[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 166 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H5165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, last Friday, September 17, 
was POW/MIA Recognition Day. This important day is a time to remember 
the brave men and women who have yet to return home.
  Currently, there are more than 80,000 American servicemembers who 
remain unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam 
War, and the Cold War, and the Gulf Wars.
  Our servicemembers are the bravest among us. They answer the call to 
protect and defend our country in times of war and in times of peace. 
While many return home, some do not.
  In May, I introduced the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Trade 
Agreement Resolution. This resolution urges our mutually beneficial 
trade agreements to include a commitment from trading partners to 
continue the search and recovery efforts of our Nation's missing 
servicemembers.
  Mr. Speaker, in honor of POW/MIA Recognition Day, I urge my 
colleagues to join this resolution. We must uphold the eternal promise 
to our Armed Forces to always bring our men and women home.
  In that spirit, I also want to say thank you to one of my alma 
maters, Penn State University, that in a stadium of about 110,000, they 
placed one seat that will never be filled until the last of all those 
who are missing will return home. That was dedicated in honor of Penn 
State graduate and Vietnam veteran, Major Louis Smith, who has yet to 
return home from that war.

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