THE HISTORY OF THE POW / MIA FLAG AND LOGO
by Theresa Linsky
On a sunny Memorial Day, in most every town in the US, the streets are lined with United States flags. The citizens of this country are showing their patriotism for the land they live in and love so much. Since the invention of flags 4,000 years ago, they have been used to give information and to send messages. The symbols and icons on flags represent important ideas and meaning – they portray what many words would take to say.
Only second to Old Glory, the POW / MIA flag is the most widely recognized flag in this country. It is sewn onto jackets and vests, adhered to windows of cars and homes and it flies over American Legion posts, union halls and the White House. As a result of the legilation passed overwhelmingly during the 100th session of Congress, the flag was installed in the United States Capitol Rotunda during a ceremony hosted by both Houses. It is the only banner from a private organization to ever hang there. In 1990, Congress recognized the POW / MIA flag and designated it as “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 South Asia, thus ending the uncertainy for their families and the Nation.” In 1998, Congress passed another law demanding that the flag be flown on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, POW / MIA Recognition Day and Veterans Day.
The flag was designed in 1971 for the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, a group organized to press for the release of all prisoners and repatriation of the remains from the Vietnam War. Mrs. Mary Hoff, whose husband was a Navy pilot shot down over Laos in 1970 and listed by the Pentagon as Missing In Action and a member of the League, realized the need for a symbol of those they were fighting for. Motivated by an article in the Jacksonville, Florida Times Union about an American company that had made the flag for the People’s Republic of China when the nation had just joined the United Nations, she contacted Norman Rivkees, Vice President of Annin & Company. Together, along with Annin’s advertising agency, they designed a flag to represent our missing men. Upon the League’s approval, the flags were manufactured for distribution.
In the center of the jet-black banner is the backdrop for the League’s emblem —the white circle with a rifle-bearing soldier in a watchtower who sits behind the silhouette of a young man and a single strand of barbed wire. Above are the letters POW and MIA separated by a five pointed star. The bottom of the emblem is framed by a wreath with the echoing words, “You are not forgotten.” The importance of the POW / MIA flag lies in its continued visibility – a constant reminder of the trials and tribulations of America’s POWs and MIAs.
