National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, 2024

Proclamation 10726 of April 8, 2024

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day,
2024

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On this day, we honor the more than half a million
brave patriots who sacrificed their freedom as
prisoners of war--risking their own safety for the
safety of their fellow Americans. We recommit to
fulfilling our country's one truly sacred obligation:
to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way and
to care for them and their families when they return
home and when they do not.

Last September, I visited a memorial in Hanoi for my
friend, former United States Senator John McCain, who
had been imprisoned there for five and a half years
when he was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. I
reflected on the unfathomable conditions and pain that
he and so many others have endured as prisoners of war.
It was a solemn reminder of the grave costs of war and
the immense sacrifices American service members are
willing to make to defend our Nation. They have always
embodied the highest expectations of our democracy--
daring all and risking all so that our country remains
free and our people remain safe. We owe them and their
families, caregivers, and survivors a debt of gratitude
we can never fully repay but will never cease trying to
fulfill.

Today, and every day, we recommit to this vow. We honor
the unbending courage and unshakable devotion of our
former prisoners of war. We reaffirm our commitment to
bringing home all those still missing or unaccounted
for. We pledge to keep faith in all these heroes and
their families--just as they have kept ultimate faith
in our Nation.

May God bless our former prisoners of war and their
families, caregivers, and survivors--and may God
protect our troops.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 9, 2024,
as National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. I
call upon Americans to observe this day by honoring the
service and sacrifice of all former prisoners of war as
our Nation expresses its eternal gratitude for their
service. I also call upon Federal, State, and local
government officials and organizations to observe this
day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.