[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE POW/MIA FLAG

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                         HON. ELIZABETH H. ESTY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2015

  Ms. ESTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the upcoming 25th 
anniversary of the POW/MIA flag.
  In May of 1970, the National League of Families of American Prisoners 
and Missing in Southeast Asia was founded in Washington, D.C. One year 
after the first official meeting, Mary Hoff, the wife of a service 
member designated as missing in action during the Vietnam War, 
introduced the idea of creating a flag to remember and honor military 
men and woman like her husband.
  Twenty-five years ago, on August 25, 1990, Congress designated the 
POW/MIA flag as ``the symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to 
resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, 
missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.'' Now, the POW/MIA flag 
flies for every man and woman who has given his or her life for our 
great country and remains captured or missing.
  To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the recognition of this flag, 
Wheeler-Young VFW Post 201 from Waterbury, Connecticut will lay a 
wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National 
Cemetery on August 10, 2015. VFW Post 201 is a vibrant post involved in 
numerous activities in the Waterbury community. They recently 
celebrated the grand opening of their new location. Wheeler-Young VFW 
Post 201 exemplifies the promise of leaving no man behind and the 
mission to educate and promote veterans' issues. Post 201 is a pillar 
of our community.
  Thank you to Post 201 for recognizing and honoring our nation's 
Prisoners of War and personnel Missing in Action. I stand with you to 
ensure that they are not forgotten.

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