[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1485 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1485

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the third 
     Friday of September shall be recognized as ``National POW/MIA 
                           Recognition Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 23, 2024

 Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas (for himself, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Ryan, Ms. 
 Wild, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mr. Gottheimer, Ms. 
   Sherrill, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. 
    Veasey, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Keating, Mr. Carson, Mr. Ellzey, Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick, Mr. Bean of Florida, Ms. Granger, Mr. LaLota, Mr. Issa, 
Mr. Crenshaw, Mrs. Bice, Mr. Pfluger, Mr. Obernolte, Mr. Lawler, Ms. De 
  La Cruz, Mr. Mast, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. 
 Buchanan, Mr. Guest, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. 
    Fulcher, Mr. Waltz, and Mr. Williams of New York) submitted the 
  following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the third 
     Friday of September shall be recognized as ``National POW/MIA 
                           Recognition Day''.

Whereas the term ``POW/MIA'' refers to prisoners of war and missing-in-action 
        military personnel who are or were either held unwillingly by the enemy, 
        or their whereabouts during and after wartime and cease-fire remain 
        unknown;
Whereas, according to the Department of Defense, over 80,000 United States 
        servicemembers are missing in action, about 41,000 are presumed lost at 
        sea, and approximately 38,000 are recoverable;
Whereas unaccounted for personnel included Department of Defense personnel, both 
        military and civilian, civilian contractors of other Federal departments 
        and agencies, employees of humanitarian agencies accredited to the Armed 
        Forces, members of civilian organizations credited with active military 
        service by the Secretary of Defense, and citizens of the United States 
        and other persons as directed by the Secretary of Defense;
Whereas the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, an agency within the Department 
        of Defense, reports the numbers for POW/MIA servicemembers based on 
        conflict to be--

    (1) 73,000 from World War II;

    (2) 7,000 from the Korean war;

    (3) 1,500 from the Vietnam war;

    (4) 120 from the Cold War; and

    (5) 6 from armed conflicts since 1991;

Whereas, since the early 1970s when United States POW/MIA recovery efforts 
        began, the number of recovered persons based on conflict have been--

    (1) 1,625 from World War II, with 72,054 still unaccounted for;

    (2) 1,066 from the Vietnam war, with 1,575 still unaccounted for;

    (3) 691 from the Korean war, with 7,466 still unaccounted for;

    (4) 126 from the Cold War, with 2 still unaccounted for; and

    (5) 0 from the Gulf wars and Libya, with 6 still unaccounted for;

Whereas roughly 75 percent of POW/MIA are in the Asia-Pacific region;
Whereas, by State, the five States with the highest number of unaccounted POW/
        MIA are--

    (1) New York (6,385);

    (2) California (6,347);

    (3) Pennsylvania (5,375);

    (4) Illinois (4,129); and

    (5) Texas (4,113);

Whereas, by State, the five States with the highest number of recovered POW/MIA 
        are--

    (1) California (342);

    (2) New York (206);

    (3) Texas (205);

    (4) Ohio (182); and

    (5) Illinois (169);

Whereas, in 1972, the POW/MIA flag was adopted;
Whereas, in 1982, the POW/MIA flag became the first flag to fly over the White 
        House other than the United States flag; and
Whereas, in 2019, the National POW/MIA Flag Act (Public Law 116-67; 36 U.S.C. 
        101 note) requires the POW/MIA flag to be flown on Federal properties 
        when the United States flag is being flown: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges that the Federal Government has the moral 
        obligation to fully account for United States POW/MIA and to 
        mitigate the number of POW/MIA in future conflicts;
            (2) expresses sincere gratitude to the POW/MIA of every 
        conflict who selflessly, bravely, and boldly fought for the 
        freedoms Americans have today at the cost of their own lives;
            (3) expresses support for the designation of ``National 
        POW/MIA Recognition Day''; and
            (4) encourages all Americans to properly honor the service 
        and sacrifice of all POW/MIA on such day by--
                    (A) participating in POW/MIA commemorative 
                celebrations in local communities;
                    (B) appropriately displaying the POW/MIA flag; and
                    (C) performing acts of good will, compassion, and 
                service for the family members of POW/MIA.
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