HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Members of the Team Hill community gathered at the 75th Air Base Wing Headquarters for a POW/MIA ceremony Sept. 17 in honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
The observance was established in 1979 through a proclamation signed by President Jimmy Carter. Since 1979, every president has issued an annual proclamation commemorating the third Friday in September as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
Observances of National POW/MIA Recognition Day are held across the country on military installations, aboard ships, in state capitals, schools and veterans' facilities.
The ceremonies share the common purpose of honoring those who were held captive and returned, as well as those who remain missing.
According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, there are about 81,600 Americans missing -- from the battlefields of World War II to recent conflicts. About 75% of those are in the Indo-Pacific region. About 41,000 of the 81,600 missing are presumed lost at sea.
That agency is tasked with providing the fullest possible accounting for missing personnel from past conflicts to their families and the nation. The agency continually revises its missing count as more are accounted for.
The Team Hill POW/MIA ceremony can be viewed at www.facebook.com/hillairforcebase/live.