NEWS RELEASE
JOINT POW/MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND (JPAC)
Public Affairs (808) 448-1937RELEASE NO. #05-34
September 12, 2005
JPAC COMMEMORATES POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY
HICKAM AFB, HAWAII - The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, Hickam AFB, HI will commemorate National
POW/MIA Recognition Day at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific [Punchbowl], at 10 a.m., Sept. 16.
A Presidential Proclamation designates the third Friday in September each year as National POW/MIA
Recognition Day. At this year's ceremony, the national anthem will be played during the Presentation of the
Colors. There will also be a wreath laying ceremony, and the playing of taps conducted in honor and
recognition of the prisoners of war and those still missing in action from previous wars.
The ceremony will be led by JPAC's commanding general, Brig. Gen. Michael Flowers. Keynote speaker will
be U.S. Navy Capt. (Ret) Gerald Coffee, a former Vietnam War POW. Also in attendance and speaking at the
ceremony will be Hawaii Lt. Gov. James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr.
The ceremony is free and open to the public. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the audience will be
invited to tour the cemetery or lay wreaths at the monument.
JPAC's mission is to investigate, recover and identify missing service members as a result of our
nation's conflicts.
One American is still missing from the Gulf War, more than 1,800 from the Vietnam War, 120 from the Cold
War, more than 8,100 from the Korean War, and more than 78,000 from World War II.
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