38th Anniversary of “Michigan Remembers” POW/MIA Memorial and

45^thAnnual POW/MIA Recognition Day

 The POW Committee of Michigan will host a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 20th at 6:00 p.m. at Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens in Novi, Michigan to mark the 38th anniversary of the “Michigan Remembers” POW/MIA Memorial and the 45^thannual observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The Memorial, located on the outside east wall of the Oakland Hills chapel & mausoleum building, was unveiled and dedicated on Friday, September 19th, 1986.

The September 20th ceremony will feature remarks by Michigan family members still waiting for their MIA to come home. The ceremony is open to the public.

The event will also include the placement of remembrance wreaths, special acknowledgments highlighting 38 years at the Oakland Hills site for POW/MIA Recognition Day, and a reading of the names inscribed on the memorial. Debbie McClain, President of the POW Committee of Michigan, will serve as MC.

First observed in 1979, National POW/MIA Recognition Day is a day when the nation pauses to honor returned prisoners of war, remember those U.S. military members and civilians who remain missing from past wars, and support ongoing search efforts to find those who have not been recovered. The POW/MIA flag is required by law to fly over federal facilities every day the U.S. flag is flown.  Those facilities include the U.S. Capitol, the White House, military installations; national cemeteries; and veterans’ memorials nationwide.  Seeing the flag fly on National POW/MIA Recognition Day is especially appropriate.

Nearly 4,400 American military personnel remain missing from World War I; 72,026 from World War ll (2,451 from Michigan); 7,458 from the Korean War (329 from Michigan); 126 from the Cold War (5 from Michigan); 1,574 from the Vietnam War (48 from Michigan); and 5 from Iraq and other wars.

The POW Committee of Michigan is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated on July 17, 1973 by POW/MIA family members. The objectives of the Committee remain the same today as they were in 1973: the release of all US prisoners of war; the fullest possible accounting for those still missing; and the repatriation of all recoverable remains.

Information about National POW/MIA Recognition Dayis available on the National League of POW/MIA Families website athttps://www.pow-miafamilies.org/recognition-day.html

The 2024 POW/MIA National Recognition Day poster is available from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) athttps://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebPosters.

Information about both unaccounted-for and accounted-for individuals from past wars may be found at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfileHome