The third Friday of September is set aside to honor national prisoners of war and those missing in action. The annual ceremony was hosted at the Pentagon by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

More than 81,000 brave service members still remain missing and unaccounted for from America’s wars. The ceremony also recognizes veterans who were taken prisoner in war, held captive and returned.

This day of remembrance was created in 1989 to support the families of those still missing in action, with a renewed commitment to efforts to find them and bring them home.

President Biden issued a statement saying that they will never be forgotten, and that Americans owe them a debt of gratitude that can never fully be repaid.