National POW/MIA Recognition Day was observed with a ceremony at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Sept. 18, 2026, presented by Marion County Veterans Services. Upwards of 100 attendees honored those who served and sacrificed or never came home.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency states that more than 80,000 service members remain missing from “previous conflicts” and an estimated 38,000 are “still recoverable,” according to war.gov
The day recognizing and honoring Prisoners of War (POW) and service members Missing in Action (MIA) was first designated by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Daisy Diaz, a U.S. Navy veteran and director of Marion County Veterans Services, opened the ceremony, which included the presentation “Voices of Captivity: The Poetry of Prisoners of War.”…