HELENA — Friday marked the 46th National Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Recognition Day.
Since World War II, Montana has over 50 military personnel listed as prisoners of war or missing in action, and those lives were honored for their courage and determination in the face of unspeakable hardships.
Watch the video here:
“We just bring it to light again that we still have men and women who serve this country who did not make it home and don’t know what happened to them,” Bill Woon, a Navy veteran, shared.
The solemn ceremony also honored the sacrifices of families who face each day without knowing the fate of their loved ones.
“Forty-six years ago, we decided that we would do something here in Montana to recognize that,” Ray Read, an army veteran and director of the Montana Military Museum, says.
Fifty-three names of Montanans classified as prisoners of war or missing in action were read one by one.
Veterans in attendance wish they could give those 53 lives one last message.
Woon says, “I would tell them they are not forgotten, that we don’t forget those we lost and don’t forget those that are unaccounted for.”
But those in attendance believe these military members should be remembered more than just on POW-MIA Recognition Day.
“If we forget how we got where we are at, someone is going to have to relive it; our kids, our grandkids, our great grandkids.”
The Montana Veterans’ Affairs Division has a fundraising goal of $40,000 to place a Prisoner of War and Missing in Action monument at the State Veterans’ Cemetery.
You can visit this link to learn how to support the efforts.
