Remarks by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the Pentagon Ceremony on National POW/MIA Recognition Day (As Delivered)Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin[...]

Well, good morning, everyone. General Brown, thanks for that kind introduction, and thanks for your leadership.

I'd like to welcome leaders from across the Department, including Kelly McKeague, the director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. It is indeed a privilege to be here with all of you.

Today we reaffirm our shared commitment to bring all of our people home. Each and every one.

And every year, on the third Friday in September, we gather on National POW/MIA Recognition Day. But we carry our duty to them every day - to fight to free those held captive, to commemorate those who came back home, to search for and recover those still missing, and to do right by our POW and MIA families.

As the Chairman said, we're honored today to be joined today by former prisoners of war, including Air Force Colonel Mike Brazelton, who endured more than six years in captivity in Vietnam, and Rear Admiral Robert Shumaker, who was held captive there for eight years.

Colonel Brazelton and Rear Admiral Shumaker, your bravery and your sacrifice inspire us all. And ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a round of applause for these American heroes.

[Applause]

I'd also like to recognize Colonel Brazelton's family - as well as the loved ones of those still missing in action. In the face of loss, and uncertainty, and anguish, you have shown incredible resilience and resolve. And we strive to live up to your example. So thanks for being here.

And to all the military service organizations and veterans service organizations, thanks for your support and your partnership.

You know, I spent a brief 41 years in the Army. And the Soldier's Creed says, "I will never leave a fallen comrade."

We lived that value. And we still do. We bring our troops home. No matter what.

And so in my first months as Secretary of Defense, I made it a priority to visit a DPAA lab in Hawaii. And I saw firsthand the astounding skill and care that DPAA puts into finding and identifying our missing personnel.

To try to provide loved ones with answers, DPAA brings together quite a team: researchers and anthropologists; archaeologists and forensic specialists; medics and interpreters; and experts in explosive ordnance disposal.

It is hard work - both physically and emotionally. And it's sometimes very dangerous. But for DPAA, it's a labor of love. And it is a sacred calling.

And you can see the results. As the Chairman said, over the past year, DPAA has identified 111 missing personnel from World War II, 28 from the Korean War, and four from the Vietnam War. Now, that is quite a feat. So let's give DPAA a hand.

[Applause]

The DPAA works closely with some 46 international allies and partners. We rely on their cooperation and assistance. And we're honored to have ambassadors and defense attachés who represent some of these countries with us today - including Ambassador Markarova from Ukraine. Again, thanks to all of you for being here.

Each identification is the sum of tireless diplomacy, planning, fieldwork, and painstaking analysis back in the lab.

And each identification represents America's ironclad commitment to bring our missing home-no matter how far away they are in space or time.

You know, back in December 1972, Captain Ralph Chipman and Captain Ron Forrester of the Marine Corps were flying their A-6 Intruder on a nighttime mission over North Vietnam. Sadly, they never came back.

In 2021, Captain David Kim of DPAA led a recovery mission at the crash site. His team worked in austere conditions and stifling humidity.

And he made a point of asking his team why they were there. And his teammates declared, "Chipman and Forrester." And they answered with that every time that he asked.

It was the names of the aviators - and the names of their families.

And after three missions across three years, DPAA located, repatriated, and identified these two heroes. Captain Kim called contributing to this mission one his most humbling experiences of his career.

Captain Forrester's daughter Karoni was 2 when her father deployed to Southeast Asia. And last year, she met Captain Kim. And they bonded immediately. And she invited him to attend her father's funeral.

And so next month, Captain Forrester's family - alongside the man who helped find him - will lay him to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Today we also pay tribute to our prisoners of war. Many returned with honor after long ordeals - for them and their loved ones. But others lost their lives in captivity.

Today, I'm also thinking of Army Technician Fifth Grade Clifford Strickland, who fought in World War II. He endured the Bataan Death March. And he and more than 2,500 other POWs died in a prison camp in the Philippines. Like many other Americans, he was buried in an unmarked grave in the camp cemetery. And after the war, he was laid to rest as an Unknown in the Manila American Cemetery.

Yet as the years advanced, so did DNA analysis. In 2023, DPAA identified Clifford Strickland. And this summer, 82 years after he died in a distant prison camp, he was finally laid to rest near his parents in Florence, Colorado.

You know, 27 years ago, the late Senator and Naval Academy graduate John McCain spoke at this ceremony. Senator McCain had endured six awful years as a POW in Vietnam. And he called on all Americans to "remember the heroes whose company we were once blessed with, whose sense of duty was unequaled, and whose love of home and family cost them the lives they longed to return to."

So let us remember those heroes. And let us show that our dedication to this mission spans generations.

I'm very pleased that we're joined today by Naval Academy Midshipmen who spent part of their summer in Vietnam looking for the remains of our missing service members. Let's give them a hand.

[Applause]

And we vow again to keep working, to keep searching, and to keep the faith.

You know, from my office, I look out onto this parade ground. And every day, I see the American flag and the POW/MIA flag. And that flag's motto is a rallying cry not only for everyone who works at the Pentagon, but also wherever it flies across the country.

And it says: "You are not forgotten."

Not here. Never here.

That flag flies for all who have been found, and for all who are still missing, and for all the families who suffer and mourn and wait. You have endured terrible uncertainty, lived with terrible absence, and suffered terrible grief.

We are humbled by your strength. And we're inspired by your resilience.

We are proud to stand with you. And we are proud to work with you. Because we will never give up. We will never lose hope. And we will always honor the sacrifice and service of your loved ones.

May God bless you. May God bless our troops, our veterans, and their families. And may God bless the United States of America.

Thank you very much.