President Proclaims September 18, 2026 National POW/MIA Recognition Day

President Donald J. Trump issued Proclamation 11068 on September 16, 2026, declaring September 18, 2026, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The proclamation appears in the Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 181, pages 59973-59974, and is filed as FR Doc No: 2026-19334 on September 18, 2026, at 11:15 am.

The notice directs that the POW/MIA flag be displayed above the White House and alongside the Stars and Stripes at designated Federal office buildings nationwide. The black-and-white banner bearing the words "You Are Not Forgotten" serves as a visible reminder of the Government's commitment to those who were taken prisoner or remain missing.

The proclamation highlights the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's recent milestone: its 800th identification of remains from the Korean War. It also references the approximately 80,000 service members still missing in action, underscoring the agency's ongoing mission to provide answers to families.

President Trump, joined by the First Lady, affirmed that the Administration will "spare no effort or resource" to fulfill the promise of accounting for every POW/MIA. The language emphasizes the enduring moral obligation to repatriate all missing service members.

The proclamation concludes with the President's signature dated the sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifty-first.