Governor Spencer Cox has declared Friday, September 17, 2021, as POW/MIA Recognition Day in Utah. Utah recognizes and is grateful for the service and sacrifice of these men and women and supports the continued efforts to find and recover the remains of the still missing. Such efforts led to the identification of a Utah sailor, Radioman 3rd Class Theodore Q. Jensen, who was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. His remains were returned to his hometown of Delta, Utah earlier this year.
The declaration reads:
Whereas, 81,671 Americans remain missing or unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf Wars, and other conflicts;
Whereas, the family and friends of unaccounted-for veterans still await the recovery and identification of their remains or, if determined unrecoverable, information regarding their fates;
Whereas, the commitment to accounting for our nation’s POW and MIA service members remains of highest priority for our federal administration;
Whereas, the state of Utah commends, supports, and shares our nation’s commitment to account as fully as possible for Americans still missing or unaccounted for from past wars and conflicts; and,
Whereas, Utah recognizes and seeks to honor the service and sacrifice of these brave soldiers and their loved ones;
Now, therefore, I, Spencer J. Cox, governor of the great state of Utah, do hereby declare September 17, 2021 as, POW/MIA Recognition Day in Utah
Beginning in 1979, National POW/MIA Recognition Day has been commemorated on the third Friday of September to honor and remember the many soldiers who spent time as prisoners of war and those missing in action.
A .pdf version of the declaration may be downloaded here.