POW/MIA Recognition Day
WHEREAS, more than 217,000 Americans have been either missing, unaccounted for or a prisoner of war while serving the United States in wars and conflicts in other countries during the last one hundred years, with many enduring brutal and inhumane treatment by their captors in violation of international law; and
WHEREAS, nearly 1,571 Americans are still missing from the Vietnam War, as well as 7,418 unaccounted for from the Korean War, 126 from the Cold War, and over 71,925 from WWII, though thousands are unrecoverable deep-sea losses; and
WHEREAS, families and friends of these missing Americans, as well as their fellow veterans, endure uncertainty concerning their fate; and
WHEREAS, as a nation founded on the principles of civil rights and justice, we have a moral obligation to continue to make every effort to ascertain the truth about these Americans;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bob Ferguson, governor of the state of Washington, do hereby proclaim September 19, 2025, as
POW/MIA Recognition Day
in Washington, and I urge all people in our state to join me in honoring the bravery and perseverance of former prisoners of war, those still missing and their families.
Signed this 17th day of September, 2025
PROCLAMATION - POW/MIA Recognition Day | WDVA