City honorably remembers veterans with show of colors

May 27, 2009 6:42 pm
The POW-MIA flag joined others in the raising of the final steel beam to the Auburn Professional Plaza during a recent public ceremony.
The POW-MIA flag joined others in the raising of the final steel beam to the Auburn Professional Plaza during a recent public ceremony.

The articles in the Auburn Reporter regarding Memorial Day and its significance for veterans reminded me of the POW-MIA (Prisoner Of War-Missing In Action) flag that the City of Auburn proudly displays at City Hall along with the American flag.

The black flag, with the profile of a veteran, was even displayed during the “topping-off” ceremony about a week ago at the new building across from City Hall.

According to the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command, a U.S. Military agency formed in 2003 to find missing military personnel, there are still 74,791 from World War II, 8,050 from the Korean Conflict, 1,742 from the Vietnam War and 127 from the Gulf War, all of whom are believed to be casualties, not deserters. That’s about 85,000 families who have, at least up to now, been denied the emotional closure of knowing how their loved ones died serving their country.

Jeff McIntyre, a City of Auburn facilities worker, was instrumental in gaining greater recognition of these lost veterans when he led a statewide campaign in 2002 to establish state law RCW 1.20.017 that requires state agencies to display the POW-MIA flag on five national holidays, including Memorial Day. The Auburn City Council decided to go a step further than the state law, displaying the flag year around at selected locations in the city.

Auburn is justifiably proud of its efforts to honor veterans. Examples, besides leadership in displaying the POW-MIA flag, include: the long-running Veterans Day Parade, the largest west of the Mississippi, according to Mayor Pete Lewis; the Veterans Memorial arches at Veterans Memorial Park near Auburn High School; a building at that park which houses a Veterans Affairs office; and sponsorship two years ago of displaying a three-quarter-sized replica of the Washington D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Memorial Day is only one of many special days where we can remember with gratitude the contributions of millions of American military personnel to the continuation of our cherished freedoms, and especially remember the missing 85,000 among them.

– Rich Wagner, Auburn City Councilman