POW MIA RECOGNITION

The POW MIA recognition ceremony is a beautiful way to pay tribute to those missing in action and prisoners of war. The recognition table is traditionally displayed on the 3rd Friday of September, which is the National POW MIA Recognition Day. It is also proudly recited during our National Conventions. For a copy of the symbology, click here.

Congress passed a resolution authorizing National POW/MIA Recognition Day to be observed on July 18, 1979. Since 1986, it has been held on the third Friday of September.

The United States president each year proclaims National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Many states in the USA also proclaim POW/MIA Recognition Day together with the national effort.

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The official U.S. POW/MIA flag resulted from the efforts of family members to display a suitable symbol that made the public aware of their loved ones who were being held prisoner or declared missing during the Vietnam War.

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In 1970, Mrs. Michael Hoff, the wife of a service member declared MIA and a member of the National League of POW/MIA Families, recognized the need for a symbol honoring. POW/MIAs. Prompted by an article in a Florida newspaper, Mrs. Hoff contacted Norman Rivkees, Vice President of Annin & Company. The article stated that the company had made a banner for the newest member of the United Nations, the People’s Republic of China, as part of their policy to provide flags of all United Nations member states. Mrs. Hoff found Mr. Rivkees very sympathetic to the POW/MIA issue. He and an Annin advertising agency employee, Newt Heisley, designed a flag to represent our missing men. The flag’s design features a silhouette of a young man, which is based on Mr Heisley’s son, who was medically discharged from the military. As Mr Heisley looked at his returning son’s gaunt features, he imagined what life was for those behind barbed wire fences on foreign shores. He then sketched the profile of his son as the new flag's design was created in his mind. In January 1972, the League of Families Board of Directors approved the design of the flag and ordered some for distribution. Wanting the widest possible dissemination and use of this symbol to advocate for improved treatment for and answers on American POW/MIAs, no trademark or copyright was sought. As a result, widespread use of the League’s POW/MIA flag is not restricted legally. 

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The flag was flown over the White House for the first time in September 1982, making it the only flag other than the U.S. flag to be displayed there.

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The 105th Congress passed the 1998 Defense Authorization Act requiring that the POW/MIA flag fly six days each year over specific federal locations. Those days included Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, POW/MIA Day, and Veterans Day. In 2019, the National POW/MIA Flag Act was signed into law, requiring the POW/MIA flag to be displayed whenever the American flag is displayed on prominent federal properties, including the White House, U.S. Capitol, World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, every national cemetery, the buildings containing the official offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, office of the Director of the Selective Service System, each major military installation, each Department of Veterans Affairs medical center, and each U.S. Postal Service post office. Most state and local governments across the nation have adopted similar laws.

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When displayed from a single flagpole, the POW/MIA flag should fly directly below, and be no larger than, the United States flag.

If on separate poles, the U.S. flag should always be placed to the right of other flags. On the six national observances for which Congress has ordered display of the POW/ MIA flag, it is generally flown immediately below or adjacent to the United States flag as second in order of precedence.​