National POW/MIA Recognition Day 2027 is on Friday

About National POW/MIA Recognition Day

The day covers every conflict and every branch of service. It recognizes former prisoners of war, service members whose fate is still unknown and the families who have pressed the government for decades to account for them. The 2026 presidential proclamation put the number of Americans still missing at about 80,000. Recovering and identifying their remains is the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

According to the National League of POW/MIA Families, no national commemoration for POW/MIAs existed until July 18, 1979, when Congress passed resolutions and a ceremony was held at the Washington National Cathedral, with a missing man flyover. The date moved in the early years. President Ronald Reagan hosted the 1984 ceremony at the White House, and the American Ex-Prisoners of War pressed for April 9, the World War II date on which the most Americans were captured, but the April 1985 ceremony was cancelled because of bad weather. The League then proposed the third Friday in September because it is tied to no single war or organization's convention and usually brings mild weather.

Congress passed a resolution for the day each year until 1995, when it stopped considering commemorative-day bills. Since then each president has issued an annual proclamation for the third Friday in September; the 2026 proclamation named September 18. The day is an observance, not a federal holiday.

The black and white POW/MIA flag, with the words "You Are Not Forgotten," is central to the day. Congress recognized the League's flag in 1990 as a symbol of the nation's concern for the missing, and under 36 U.S.C. 902, as amended by the National POW/MIA Flag Act of 2019, it flies at the Capitol, the White House, national cemeteries, major war memorials, military installations, VA medical centers and post offices on every day the US flag is displayed. Ceremonies are held at the Pentagon, on military bases and in towns across the country.

Sources: Federal Register: Proclamation 11068, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2026, National League of POW/MIA Families: POW/MIA Recognition Day history, 36 U.S. Code § 902 - POW/MIA flag (Cornell Legal Information Institute), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. How we check dates.

How to mark National POW/MIA Recognition Day

• Attend a POW/MIA ceremony at a military installation, VA medical center or veterans' post, or watch the national ceremony online.
• Learn what the Missing Man Table means and why its place setting is left empty at military dinners and ceremonies.
• Read about a recent identification announced by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or check its records if your family has a missing service member.
• Fly the POW/MIA flag below the US flag at home or at your workplace, following proper flag etiquette.
• Ask an older relative or a local veteran about friends or family members who were captured or never came home, and record what they remember.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day dates