Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks will host the Department of Defense 2023 National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony to honor those who were held captive and returned, as well as those who remain unaccounted for from past conflicts, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, at 10 a.m. EDT on the Pentagon River Terrace Parade Field. The program will include remarks by Deputy Secretary Hicks and a four-ship missing man flyover with F-16s by the 113th Wing of the D.C. Air National Guard.
This is an open press event, except for TV/video coverage, which will be pooled. All journalists covering the ceremony must obtain a wristband from security screening. Journalists without a Pentagon access badge must go through security screening at the base of the River Entrance Pedestrian Bridge, and will be escorted to the ceremony from there. Security screening will begin at approximately 9 a.m. EDT; have proof of affiliation and two forms of photo identification. Security screening at this location will close promptly at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Journalists with a Pentagon access badge, and whom have entered the building prior to 9 a.m. EDT, may go through security screening at the River Entrance to obtain their wristband; please obtain your wristband at the River Entrance by 9:35 a.m. EDT. All journalists covering the ceremony, including those with a Pentagon access badge, must be in place no later than 9:45 a.m. EDT. Once security screening has been initiated at the base of the bridge, all journalists entering the building via the bridge for any reason, including those with a Pentagon facility access card not covering the arrival ceremony, must undergo security screening. Please call 703-697-5131 with any questions.