The POW/MIA flag serves as a remembrance of US missing and captive service members. The flag has become synonymous with American missing service members from conflicts and wars, especially the Vietnam War. While many of us may know the symbol, we may not know the history of the flag.

The POW/MIA flag serves as a remembrance of US missing and captive service members. The flag has become synonymous with American missing service members from conflicts and wars, especially the Vietnam War. While many of us may know the symbol, we may not know the history of the flag.

According to the Veterans Administration (VA), the idea for a flag, symbolizing the remembrance of unaccounted-for service members, was developed by Mrs. Michael Hoff in 1971. Hoff’s husband was listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. The flag’s design, however, was created by WWII veteran Newt Heisley. The passing of U.S. Public Law 101-355 on August 10, 1990, officially designated the flag (1):

“The symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.”

In 1980, the POW/MIA flag became the only flag other than the US flag to fly over the White House1. 

The POW/MIA flag is likely the most well-known symbol to recognize and remember our unaccounted-for service members but the idea for POW/MIA awareness grew from older symbols and organizations. Voices in a Vital America, an early POW/MIA organization, distributed bracelets as a public service awareness campaign. Their efforts gained tremendous momentum in the early ’70s but with the ending of the Vietnam War, support for the group waned and the organization closed in 1976 (2).

The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing, formed in the ‘60s and officially formalized in the early ‘70s, had an instrumental part in bringing POW/MIA awareness to the public. Mrs. Hoff was a member of the league. The league also had an impact on when the first National POW/MIA Recognition Day took place.  July 18, 1979, was chosen as the date because it fell around the time of the league's annual meeting. The posters made by the VA, to commemorate the day, used the same symbol as the POW/MIA flag(2). 

The POW/MIA flag continues to be a symbol of unaccounted-for service members. Occasions and protocol for displaying the POW/MIA flag can be found here. 

Sources:

1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/powmia.pdf
2. The United States Flag Store. https://www.united-states-flag.com/history-pow-mia-flag.html