National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Always observed on the third Friday of September, it is a day to honor and remember the sacrifices made by American prisoners of war and soldiers listed as missing in action.

Throughout history, every major conflict the United States has participated in has contributed more names to the list of POW/MIAs. While World War I and World War II had numbers in the hundreds of thousands, even smaller conflicts such as the Gulf War had their share of POW/MIAs.

In 1971, during the Vietnam War, members of the National League of Families saw the need for a symbol for U.S. POW/MIAs. Designed by Newt Heisley, the POW/MIA flag features a silhouette of a soldier (based on Heisley's son) in a prison camp with a guard tower and barbed wire on a black background. Below the image are the words "You Are Not Forgotten" as a reminder that even though our POW/MIAs might not be with us physically, they're still here in our hearts.

At TJM Promotions, we often work with all branches of the military, supplying a variety of products, from lanyards to patches to challenge coins. In the past, we've supplied hundreds of items relating to the POW/MIA cause, and we consider it an honor to contribute however we can, even in such a small manner.

Challenge coins and ribbons for POW/MIA event “The Ride Home”

One of our employees often relates the story of how his grandfather, John Anderson, was captured by Germans after the B-17 bomber he was a radio operator on was shot down over Berlin in World War II. Held for nearly a year in a prison camp, he took the opportunity to teach the other prisoners music, and formed an impromptu glee club that met to sing school football songs. His is just one of the many diverse stories of how American POWs dealt with the difficulty of life in captivity. Read more of his story here: http://www.axpow.org/andersonjohn.htm

TJM Promotions thanks all of our active, reserve, and retired members of the Armed Forces for their service to our country. We honor and remember the sacrifices made by our ex-prisoners of war and missing in action soldiers and their families. From all of us: thank you. You are not forgotten.

View President Obama's official National POW/MIA Recognition Day declaration here: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=120829