IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1485 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the third Friday 

of September shall be recognized as ‘‘National POW/MIA Recognition Day’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 

Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas (for himself, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. RYAN, Ms. 

WILD, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, 

Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. KEATING, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 

ELLZEY, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BEAN of Florida, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. 

LALOTA, Mr. ISSA, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mrs. BICE, Mr. PFLUGER, Mr. 

OBERNOLTE, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. DE LA CRUZ, Mr. MAST, Mr. WEBER

of Texas, Mr. BACON, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. GUEST, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. 

WALTZ, and Mr. WILLIAMS of New York) 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 shall 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; 


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•HRES 1485 IH 

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, an 

agency within 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 


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•HRES 1485 IH 

(5) 0 from the Gulf wars and Libya, with 6 still unaccounted for; 

Whereas roughly 75 percent of POW/MIA are in the AsiaPacific region; 

Whereas, by State, the five States with the highest number 

of unaccounted 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, by State, 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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) acknowledges that the Federal Government 

3 has the moral obligation to fully account for United 


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•HRES 1485 IH 

1 States POW/MIA and to mitigate the number of 

2 POW/MIA in future conflicts; 

3 (2) expresses sincere gratitude to the POW/ 

4 MIA of every conflict who selflessly, bravely, and 

5 boldly fought for the freedoms Americans have today 

6 at the cost of their own lives; 

7 (3) expresses support for the designation of 

8 ‘‘National POW/MIA Recognition Day’’; and 

9 (4) encourages all Americans to properly honor 

10 the service and sacrifice of all POW/MIA on such 

11 day by— 

12 (A) participating in POW/MIA commemo13 rative celebrations in local communities; 

14 (B) appropriately displaying the POW/MIA 

15 flag; and 

16 (C) performing acts of good will, compas17 sion, and service for the family members of 

18 POW/MIA. 

Æ 


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