National POW/MIA Recognition Day By: Holly Shaffner In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation establishing National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The day is commemorated on the third Friday in September. Today, more than 80,000 Americans remain missing or unaccounted for from WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Cold and Gulf Wars and other conflicts. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, that includes 72,404 from WWII; 7,555 from the Korean War; 1,584 from the Vietnam War; 126 from the Cold War; and 5 from the Gulf Wars. The Agency continues the search for the missing, fulfilling the nation's promise to leave no service member behind. Ceremonies can be found across the United States and no matter where they are held, these National POW/ MIA Recognition Day ceremonies share the common purpose of honoring those who were held captive and returned, as well as those who remain missing. In addition to attending ceremonies, there is a POW Liberation Memorial at Miramar National Cemetery to visit. Tom Crosby was just 10 years old when he and
Keeping The Spirit Alive! Honor Flight San Diego kept the spirit alive by hosting the largest WWII Veteran attended event in the country for National Spirit of ‘45 Day. The day was August 14th, 1945, when President Truman announced to the world that Japan had surrendered and WWII was over. This year is the 80th Anniversary of the End of WWII. For the last five years, Honor Flight San Diego has organized the San Diego Spirit of ‘45 event. This year was especially historic and memorable with fortyeight WWII Veterans and four Rosie the Riveters in attendance. The oldest veteran in attendance was 109-years-young and served in the Battle of Midway. The WWII Veterans received their WWII Victory Medals they may not have received as they left service, and the Rosies received their Congressional Gold Medal that was awarded in Washington, D.C. in 2024. A short video of the WWII Veterans and Rosies can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_z9Dg-nUzo The ceremony was held at the San Diego Air and Space Museum located in Balboa Park. The event was also a reunion for the WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War Veterans who have flown on their Honor Flight from San Diego. One of the favorite parts of the program is asking WWII Veterans “Where were you on August 14th, 1945, when the war ended?” Filmmaker CJ Machado
his family were taken prisoner in 1943 at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in the Philippines. He was held prisoner until the Army’s 1st Calvary liberated the camp in February 1945, just before Japan’s “KILL ALL” order could be carried out. The Liberation Memorial was commemorated on National POW Day in 2011. Tom’s grandson was the model for the emaciated soldier breaking free of the barbed wire and darkness and into the Sunshine of Freedom” Tom joined the U.S. Navy and served during the Korean War. He also located his WWII U.S. Army Liberator, Lou Berger, and they remained friends until Lou’s passing. President Carter’s proclamation still holds true today - “All Americans should recognize the special debt we owe our fellow citizens who, as prisoners during wartime, sacrificed their freedom so that we might enjoy the blessings of peace and liberty." Filmmaker CJ Machado from Operation Call-To-Service produced a short video, with their answers, as a trailer for a future documentary. The video can be viewed by clicking on Where were you? www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIB8JYei6ZQ
Rosie the Riveters receive Congressional Gold Medals Photo Credit: Mickey Strand Photography
September 2nd is another historic date as it marks the 80th Anniversary of signing of the Instrument of Surrender which formally ended the hostilities of WWII. It was a formal ceremony onboard the USS Missouri and attended by officials of the U.S., Allies, and Japan. For more information about Honor Flight San Diego visit www.honorflightsandiego.org
6 WWW.SanDiegoVeteransMagazine.com / September 2025