    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    PROCLAMATION 8563--SEPT. 16, 2010

    Proclamation 8563 of September 16, 2010
    National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2010
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    ``Until every story ends'' is a solemn promise to those who wear the
    uniform of the United States that they will never be left behind or
    forgotten. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we pay tribute to the
    American men and women who never returned home from combat, to those who
    faced unthinkable suffering as prisoners of war in distant lands, and to
    all servicemembers who have defended American lives and liberties with
    unwavering devotion. As a grateful Nation, we can never repay the
    profound debt to our heroes, and we will not rest until we have
    accounted for the missing members of our Armed Forces.
    We demonstrate our deep gratitude and admiration for our brave patriots
    not in words alone, but in our actions to bring them home. Each year,
    specialists in our Department of Defense scour foreign battlefields and
    burial sites, interview witnesses, and search national and international
    archives for information about those missing from the Vietnam War,
    Korean War, Cold War, World War II, and other conflicts. Their work will
    not be complete, nor our commitment fulfilled, until the families of
    those taken or missing in action can rest knowing the fate of their
    loved ones.
    On September 17, 2010, the stark black and white flag honoring America's
    prisoners of war and those missing in action will be flown over the
    White House; the United States Capitol; the Departments of State,
    Defense, and Veterans Affairs; the Selective Service System
    Headquarters; the World War II Memorial; the Korean War Veterans
    Memorial; the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; United States post offices;
    national cemeteries; and other locations across our country. It is a
    powerful reminder that our Nation will never cease in our task to
    recover, remember, and honor the courageous men and women who have
    served and sacrificed so much for each of us.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
    America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
    of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 17, 2010, as National
    POW/MIA Recognition Day. I urge all Americans to

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    observe this day of honor and remembrance with appropriate ceremonies
    and activities.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of
    September, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
    fifth.
    BARACK OBAMA