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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 AS NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY
WHEREAS, throughout our Nation’s history, American service members held as Prisoners of War have endured extraordinary sacrifice, including isolation, captivity, trauma, hardship and, in some cases, inhumane treatment in violation of international law and the standards of human dignity; and
WHEREAS, National POW/MIA Recognition Day was established in 1979 by proclamation of President Jimmy Carter and has since been observed annually on the third Friday of September to honor former Prisoners of War and those who remain missing and unaccounted for; and
WHEREAS, generations of American service members have answered our Nation’s call to duty, many risking capture, imprisonment, injury and death in defense of our country. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor those who endured captivity, remember those who remain missing and unaccounted for and stand with the families who continue to await answers; and
WHEREAS, nearly 81,000 Americans remain missing from past conflicts, and the continuing work to locate, identify and account for our Nation’s missing personnel represents an enduring commitment to their families and to the promise that their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten; and
WHEREAS, Cook County remains committed to honoring the service and sacrifice of our Nation’s veterans, active-duty service members, former Prisoners of War, those who remain missing or unaccounted for and the families who have carried the uncertainty of a loved one’s absence; and
WHEREAS, Cook County recognizes that the freedoms enjoyed by our communities were secured and preserved through the service and sacrifice of generations of Americans in uniform and that remembering our Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action is an obligation that extends beyond a single day of recognition; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Comm...
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