Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano will preside at the annual Candlelight Ceremony observing National POW/MIA Recognition Day on Monday, Sept. 24 at 6:30 p.m., at the Veterans Memorial located in Eisenhower Park.
“We honor the sacrifice made by Prisoners Of War and those who have gone Missing in Action while defending the freedoms here in the USA and around the world,” said County Executive Mangano. “As a Country, we honor our commitment to never give up the search for those who are held as prisoners or have gone missing in action. National POW/MIA Recognition Day is a symbol of keeping that promise alive.”
County Executive Mangano will be joined by representatives of veterans’ organizations from throughout Nassau County, as well as elected officials, clergy and American ex-prisoners of war.
The solemn ceremony will feature the reading of the names of all POW/MIAs from Nassau and Suffolk.
The Vietnam War Veterans Association will display a Bamboo Cage, which symbolizes the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia.
National POW/MIA Recognition Day was established by an Act of Congress in 1998. It is one of six days that the POW/MIA flag can be flown. There are 74,074 unaccounted service members from World War II; 8,028 from Korea; 1,713 from Vietnam; 912 from the Gulf War and 2 from the War on Terror.
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