[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