Liberty Feature
(JPAC). This united the Central Identification Laboratories in Thailand (established 1973) and Hawaii (established 1976) and the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA) under Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (CDRUSPACOM). From 1973 to 2014, the average rate of MIAs identified per year never broke 70. These numbers put the end date of the mission 1,000 plus years into the future. In the mid-nineties, the DoD indicated there were close to 90,000 MIAs on their list. If you divide that by 70 identifications per year, it will take 1,285.7 years before everyone is accounted for—truly unacceptable. An internal JPAC report—the Cole Report—used to describe JPACs management practices reached the public domain in 2012 with words such as “inept, mismanaged, wasteful, dysfunctional.” This report caught the interest of both sides of Congress as well as the DoD inspector general (IG). After several hearings and an investigation by the IG, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel made the decision to close JPAC and the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) and start over with a new agency known today as the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The DPAA started its mission in 2015 and was officially chartered in January 2016. The agency has managed close to 200 identifications per year and has brought about many changes to the accounting process. One such change is the disinterment of those buried as UNKNOWNs. We have had the technology for years, but DoD policy did not previously allow exhumation. DPAA opened an additional identification laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and is handling the WWII UNKNOWNs from Pearl Harbor. They even re-energized the US-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs. Despite the slow political start, we are seeing positive results. So, where are we on the mission to account for those who are MIA or unaccounted for? These are the numbers we need to tackle:
UNTIL THEY ALL COME HOME
National POW/MIA Recognition Day By Jim “moe” Moyer
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here are only two days we set aside each year to recognize all Americans—civilian and military—who have been or are being held against their will by enemies of the United States. The first is April 9: National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. That is the day, in 1942, that the largest number of American military personnel were taken captive by an enemy during combat operations. Remember the Bataan Death March? After a three-month heroic battle in the Philippines, Major General Edward P. King Jr. surrendered all troops under his command to Colonel Mootoo Nakayama of the 14th Imperial Japanese Army. The estimated total number varies by source, but it is safe to say that a combined total of more than 60,000 combat troops—American and Filipino—were taken as prisoners of war that day. The second date—the third Friday of September—is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. It was originally held in July from 1979 to 1985, with the exception of 1983, when it was held in April. In 1986, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation, making the third Friday of September the day we recognize all former prisoners of war (POW) as well as those who are still classified as missing in action (MIA). In 2003, the DoD established the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command
Today’s MIA/Unaccounted For Numbers: WWII 72,579 Korean War 7,578 Cold War 126 Vietnam War 1,586 Gulf War/Middle East 5 El Dorado Canyon 1 DoD Total 81,875
Florida and Georgia MIA/Unaccounted For WWII Florida 909 WWII Georgia 1,083 Korean War Florida 157 Korean War Georgia 155 Vietnam War Florida 54 Vietnam War Georgia 28 Cold War Florida 4 Cold War Georgia 1 Iraq War Florida 1 Florida/Georgia Total 2,392
On Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, let us ALL pay tribute to those who were held as prisoners of war or are missing in action for their service and their sacrifice on our behalf, and to the families who still wait for their Soldier to come home—we will NOT forget about them or their Servicemember, ever. Fly your POW/MIA flag to let your friends and neighbors know that you support those Americans who have sacrificed their liberties and freedom for us. We will not stop until they ALL come home. Jim ‘moe’ Moyer is the national chairman of Honor-Release-Return, Inc., committed to bringing the accounting of the remaining Missing in Action to a close in 20 years or less. LIBERTYLIFEMEDIA.COM | SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 VOL. 1 / ISSUE 6
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