LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nearly 81,000 American service members remain missing after serving in conflicts dating back to World War II. Eighty-three of those are Nevadans who are currently listed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action, according to the Nevada Department of Veterans Affairs.
On Friday, National POW/MIA Day was observed throughout the country on the third Friday of September each year. A Remembrance Ceremony was held at Nellis Air Force Base to pay tribute to these POWs and MIAs.
The names of those 83 Nevadans were read off and a 21-gun salute by Las Vegas Metro Police Department along with a flyover marked the occasion reminding these service members to never forget their fellow service members.
The keynote speaker for the event is one of only two former POWs still alive here in Nevada.
“We still have POWs, especially in southeast Asia and we still have a lot of people missing. Every year we identify more unfortunately it is usually the remains. Never forget,” Marvin Carter, who was a prisoner of war during the Cold War, said.