Aaron Bean U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 4th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
Aaron Bean U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 4th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
Recently, U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean (FL-04), along with U.S. Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) and U.S. Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate the third Friday of September annually as “National POW/MIA Recognition Day.” This legislation aims to encourage Americans to honor the service and sacrifice of all POW/MIA by participating in local commemorative celebrations, displaying the POW/MIA flag, and performing acts of goodwill and service to the families of these American heroes.
According to the Department of Defense, over 142,000 service members have been captured as prisoners of war (POW) and more than 81,000 are listed as missing in action (MIA) since World War II.
Congressman Bean stated upon introduction, “We will never be able to repay our debt to those who have given their last measure of devotion for America. But we can continue to do our solemn duty to remember. With this national day of recognition, we the people of the United States salute those who endured great dangers at the hands of the enemy and those lost in service to our nation and reaffirm our commitment to resolve the accounting of our great American patriots.”
The original cosponsors include Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Pat Ryan (D-NY), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Susan Wild (D-PA), Kay Granger (R-TX), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), August Pfluger (R-TX), Don Davis (D-NC), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Randy Weber (R-TX), Brian Mast (R-FL), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Troy Carter (D-LA), Marc Veasey (D-TX), Vern Buchanan(R-FL ), Elise Stefanik(R-NY ), Don Bacon(R -NE ), Bill Keating(D-MA ), and Steven Horsford(D -NV ).
The resolution is supported by organizations including Enlisted National Guard Association of the U.S. (EANGUS ), National Guard Association of the U.S.(NGAUS ), Vietnam Veterans of America(VVA ), Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A(JWV ), and Military Officers Association of America(MOAA ).
In May 2023, Congressman Bean introduced the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum Act to designate the POW/MIA Memorial Museum at Cecil Field as a national landmark aimed at honoring, connecting, inspiring, and educating Americans about prisoners of war and those missing in action.
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