Following Bipartisan Push Led by Senator Hassan, POW/MIA Flag Returns to Rightful Place Atop White House
Today Marks National Former POW Recognition Day
WASHINGTON – Today, the POW/MIA flag was raised atop the White House, with the American flag, following a months-long push led by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
“I am thankful that the POW/MIA flag now once again flies high in its rightful place above the White House. It is a powerful way to continually remember and pay tribute to the tremendous sacrifice of prisoners of war and missing service members. I am thinking of their families and loved ones today and always as we honor their brave service to keep our country safe, secure, and free,” said Senator Hassan. “I am also grateful today for the tireless advocacy of New Hampshire veterans, especially Bob Jones, and Veterans Service Organization leaders across the country who never let up in their efforts to ensure that the POW/MIA flag flies where the American flag flies.”
In 2019, Senator Hassan and colleagues passed into law bipartisan legislation to require the POW/MIA flag be displayed wherever the American flag is displayed on prominent federal properties to honor the more than 81,000 Americans who are listed as Prisoners of War (POW), Missing in Action (MIA), or otherwise unaccounted for from our country’s past wars and conflicts. However, the previous administration moved the POW/MIA flag from atop the White House last year for a Memorial Day event and never returned it.
In the first week of the Biden administration, Senator Hassan led a bipartisan push for the return of the flag to atop the White House, which happened for the first time today. This effort was supported by the American Legion, the National League of POW/MIA Families, Rolling Thunder, Inc., and numerous New Hampshire groups including the Northeast POW/MIA Network; NH VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars); Colonel Edward Cross Chapter, the NH Chapter of AUSA; Rolling Thunder ® Inc. Chapter One NH; and Vietnam Veterans of America New Hampshire.
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