POW/MIA Recognition Day

WHEREAS, nearly 1,700 Americans are still missing from the Vietnam War; approximately 8,000 are unaccounted for from the Korean War; 120 from the Cold War; over 78,000 from World War II; one MIA in Iraq; and one POW in Afghanistan; and

WHEREAS, their families, friends and other concerned Americans still must deal with uncertainty concerning their fates; and

WHEREAS, the Obama Administration has recently reinforced its commitment to maintaining POW/MIA accounting as a priority of the United States, though concerns remain about adequate funding and personnel; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Government intelligence and other evidence indicate that most countries in which U.S. losses occurred could provide greater assistance to answer questions about missing Americans; and

WHEREAS, the State of Alabama commends and endorses the national commitment to account as fully as possible for the Americans still missing from our nation’s wars; and

WHEREAS, the State of Alabama calls on the President, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to consistently raise with foreign counterparts the need for increased action to help account for our missing – alive and dead – and return them to the United States; and

WHEREAS, the State of Alabama calls on Congress to ensure that POW/MIA-related government offices and organizations receive the funding and personnel necessary to accomplish the principled mission of accounting for our missing veterans, thus signaling nations around the world that America stands behind those who serve:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim September 16, 2011, as

POW/MIA Recognition Day

in the State of Alabama, in honor of the two U.S. Personnel missing and captured in Iraq and Afghanistan, returned U.S. POWs, and all Americans still captured, missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, Cold War and World War II, and ask all citizens to observe this day with appropriated ceremonies.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 30th day of August 2011.

                        

Governor Robert Bentley