[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9789 of September 20, 2018

National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2018

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Throughout American history, the men and women of our Armed Forces have
selflessly served our country, making tremendous sacrifices to defend
our liberty. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor all American
prisoners of war and express our deep gratitude for the courage and
determination they exemplified while enduring terrible hardships. We
also pay tribute to those who never returned from the battlefield and to
their families, who live each day with uncertainty about the fate of
their loved ones. These families are entitled to the knowledge that
their loved ones still missing and unaccounted for will never be
forgotten.
As a Nation, it is our solemn obligation to account for the remains of
our fallen American service members and civilians and to bring them home
whenever possible. We owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to these
patriots who gave their last full measure of devotion for our country.
For this reason, I have pledged my Administration's best efforts to
account for our country's missing heroes. We continue to work

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to account for the missing personnel from the Vietnam War. American and
partner nation search teams are also working tirelessly in South Korea,
Europe, the South Pacific, and elsewhere around the world to recover and
identify those who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War,
and other past conflicts.
During my meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea in June, I raised my concern for the thousands of
grieving American families whose loved ones remain missing from the
Korean War uncertainty. As a result, I secured a commitment from
Chairman Kim to recover and repatriate the remains of those Americans
who were prisoners of war or killed in action. Last month, we
repatriated the remains of some of those courageous service members to
American soil. As a result of this homecoming, two of our missing fallen
have already been identified, renewing our hope for the fullest possible
accounting of the Americans who have yet to be recovered from the Korean
War. These recovery efforts are vital to fulfilling our Nation's promise
to leave no fellow American behind.
On September 21, 2018, the stark black and white banner symbolizing
America's Missing in Action and Prisoners of War will again 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 the country. We do this,
each year, to recognize those who have suffered the horrors of enemy
captivity, those who have still not returned from war, and the families
who have yet to lay their loved ones to rest with the honor and dignity
they deserve.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 21, 2018, as
National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United
States to join me in saluting all American POWs and those missing in
action who valiantly served our country. I call upon Federal, State, and
local government officials and private organizations to observe this day
with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
third.
DONALD J. TRUMP