National League of Families POW / MIA flag - Wikipedia National League of Families POW / MIA flag National League of Families POW / MIA Names National League of Families POW / MIA flag, POW / MIA flag Proportion 3 : 5 Adopted 1970 Design A silhouette of a prisoner of war ( POW ) before a guard tower and barbed wire in white on a black field. `` POW / MIA '' appears above the silhouette and the words `` You Are Not Forgotten '' appear below in white on the black field. Designed by Newt Heisley The National League of Families POW / MIA flag, also known as the POW / MIA flag, consists of a silhouette of a prisoner of war ( POW ) before a guard tower and barbed wire in white on a black field. `` POW / MIA '' appears above the silhouette and the words `` You Are Not Forgotten '' appear below in white on the black field. Contents 1 History 2 Flag protocol 3 Display 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links History The POW / MIA flag was created for the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia and officially recognized by the United States Congress in conjunction with the Vietnam War POW / MIA issue, `` as the symbol of our Nation 's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation. '' The original design for the flag was created by Newt Heisley in 1972 The National League of Families then - national coordinator, POW wife Evelyn Grubb, oversaw its development and also campaigned to gain its widespread acceptance and use by the United States government and also local governments and civilian organizations across the United States. In 1971, while the Vietnam War was still being fought, Mary Helen Hoff, the wife of a service member missing in action and member of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, recognized the need for a symbol of U.S. POW / MIAs, some of whom had been held captivity for as many as seven years. The flag is black, and bears in the center, in black and white, the emblem of the league. The emblem was designed by Newton F. Heisley, and features a white disk bearing in black silhouette the bust of a man ( Jeffery Heisley ), watch tower with a guard on patrol, and a strand of barbed wire ; above the disk are the white letters POW and MIA framing a white 5 - pointed star ; below the disk is a black and white wreath above the white motto : `` You are not Forgotten. '' The POW / MIA was flown over the White House for the first time in September 1982 The flag has been altered many times ; the colors have been switched from black with white -- to red, white and blue -- to white with black ; the POW / MIA has at times been revised to MIA / POW. On March 9, 1989, a league flag that had flown over the White House on the 1988 National POW / MIA Recognition Day was installed in the U.S. Capitol rotunda as a result of legislation passed by the 100th Congress. The league 's POW - MIA flag is the only flag ever displayed in the rotunda, and the only one other than the Flag of the United States to have flown over the White House. The leadership of both houses of Congress hosted the installation ceremony in a demonstration of bipartisan congressional support. On August 10, 1990, the 101st Congress passed U.S. Public Law 101 - 355, recognizing the National League of Families POW / MIA flag and designating it `` as a symbol of our Nation 's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation. '' Beyond Southeast Asia, it has been a symbol for POW / MIAs from all U.S. wars. The flag is ambiguous as it implies that personnel listed as MIA may in fact be held captive. The official, bipartisan, U.S. government position is that there is `` no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia ''. The Defense Prisoner of War / Missing Personnel Office ( DPMO ) provides centralized management of prisoner of war / missing personnel ( POW / MP ) affairs within the United States Department of Defense and is responsible for investigating the status of POW / MIA issues. As of 29 March 2017, 1,611 Americans remained unaccounted for, of which 1,023 were classified as further pursuit, 497 as no further pursuit and 91 as deferred. Beginning in October 2017, state government buildings in Maryland will begin flying the POW / MIA flag outside. Flag protocol Plaque using the symbol With the passage of Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act during the first term of the 105th Congress, the POW / MIA flag was specified to fly each year on : Armed Forces Day -- Third Saturday in May Memorial Day -- Last Monday in May Flag Day -- June 14 Independence Day -- July 4 National POW / MIA Recognition Day -- Third Friday in September Veterans Day -- November 11 The POW / MIA flag will be flown on the grounds or the public lobbies of major military installations as designated by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, all Federal National Cemeteries, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the White House, the United States Post Offices and at official offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense and Veterans Affairs, and Director of the Selective Service System. Civilians are free to fly the POW / MIA flag whenever they wish. In the U.S. Armed Forces, the dining halls, mess halls and chow halls display a single table and chair in a corner draped with the POW - MIA flag as a symbol for the missing, thus reserving a chair in hopes of their return. Other color patterns exist : the orange and black pattern was run by Outpost Flags at the time of Harley Davidson 's 100th anniversary, so that the bikers would help keep the issue alive and in the forefront of American politics. There are red and white versions, which some say are to cover more recent military actions, but this is not official policy. There are black and red versions available as well. Display POW / MIA flag flying below the US flag. When displayed from a single flagpole, the POW / MIA flag should fly directly below, and be no larger than, the United States flag ( Civilian or on congressionally designated days ). For Government Agency 's under a Chain of Command the U.S Flag Code has a complete order of precedence that mirrors Army Regulations 840 - 10 specifically 840 - 10 2 - 2. c. If on separate poles, the U.S. flag should always be placed to the right of other flags ( the viewer 's left ; the flag 's own right ). On the six national observances for which Congress has ordered display of the POW / MIA flag, it is generally flown immediately below or adjacent to the United States flag as second in order of precedence. See also Heraldry and vexillology portal United States portal Hỏa Lò Prison ( Hanoi Hilton ) Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union List of black flags POW / MIA bracelet POW / MIA Highway Sybil Stockdale Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vietnam War POW / MIA issue References Jump up ^ `` Annin Flagmakers - Oldest and Largest Flag Manufacturer in the United States - Since 1847. ''. www.annin.com. Jump up ^ Jose, Carol and Grubb, Evelyn ; You Are Not Forgotten : A Family 's Quest for Truth and the Founding of the National League of Families ; Vandamere Press ( New York ) ; 2008. ISBN 0 - 918339 - 71 - 5. Jump up ^ `` Evelyn Fowler Grubb, 74, Leader Of a Group Supporting P.O.W. 's ''. The New York Times. January 4, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Newt Heisley, 1920 - 2009 : WWII veteran designed POW / MIA flag '', Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, May 19, 2009. Jump up ^ `` '' The POW / MIA Flag `` '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` Executive Summary ''. Report of the Select Committee on POW / MIA Affairs. U.S. Senate. 1993 - 01 - 13. Retrieved 2008 - 01 - 03. Jump up ^ `` Vietnam - era Statistical Report '' ( PDF ). Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017. Jump up ^ `` Wayback Machine '' ( PDF ). web-beta.archive.org. Further reading ( 1 ) `` Symbol of a Nation 's Concern : The POW / MIA flag and Newton Heisley, The VVA Veteran, July / August 2009 ( 2 ) `` The Story of the POW / MIA flag '' in Vietnam magazine, June 2012 External links Find more aboutNational League of Families POW / MIA Flagat Wikipedia 's sister projects Media from Commons Data from Wikidata Official Official website General information National League of POW / MIA Families on C - SPAN POW / MIA ( U.S. ) at Flags of the World Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_League_of_Families_POW/MIA_Flag&oldid=807104359 '' Categories : Activism flags Aftermath of the Vietnam War American prisoners of war Flags introduced in 1970 Flags of organizations Vietnam War prisoners of war Vietnam War POW / MIA issues Hidden categories : Use American English from March 2017 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from March 2017 Official website not in Wikidata Talk Article Talk More Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch עברית Edit links This page was last edited on 25 October 2017, at 22 : 49. 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Question: what does the message at the bottom of the pow-mia flag mean
Answer: You Are Not Forgotten