By an act of Congress in 1998, a special day of honor was established. This is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, made official with the passage of Section 1082 of the Defense Authorization Act. The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency lists 80,957 soldiers who are POW/MIAs.
- 71,857 – WWII
- 7,401 – Korean
- 1,566 – Vietnam
- 126 – Cold War
- 7 – Gulf Wars and Libya1
One POW/MIA is too many!
“The Defense Department agency tasked with accounting for the missing in action from America’s wars identified 172 service members in the just-ended fiscal year, a slight uptick from previous years but still short of the effort’s annual goal. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified 135 service members missing from World War II, 33 from the Korean War and four from the Vietnam War in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, according to DPAA spokesman Sean Everette. That is up from the 158 missing service members identified during the previous fiscal year and 166 from the year before that.”2
It’s hard to imagine what the families of POW/MIAs are going through. They dealt with the anxiety and separation as a loved one went off to war. They received the news that their loved one is either a POW or MIA. Questions of their welfare plague the thoughts of moms, dads, spouses, and children, wondering if they are experiencing torture or if they have been killed. Will we ever see them again? Will we know that their bodies will come back to us so we can honor our dead and have some closure by knowing what has happened to them?
The Department of Defense has designated six days throughout the year where Federal buildings must fly the POW/MIA flag. Personally, I question why that flag isn’t flown all the time. The flag shouldn’t come down until every soldier has been recovered. Realistically, we know that every soldier will not be recovered. Tragic accidents or violent acts of inhumanity may have made the recovery of remains impossible. Therefore, fly that flag in their honor and in the honor of their families.
While there are still many who are missing, God doesn’t have any POW/MIA casualties. He knows where everyone is at all the time. Psalms 139:7-13 says, “Whither shall I go
from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? (8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. (9) If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; (10) Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (11) If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. (12) Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. (13) For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”
From the beginning story in Genesis, Adam and Eve tried to hide from God in the Garden of Eden. Jonah tried to hide from God in the belly of a ship going to opposite direction of where God had called Him to go. Many Bible characters tried to run but God knew exactly where they were. Others tried to hide things from the Lord but the Lord knew. Just ask Ananias and Saphirra! And God hears when one Christian gets disgruntled with another. Euodia and Syntyche could tell you all about it.
For those POW/MIAs who are still living, we need to pray that 1) they will be found, 2) that the unsaved ones would turn to Jesus for the salvation of their soul and 3) that the believers would know great peace and comfort in the midst of their situation. They might even have the opportunity to lead some of their captors to Christ. Regardless of how the Lord intervenes, we never have to pray for the Lord to be with them. He IS and HAS BEEN all along.
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” (Psalms 139:6)
1https://www.dpaa.mil/
2https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-10-10/dpaa-mia-service-member-identifications-15471562.html
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