National Former POW Recognition Day set for Florida

Hundreds of former prisoners of war, surviving family members and others are expected to pay their honor and respect at an event Saturday in Tampa, Fla.

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day’s origins lie in the Bataan Death March, said Jim “Moe” Moyer, national co-chairman of Honor-Release-Return, an organization committed to repatriating America’s POWs.

The march began with the surrender of thousands of American and Filipino troops to the Japanese army in the Philippines on April 9, 1942. Hundreds of POWs died during the march, and when U.S. troops returned home after World War II, they encouraged Congress to approve April 9 as an annual day of remembrance and recognition.

In conjunction with Saturday’s event will be the dedication of a new POW/MIA Memorial at Hillsborough County Veterans Park & Museum, 3602 N. Hwy. 301, Tampa, Fla.

Members of local American Legion posts and other veterans service organizations are scheduled to participate in Saturday's program, along with other veterans and members of Florida's House of Representatives.

Moyer, a proud Florida resident, praised the park’s existing displays honoring America’s veterans.

“From a visual standpoint, some of these displays deserve to be on the National Mall,” he said.

The event will begin with a meet and greet at 9:30 a.m. with the official service beginning at 11 a.m. Keynote speakers scheduled include Ret. Lt. Gen. Michael Linnington, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency; Bill Norwood, a former POW and founder of the Korean War Ex-POW Association; and Pam Cain of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.

Moyer noted that in addition to Saturday’s event in Tampa, the National Prisoner of War Museum in Andersonville, Ga., will host National POW/MIA Recognition Day Sept. 16-17.