POW-MIA Day was officially established by Congress in the 1998 Defense Authorization Act, and is set for the third Friday in September. Of course informal recognition of POW-MIA day goes back to 1979. There are only six days per year that flying of the POW-MIA flag is mandated by law. In addition to today, the other days are Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day.
According to the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency [DPAA], the following numbers of personnel are still missing in action:
World War II: 73,515
Korea: 7,841
Viet Nam: 1625
Cold War: 126
Conflicts since 1991: 6
For more information on DPAA, see my blog entry from 20 Aug 19.
