A Lifetime of Waiting

You Are Not Forgotten

Their stories are heartbreaking. For decades, thousands of families - over 7,700 - have wondered when and if their son, husband, brother, or uncle will return from the Korean War. They’ve spent a lifetime waiting for a letter, a phone call, or a visit from a government official.

But there’s been nothing but silence. No priority envelopes, no unexpected phone calls, no emails.

Time Is Running Out

The third Friday in September is designated as National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and although nearly four decades have passed since the founding of the event that honors all Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA), the importance of the day increases with each passing year.

For POW/MIA families, time is running out. For many, it’s already too late. Countless parents, grandparents, siblings, and aunts and uncles of young men who left their hometowns to “defend a country they never knew and a people they never met” have passed away. They died without answers.

Sadly, there have been over 83,000 US servicemen listed as "missing in action" since the beginning of World War II. Over 7,700 are from the Korean War, 1,600 from the Vietnam War, and 132 from the Cold War and post-1991 conflicts. The remaining 73,000 Americans perished in WWII, with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) estimating over half were “lost at sea."

Thousands of soldiers and Marines were declared "missing in action" at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. (Photo credit: US Marine Corps)

Endless Questions

What’s easy to forget (but not for the families) is that for each person who didn’t come home, a painful void was created in the lives of those left behind. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, and sons and daughters spent years, or in many cases lifetimes, wondering what happened.

Their questions are almost endless:

“Did my father die in his plane or did he survive the crash and become a prisoner?”

“Why can’t they tell me what happened to my husband? They don’t even know if he’s dead or alive.”

“How did my brother die? At why can’t they find his body?”

“Why can’t anyone tell me if my great uncle’s remains are buried at the Punchbowl or if they are still on a mountain in North Korea?”

And the two most common questions, “When will he come home, and when can we give him a proper burial?”

We Will Always Remember: POW/MIA Recognition Day

Tragically, thousands of POW/MIA families have yet to get an answer. But they’re waiting, just as they have since their loved one went missing nearly 70 years ago.

For these families, POW/MIA Recognition Day is a powerful reminder that “You are not forgotten.” As Americans, we should always remember the young men who served, sacrificed, and died for our freedom and the freedom of our allies.

Diana Mills, the niece of PFC Earl C. Nazelrod, believes that her uncle's death was not in vain. The 19-year-old US Army soldier was taken prisoner during the Korean War and was starved to death and buried in a makeshift grave at a remote North Korean POW camp. Talking about him, she said:

His sacrifice represents the right of the South Korean people to live free from tyranny and free from an oppressive dictatorship. God bless the people of South Korea. May freedom and liberty one day reach the North Korean people, for every human has the natural right to be free.

Yes, every human does have the right to be free. But as we know, freedom isn't free. It comes at high price.

Today, we salute the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who never came home. We also salute their families, who have sacrificed so much. They’ve waited a lifetime to do what most of us take for granted: bury a loved one, visit a gravesite, and place flowers at a tombstone.