National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2011

Proclamation 8713 of September 15, 2011

National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In every conflict in which our Nation has been
involved, selfless American service members have
sacrificed their lives for the sake of our country and
its principles. Too many have never come home, or have
endured unthinkable hardship as prisoners of war. On
this day, we echo the creed inscribed on the black and
white banners that fly in honor of America's Prisoners
of War and Missing in Action, and we renew our promise
to our heroes, that ``You Are Not Forgotten.''

We will never give up the search for those who are held
as prisoners of war or have gone missing under our
country's flag. We honor their sacrifice, and we must
care for their families and pursue the fullest possible
accounting for all missing members of our Armed Forces.
Together, we must serve our Nation's patriots as well
as they have served us--by supporting them when they
come home, and by carrying on the legacy of those who
do not. This is a promise we keep for our fallen, for
our veterans past and present, and for all those whose
loved ones have not returned from the battlefield.

On September 16, 2011, the stark black and white banner
symbolizing America's Missing in Action and Prisoners
of War will be flown over the White House, the United
States Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense, and
Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service System
Headquarters, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War
Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
United States post offices, national cemeteries, and
other locations across our country. We raise this flag
as a solemn reminder of our obligation to always
remember the sacrifices made to defend our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 September 16, 2011,
as National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and I urge all
Americans to observe this day of honor and remembrance
with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.