P.O.W. / M.I.A. Memorial Bridge

The memorial bridge is a 4-lane, concrete and steel, divided span over the Arkansas River. The bridge was designated in 2008, in honor of Prisoners of War (POW) and those who were listed as Missing in Action (MIA) while serving as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, during any armed conflict against an enemy of the United States. (Note: Ponca City is a city in Kay and Osage Counties, in north-central Oklahoma, some 18 miles south of the Kansas border, with a population of some 24,527 [2016]. It is the largest city in Kay County and is situated on the Arkansas River. The city was named after the Ponca Indian Tribe, which had been removed from Nebraska and resettled on allotted lands in Indian Territory [Oklahoma] from 1877-1880. The city’s economic development has been largely dependent on the boom and bust periods of the petroleum industry. It was a refining center for many years and the home of Marland Oil Company, and headquarters for Continental Oil Company [Conoco].) (Note: There have been POW/MIAs in every American war and in most large-scale military operations. Over time, personnel in these categories are “accounted for” by procedural guidelines and the numbers, for that war period, diminish. Therefore, current MIA totals do not necessarily reflect “missing” individuals, but rather personnel who have “not been accounted for” under the guidelines. In 2017, over 1600 Americans are still unaccounted for, from the war in Southeast Asia [e.g. Vietnam].)