NATIONAL FORMER POW RECOGNITION DAY 2026

        Presidential Message on National Former Prisoner           of War Recognition Day

The White House

April 9, 2026

This National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, we honor every American service member who returned home after enduring the horrors of captivity by enemy forces during times of war.  My Administration will always uphold the promise to leave no warrior behind and to bring home the missing souls from every war or conflict.

No one is more deserving of our Nation’s appreciation than the former prisoners of war (POWs) who put their lives on the line for freedom’s cause and survived brutality and violence beyond all comprehension for the sake of our posterity.  These brave warriors endured unthinkable atrocities, torture, mental and physical abuse, separation from family, and horrendous living conditions.  Their selflessness and strength deserve our everlasting respect, and as Commander in Chief, I will never stop fighting for these exceptional heroes and all of our incredible veterans.

This year, as we celebrate 250 glorious years of American independence, we are reminded that this milestone is possible only because brave men and women from every generation answered the call of liberty when it was in peril.  As our American Flag flies high over a Nation made free by their sacrifice, the POW/MIA flag flies at federal sites just below it—a requirement I was proud to sign into law during my first term—to serve as a constant reminder of those still missing in action and our duty to account for them and bring them home. 

As we pause today to celebrate the POWs who returned home, we also acknowledge their families who lived for months and years in a prison of uncertainty and fear while awaiting news of their loved ones.  This unimaginable sacrifice deserves our utmost gratitude, admiration, and awe.

Our returned POWs represent the best of America.  They understand what it means to serve a cause greater than self, and their names and stories should never be forgotten by a people forever in their debt.  Today and every day, we honor their extraordinary sacrifices, courage, patriotism, and resilience.

❀

N.B.: This proclamation is not as badly written as previous ones by the Trump White House. It was still issued late. The document did not appear on the White House website until late morning on the 9th. Previous presidents posted the day before. Sadly, there is no mention of either the POWs of Japan or of the Civil War. April 9 is a significant date for both.

April 9 is the 84th anniversary of the 1942 fall of Bataan to invading Japanese forces in the Philippines. Army Major General Edward P. King surrendered to Japanese General Masaharu Homma that morning. About 12,000 Americans and 66,000 Filipinos became prisoners of war making it the largest contingent of U.S. soldiers ever to surrender in U.S. military history.

There is, however, a Presidential Message on the Anniversary of the Surrender at Appomattox. April 9 is the 161st anniversary of the 1865 surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively signaling the end of the Civil War. The formal and legal end of the Civil War is August 20, 1866,

Trump's Appomattox proclamation was not mandated by Congress. It is also the first by a president of the United States.

NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY, 2025

A PROCLAMATION

[ANNOTATED]

September 19, 2025

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

From the battlefields of the Revolutionary War to the trenches of World War II to the sprawling jungles of Vietnam, thousands of our patriotic service members have been horrifically captured by the enemy and forced to endure excruciating torture, agony, and distress in the service of our Nation.  On this National Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Recognition Day, we remember our valiant American Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen who were captured while fighting on foreign soil and our missing in action who have not yet returned home.  We honor their courage, we salute their patriotism, and we vow full accountability for the more than 80,000 heroes still missing from the wars and conflicts of the past. [Aside from the atrocious grammar and writing unfit for a White House statement, the facts are incorrect. Not all American POW/MIAs were captured or killed on foreign soil. There were POW/MIAs in the Revolutionary War (note the contradiction in the first sentence), the War of 1812, and the Civil War to name a few. During WWII, Americans were made POWs in American territories such as Wake Island, Guam, and Attu as well as captured on American merchant vessels. Not all military POWs were members of the military. During WWII in the Pacific, for example, the civilian contractors on Wake Island were eventually given veterans status, although none were formally enlisted members of the U.S. Armed Services. Some historians believe that more American Revolutionary War soldiers died as POWs of the British than in battle.]

Every American POW has answered the call of duty to fight not only for our country, but for the futures of our families, fellow soldiers, and our beloved Nation.  Imprisoned by enemy forces, American POWs endured years of deprivation, brutality, and anguish, sustained only by uncommon resilience and grit.  Their families lived in their own prison of fear and perpetual heartache, hoping and praying for a safe return.  For the loved ones of the missing, the unfathomable grief endures.

During my first Administration, I signed the National POW/MIA Flag Act directing the POW/MIA flag to be [visibly] flown with the American flag [on prominent federal buildings]. The black and white banner represents the noble sacrifices made in defense of our freedom and serves as an enduring and powerful symbol of our unwavering commitment to leaving no one behind. [Inexplicably, eight months after President Trump signed S. 693, the “National POW/MIA Flag Act, in November 2019 he had the POW/MIA flag removed from atop the White House. It had flown there under the American flag since 1998, the Clinton Administration. The POW/MIA flag was illegally missing until President Joe Biden returned it atop the White House on April 9, 2021, the anniversary of the fall of the Bataan Penisular in the Philippines and the beginning of the infamous Bataan Death March. It remains there as of April 2026.]

As Commander in Chief, I remain committed to pursuing full accountability for those captured and missing in action.  During my first term, I secured the repatriation of remains from North Korea, believed to be at least 250 individuals who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Korean War.  In March of this year, our Nation identified the 100th service member from the remains — ending decades of uncertainty for the families of the fallen.  This sacred mission will continue until every American is returned home. [North Korea returned 55 cases of possible remains in the summer of 2018. None hve been returned since. The North Koreans suspended the program in March 2019. Of the 250 possible people among the 501 bones returned, a number are South Korean. The identification process is ongoing.]

Today, the First Lady joins me in honoring America’s POW/MIAs and their families.  The debt of gratitude for their unimaginable sacrifices in defense of our sovereignty can never be repaid, and must never be forgotten. [Notably, in 2017, Trump called these men and women "suckers and losers."]

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 19, 2025, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.  I salute all American POWs who, in the presence of great dangers and uncertainties, honored their duty to this great country.  Let this day also serve as a reminder for our Nation to strengthen our resolve to account for those who are still missing and provide their families long-sought answers.  I call upon Federal, State, tribal, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.

                               DONALD J. TRUMP

National Former POW Recognition Day

Wednesday, April 9, was National Former POW Recognition Day in the United States and the Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan) in the Philippines. Both memorialize the 83rd anniversary of the surrender of the Bataan Peninsula to invading Imperial Japanese forces.

Every year, there is a formal ceremony on Mt Samat that features the Philippines' president, cabinet, and foreign dignitaries. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s anniversary statement, like last year's, again made no mention of Japan and simply asked Filipinos to follow the example of their country's World War II heroes. 

As you can see from this video, no one, not the president of the Philippine, not the Secretary of the Department of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro, not the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., nor the deputy chief of mission of the US Embassy, Y. Robert Ewing, identified in their remarks who the enemy was during the battle of Bataan. Japan as a perpetrator and invader was missing from all the statements with the exception of the one by the Japanese ambassador, 

Ambassador Endo Kazuya did not directly say who were the "courageous souls who made the ultimate sacrifice." Instead, he listed the various ways Japan has been helping the Philippines. He only observed that "By facing our history and sincerely reflecting on the deeds and sacrifices during those dark times, we lay the very foundation of our future-oriented partnership – one built upon mutual respect, understanding and trust."  The defenders of the Philippines have faded into their islands' invaders. 

In the U.S. the Philippine Embassy and the Washington Filipino Community held a program at the National WWII Memorial remembering Bataan.  On April 5, the Bataan Legacy Historical Society held a grand commemoration at the San Francisco National Cemetery for the 83rd Anniversary of the Bataan Death March and 80th Anniversary of the end of WWII. On April 4, the 14th Annual Chesapeake Bataan Death March Memorial Walk was held in Chesapeake, Virginia and attended by crew members of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). 

Neither the House or Senate Veterans Affairs Committees issued statements on April 9. None of the committee members did either. Maybe next year we can organize a letter writing campaign to encourage them to acknowledge National Former POW Recognition Day. Frankly, there is the same silence on National POW/MIA Recognition Day in September. 

By a law, signed by President Ronald Reagan on April 1, 1988, presidents are obligated to issue a proclamation to commemorate National Former POW Recognition Day and the unique service of POWs. This year's proclamation was a bit different from others. It was issued late in the day--proclamations are usually issued the day before--and less focused on POWs. See HERE.

Talking about "Bataan," the Department of Defense removed at least 13 public webpages that mentioned Bataan. This was part of a purge of DOD websites that were believed to display some sort of diversity, inclusion, and equality content. A 59-word list was presented to help identify content for removal. The list included "history," "respect," and "dignity."

This database, put together by Associated Press, identifies 13 webpages removed that mentioned Bataan: 9 about the Bataan Death March Memorial at the Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS; 3 reporting honoring Bataan Death March victims at the Osan Air Base in South Korea; and one at the Misawa Air Base in Japan reporting on the Osan ceremony.

When I first looked at this database, when the controversy was reported in March, I only found three webpages that mentioned Bataan. They all originated at an air base in New Mexico. Unfortunately, I did not record this. These pages appear to have been reinstated.