National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, held each year on the third Friday in September. It honors those who were prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. At this year's Air & Space Conference, we were able to recognize three POWs of the Vietnam War for their dedication.

Below is a short video created by AFA to tell the story of the courageous individuals who were held in captivity during the Vietnam War. As the war progressed, several hundred air crew—perhaps as many as one thousand—were shot down and captured by communist forces. Torture, beatings, forced confessions, starvation diets, and solitary confinement represented standard conditions to which the prisoners were subjected. Nor were the Americans allowed to communicate with the outside world—they simply vanished. 

We owe these men and women our most sincere gratitude for their service, not just as prisoners of war, but for their sacrifices on behalf of the nation.