The POW/MIA Flag is one of the most
recognized symbols today. However, it is a fairly young concept. It wasn't
until 1971 that the idea was actually thought of. The wife of MIA serviceman
Michael Hoft was a member of the National League of Families and, recognizing
the need for a symbol for those held prisoner and those missing, she contacted
the Vice President of Annin & Company, Norman Rivkees, to make a flag.
Newton Heisley, a creative director for advertising in New Jersey and a WWII
Pilot, was selected for the job. The design was as it is still seen today: “a
silhouette of a man's head with barbed wire and a watchtower in the background,
with a flag bearing "You Are Not Forgotten" below the design.” It was
approved by the National League of Families, manufactured, and distributed.
However, it was not until 1990 when the 101st Congress officially recognized
the flag and designated it "the symbol of our Nation's concern and
commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still
prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the
uncertainty for the families and the Nation". In 1998, the 105th Congress passed
the Defense Authorization Act that required the POW/MIA Flag fly six days each
year: “Armed Forces Day (3rd Saturday in May), Memorial Day (last Monday in
May), Flag Day (June 14), Independence Day (July 4), National POW/MIA
Recognition Day (3rd Friday in September), and Veterans Day (November 11).”
There are many locations around our
country that fly the POW/MIA Flag: the White House, the Capitol Building, the
Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the World War
II Memorial, all of which are in Washington DC; every national cemetery;
buildings containing the offices of the Secretary of State, Secretary of
Defense, Secretary of Veteran Affairs, and the Director of the Selective
Service System; every major military installation as designated by the
Secretary of Defense, and every United States Postal Service. On every National
POW/MIA Recognition Day since 1982, the POW/MIA Flag has flown over the White
House. It is the ONLY flag, with the exception of the American Flag of course,
to fly over the White House and the Capitol.
As with any flag, there are certain
protocols to follow when displaying the POW/MIA Flag. On one flagpole, the
POW/MIA Flag is flown below the American Flag but above any state flag. On two
flagpoles, the POW/MIA flag is flown on the same pole as the American Flag but
below it. And any state flag should fly on the second pole, which should be to
the left of the POW/MIA and American Flags. On three flagpoles, the American
Flag should be flown on the pole located to the POW/MIA Flag's own right, the
POW/MIA Flag flown on the middle pole, and any state flag should be flown on
the pole to its left.
The history of the POW/MIA Bracelet
is not one that is much known. It all began with an organization called Voices
in Vital America (VIVA), originally formed by several college students, an
adult advisor, and a returning veteran. At the time of its creation in the
1960s, there were no organizations geared towards helping Prisoners of War and
those Missing in Action. The bracelets were inspired by Bob Dornan, the
returning veteran and TV personality. He wore a bracelet he had obtained while
in Vietnam from hill tribesmen, "which he said always reminded him of the
suffering the war had brought to so many". This inspired the students to
want to wear their own bracelets as a way to remember those US POWs and MIAs.
Because VIVA had no many to create the bracelets, the students had a difficult
time finding someone to make them. However, they were eventually able to
receive enough donations and find a company willing to make them. The bracelets
were originally sold for between $2.50 and $3 and were made from nickel-plate
or copper. In September 1970, VIVA attended the “National League of Families
annual meeting in Washington, DC” and was amazed at the interest of the wives
and parents of those POWs or MIAs in having their man’s name put on bracelets.
On 11 November 1970, the program officially kicked off with a news conference
at the Universal Sheraton Hotel and public response quickly grew to the point
that the group was “receiving over 12,000 requests a day”. The two remaining
students working on the project eventually dropped out of college in order to
work full time with VIVA. “In all, VIVA distributed nearly five million
bracelets and raised enough money to produce untold millions of bumper
stickers, buttons, brochures, matchbooks, newspaper ads, etc., to draw
attention to the missing men. In 1976,
VIVA closed its doors. By then the
American public was tired of hearing about Vietnam and showed no interest in
the POW/MIA issue.” Today, the interest has picked up again and bracelets are
still being engraved and distributed. I proudly wear my MIA Bracelet for
Captain James Edmund Carlton Jr. We should NEVER forget!
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