Warren County Commissioners proclaim Sept. 20 as National POW/MIA Recognition Day
WARREN COUNTY, NJ – Warren County will commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 with a ceremony conducted by The American Legion, Carl D. Archer Post 528 of White Township.
The ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action memorial located at the Oscar Unangst Memorial Fields on Route 519, across from Flowerland Growers garden center. The public is welcome to attend to show appreciation and gratitude for those men and women who have fought and were imprisoned as POWs.
The Warren County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed September 20 as a day of remembrance to demonstrate the country’s continued commitment to the POW/MIA issue. Post 528 representatives Milly Rice and Ernie Maso, who also are trustees of the Warren County War Memorial Corporation, accepted the proclamation, which will also be presented during Friday’s ceremony.
The event is “a very solemn ceremony where we honor the POWs,” Rice said.
The commemoration also will include the POW/MIA empty chair and the Missing Man table and Honors ceremony, as well as dedication of a bench donated to Post 528 by The General William Maxwell Chapter NSDAR members, Rice said.
Attendees should bring a lawn chair to provide their own seating.
“On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we pledge to seek answers for the families of service members still missing in action, and commit to doing all in our power to identify and recover American’s missing warriors, as we pay tribute to former prisoners of war, who exhibited remarkable courage, love of country, and devotion to duty to protect our Nation’s safety and freedoms,” the Commissioners’ proclamation stated. “In Warren County, on this day of heartache and resolve, let us offer strength to the families still waiting for the return of their loved ones, and extend our gratitude to Americans and international partners working tirelessly to bring home our missing service members from prior wars and conflicts; and let us remember that freedom is never free, that democracy always requires champions, and that we owe an eternal debit to the heroes of our Armed Forces.”