The San Diego Air & Space Museum and Spirit of Liberty Foundation Salute POW/MIA Recognition Day on Friday September 20 from 9:00 am to 9:45 am in front of the Museum in Balboa Park. The Salute honors Prisoners of War and those still Missing in Action from past conflicts.

“We can never forget the brave heroes who so valiantly served our country, including the more than 81,000 Americans still missing from past conflicts,” said Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. “These heroes answered the call of duty and gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom everywhere, but their stories remain unfinished. Their sacrifice, and the pain endured by their families, cannot be, nor should it ever be, forgotten. We invite patriots anywhere to join us in honoring our past prisoners of war and missing in action.”

The Salute includes:

• A POW/MIA Table Acknowledgement.
• Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum, reads excerpts of an official statement from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s Director Mr. Kelly McKeague.
• Richard Rovsek, Chairman of the Spirit of Liberty Foundation, provides a background of America’s Freedom Bell which has been the centerpiece at many National Ceremonies honoring our Armed Forces and has traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to Normandy for D-Day and across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii for Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. In addition, the Bell has been at Independence Hall for Flag Day, at the POW/MIA Ceremonies in Hawaii, Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery, 9/11 Ceremonies in New York and many more.
• The Salute culminates with the ringing of The Spirit of Liberty Foundation’s iconic America’s Freedom Bell by Veterans, 81 times to honor the more than 81,000 who are still missing in action.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day was established by Congress in Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authority Act. Since then, organization such as the San Diego Air & Space Museum have conducted events like this one to formally recognize those who gave an extra measure to protect our great nation. The third Friday in September is one of six days each year that the POW/MIA flag is required to be flown over specific federal locations, such as the White House and U.S. Post Office Facilities.

The mission of the Department of Defense’s Accounting Agency (DPAA) is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation. When American personnel remain captive, missing, or otherwise unaccounted-for at the conclusion of hostilities, the DoD accounting community becomes the responsible agent for determining the fate of the missing and where possible, recovering them alive or recovering and identifying the remains of the dead. For those killed-in-action, the accounting community is charged with locating, recovering and identifying their remains. More than 81,000 Americans remain missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War.

For more information about efforts to account for more than 81,000 Americans still missing from past conflicts, visit the Department of Defense’s Accounting Agency’s website at www.dpaa.mil.