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 Lou-
isiana, 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 resolu-
tion; 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 where-
abouts 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 ac-
tion, about 41,000 are presumed lost at sea, and approxi-
mately 38,000 are recoverable; 
Whereas unaccounted for personnel included Department of 
Defense personnel, both military and civilian, civilian con-
tractors of other Federal departments and agencies, em-
ployees 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 di-
rected 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 per-
sons based on conflict have been— 
(1) 1,625 from World War II, with 72,054 still un-
accounted for; 
(2) 1,066 from the Vietnam war, with 1,575 still un-
accounted for; 
(3) 691 from the Korean war, with 7,466 still unac-
counted 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 un-
accounted for; 
Whereas roughly 75 percent of POW/MIA are in the Asia- 
Pacific 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) acknowledges that the Federal Government 
has the moral obligation to fully account for United 
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•HRES 1485 IH 
States POW/MIA and to mitigate the number of 
POW/MIA in future conflicts; 
(2) expresses sincere gratitude to the POW/ 
MIA of every conflict who selflessly, bravely, and 
boldly fought for the freedoms Americans have today 
at the cost of their own lives; 
(3) expresses support for the designation of 
‘‘National POW/MIA Recognition Day’’; and 
(4) encourages all Americans to properly honor 
the service and sacrifice of all POW/MIA on such 
day by— 
(A) participating in POW/MIA commemo-
rative celebrations in local communities; 
(B) appropriately displaying the POW/MIA 
flag; and 
(C) performing acts of good will, compas-
sion, and service for the family members of 
POW/MIA. 
Æ 
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