H.Res. 1566 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the third Friday of S…

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. RES. 1566

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 17, 2026

Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Walkinshaw) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the third Friday of September should be recognized as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

Whereas the term POW/MIA refers to prisoners of war and missing-in-action military personnel who are or were either held unwillingly by the enemy, or their whereabouts during and after wartime and cease-fire remain unknown;

Whereas, according to the Department of Defense, over 80,000 United States servicemembers are missing-in-action, about 41,000 are presumed lost at sea, and approximately 38,000 are recoverable;

Whereas unaccounted-for personnel included Department of Defense personnel, both military and civilian, civilian contractors of other Federal departments and agencies, employees of humanitarian agencies accredited to the Armed Forces, members of civilian organizations credited with active military service by the Secretary of Defense, and citizens of the United States and other persons as directed by the Secretary of Defense;

Whereas the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency of the Department of Defense reports the numbers for POW/MIA servicemembers based on conflict to be—

(1)

73,000 from World War II;

(2)

7,000 from the Korean war;

(3)

1,500 from the Vietnam war;

(4)

120 from the Cold War; and

(5)

6 from armed conflicts since 1991;

Whereas, since the early 1970s when United States POW/MIA recovery efforts began, the number of recovered persons based on conflict have been—

(1)

1,625 from World War II, with 72,054 still unaccounted-for;

(2)

1,066 from the Vietnam war, with 1,575 still unaccounted-for;

(3)

691 from the Korean war, with 7,466 still unaccounted-for;

(4)

126 from the Cold War, with 2 still unaccounted-for; and

(5)

0 from the Gulf wars and Libya, with 6 still unaccounted-for;

Whereas roughly 75 percent of POW/MIA are in the Asia-Pacific region;

Whereas the five States with the highest number of unaccounted-for POW/MIA are—

(1)

New York (6,385);

(2)

California (6,347);

(3)

Pennsylvania (5,375);

(4)

Illinois (4,129); and

(5)

Texas (4,113);

Whereas the five States with the highest number of recovered POW/MIA are—

(1)

California (342);

(2)

New York (206);

(3)

Texas (205);

(4)

Ohio (182); and

(5)

Illinois (169);

Whereas, in 1972, the POW/MIA flag was adopted;

Whereas, in 1982, the POW/MIA flag became the first flag to fly over the White House other than the United States flag; and

Whereas, in 2019, the National POW/MIA Flag Act (Public Law 116–67; 36 U.S.C. 101 note) requires the POW/MIA flag to be flown on Federal properties when the United States flag is being flown: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives—

(1)

acknowledges that the Federal Government has the moral obligation to fully account for United States POW/MIA and to mitigate the number of POW/MIA in future conflicts;

(2)

expresses sincere gratitude to the POW/MIA of every conflict who selflessly, bravely, and boldly fought for the freedoms Americans have today at the cost of their own lives;

(3)

expresses support for the designation of National POW/MIA Recognition Day; and

(4)

encourages all Americans to properly honor the service and sacrifice of all POW/MIA on such day by—

(A)

participating in POW/MIA commemorative celebrations in local communities;

(B)

appropriately displaying the POW/MIA flag; and

(C)

performing acts of good will, compassion, and service for the family members of POW/MIA.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the third Friday of September should be recognized as "National POW/MIA Recognition Day".

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