WEBVTT

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Joining us for the 2021 Department of

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Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in

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Action Recognition Day ceremony in

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honor of our prisoners of war and those

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still missing in action . The ceremony

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will begin momentarily . Please silence

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all electronic devices and remove any

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badges .

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Oh .

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Mhm mhm

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Okay

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signs

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since .

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Mhm mhm

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Yeah . Yes . Mhm

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trump . Mm

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uh huh . Yeah

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yeah

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yeah . Ladies and gentlemen please

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stand for the arrival of the official

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party and remain standing for the

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national anthem performed by ambassador

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gunnery sergeant kevin senior from the

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United States Marine Band . And the

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indication delivered by Chaplin

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commander thomas flanagan .

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Oh say can you

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see why the

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dorms the lot .

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Mm What's so probably

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we hate Canada but

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twilight's last levy

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whose broad stripes and bright

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stars Through the parable .

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Lost five or

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the run parts we watch .

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We're so God Unpleased . three

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me and the

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roar cats regular . Yeah

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bombs bursting it .

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Yeah april those are

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not I but off the leg

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was still there .

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Yeah . Oh say does

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that star spangled banner

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yet ? Wave . Mhm Okay .

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For the lad of the

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free

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and the home of the

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brave . Mhm .

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Okay

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let us pray

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eternal father . Today we lift our

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hearts and prayers to you for these

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sons and daughters of our nation who

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preserved our freedoms and our missing

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in action and those who paid the

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ultimate price they spent themselves

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without reserve for our protection and

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will never be forgotten . Lord we ask

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that you embrace their souls as we

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humbly pray in thanksgiving for these

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heroes and all the gifts and blessings

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that you have bestowed on our nation ,

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The United States of America reward

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with your strength and fortitude .

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Those who exercise the corporal works

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of mercy and repatriating our heroes .

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These teams share an intense desire and

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a seemingly fathomless capacity to use

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their knowledge , skills and abilities

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to seek in return . Those missing in

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action and those lost on land and sea

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to bring closure for parents , spouses ,

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family and friends who mourn enable us

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all to bring comfort to those who

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grieve . But the consolation that you

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alone can give , strengthen the bonds

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that we share and confirm us in faith ,

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hope and charity , so that we may

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manifest your piece to one another . We

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ask this in your holy name . Amen .

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Please be seated .

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Ladies and gentlemen , General john

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heighten the Vice Chairman of the Joint

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Chiefs of Staff .

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Mhm . Well , good morning Mr Secretary

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distinguished guests Mr Mills honor to

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meet you sir . Especially all the

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former POWs and their loved ones and

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the family members of those missing in

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action . Thank you for all

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participating in the ceremony with us

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this morning . On the hallowed ground

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of us , military cemeteries around the

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world , rest many unidentified american

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service members laying beneath grave

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markers upon which is etched here rests

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in honored glory . A comrade in arms ,

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known but to God to all those former

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prisoners of war . Those missing in

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action , those that endured so much the

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pain , hunger and isolation , the

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mental torment , sometimes physical

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torture that pushed you to the very

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brink . You represent the best in all

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of us . You are the epitome of

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resiliency and dedication to duty .

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Many of you even continued to serve

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after your captivity and we thank you

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for your sacrifice . We're also

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grateful to the men and women of the

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defense POW MIA accounting agency who

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vowed to provide the fullest possible

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accounting for our missing personnel

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and their families and the nation . In

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my last job at the U . S . Strategic

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Command at Offutt Air Force Base in

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Nebraska , my wife , Laura and I got to

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visit one of the D PA labs . Actually

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Laura a whole lot more than me and see

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the work of these amazing people up

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close its members commit their blood ,

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their sweat , their tears to bringing

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our fellow americans home a mission

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they fully embrace . I thank all those

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who have shown the same level of

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dedication to the GPA's solemn mission ,

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Sadly 10s of thousands are still

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missing . There are no words of comfort

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or solace that can fill the void of a

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missing loved one . The pain that

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brings can be at sometimes overwhelming .

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But what we can do is remember what

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they fought for , remember what they

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sacrificed . Remember what wearing the

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cloth of this country signifies and

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remember why we fight all of us

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in uniform . I took an oath an oath of

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allegiance where we swore to support

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and defend the constitution of the

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United States of America . We're the

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only military I know of that swears

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it's oath of allegiance to an idea and

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for that idea we in uniform not only

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swear to protect but are willing to lay

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down our lives , we're willing to be

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missing in action . We're willing to be

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a prisoner of war , were willing to

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sacrifice our lives so that americans

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of every generation to come will remain

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free . We will go to any length to

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bring you home . We will scour , every

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inch of land will dive . Every shore

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will plunge into every depth of the

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pacific in the atlantic well comb every

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bit of the korean and italian peninsula

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is the unmarked , great unmarked graves

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from Belgium to Burma and we will find

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you , we will never forget and we will

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never leave a fallen comrade . Thank

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you and thank you to your families for

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their sacrifice and may , God bless

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each and every one of you . It's not my

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privilege to introduce to you the

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Secretary of Defense . The honourable

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Lloyd Austin .

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Mhm .

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Yeah , here we go .

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Yeah . Oh

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Mr Mills . It's a real pleasure to meet

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you . Thanks for being here , Rachael

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Lamar . Thank Okay , good morning

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everyone . General Hayden , thanks for

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the kind introduction and for being

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here today to mark this special

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occasion . It's also great to see

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Secretary Dennis Mcdonald from the

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Department of Veterans Affairs and so

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many friends and partners of the

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Department of Defense . Thanks for

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being here . We're all here

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because of a shared commitment on

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national POW M I . A recognition day .

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We come together as a nation to honor

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all those who served all those who were

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held captive and return home and to

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pay tribute to those who remain

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unaccounted for and to stand by all

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of our P . O . W . And M . I . A .

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Families . We know

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that the missing and the return are in

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the hearts of their families and loved

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ones today and every day

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they're in our hearts as well .

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And I'm honored to welcome to the

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pentagon former POWs and their loved

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ones and family members of those

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missing in action . We're humbled by

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your sacrifice and your resilience . So

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thanks for being here with us .

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We still feel the pain of those missing

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from conflicts fought generations ago

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and we share the uncertainty that many

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of you endure . We also thank

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you for your advocacy and involvement

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in our work to recover our fallen in

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our missing today .

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More than 81,900 U.S .

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personnel remain unaccounted for

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Including more than 72,000 from World

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War II And more than 7500 from the

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Korean War and more than 1500 from the

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Vietnam War .

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Many of them missing are lost deep at

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sea . But our experts estimate that

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some 38,000 may be recoverable .

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So we still have a lot of work to do

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and we see each case as a sacred pact .

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Well , I was in Hawaii last april I

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visited with our team at the Defense

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Pow Mia accounting agency . And it

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absolutely astounded me to see

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firsthand the links that they go

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through to identify and return to

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families . The remains of so many of

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our fallen from so many

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conflicts overseas .

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It's painstaking work and in some cases

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it's dangerous but they know how much

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it means to you and to our fellow

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citizens and they do it with care and

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compassion but also with a deeply felt

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desire to honor the service and the

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sacrifice of those who gave their lives

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defending this nation . This

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year alone D . P . A . Has accounted

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for 135 U . S . Personnel

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one from the Vietnam War 13 from the

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Korean War in 121 from World War II .

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And in the past six years D . P . A .

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Has identified 352 unknowns from the U .

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S . S . Oklahoma which as you know ,

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was sunk in Pearl harbor .

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And just this past Monday on September

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13 Army sergeant john phillips

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was buried at Arlington National

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Cemetery decades after he

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died in a pow camp in the Philippines .

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After so many years of uncertainty we

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were honored and moved to have his

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family join us as he was laid to rest

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and receive the honors

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that he deeply deserved .

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In july another m a family gathered at

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Arlington Army , Major Army

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Major Harvey Storms was killed in

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December of 1950 and one of the

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harshest battles of the korean war .

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His remains were turned over by the

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North by North Korea in 2018 and

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identified by D . P . A . Now

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major storms . Had four sons including

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his youngest who was born after his

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father went missing and all of his sons

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were at Arlington with their families

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when major storms was finally laid to

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rest . And then

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there's Naval Reserve Commander

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Paul Sharpe paul was an

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A . H . A . One H pilot skywriter

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Which plane was shot down over Vietnam

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in March of 1967 . Last

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september a Vietnamese team recovered

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his remains and B . O . D . Scientists

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identified him this past March ,

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bringing his family long awaited

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answers . You know , in a

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sense that's what we still seek

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answers to . Simple questions where

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are they and when can they come home ?

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And that's why we fly the black and

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white flag of the National League of P .

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O . W . M . I . A . Families . And

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that's why we commemorate this special

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day to remember

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to remember the fallen the captured and

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the missing . To remember the

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families who still wait for them

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and to remember our solemn duty to

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answering those simple questions

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into bringing home those who left these

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shores so long ago .

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The flags message is still a call to

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arms . You are not forgotten

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and it's on all of us to make sure that

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are missing and their families know it .

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So let me again thank the families and

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loved ones . Those here with us today

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and those who are joining us virtually

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You have faced absence . You have

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faced uncertainty and you have faced

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loss and

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we are inspired by the strength that

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you've shown day in and day out . And

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we will always honor the service and

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the sacrifice that your loved ones

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have given our great country .

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We stand with you and we always will

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thank you and God bless you .

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Mhm .

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Okay .

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Would all families representing

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prisoners of war and those still

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missing in action ? Please stand to be

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honored with a moment of silence .

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Ladies and gentlemen , please stand for

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the benediction delivered by Chaplin

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commander , thomas flanagan . Yeah ,

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better spray merciful

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father . We are comforted and

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strengthened by your grace that makes

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us steadfast in all our trials

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those we honour today received the

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peace that they sought in this life ,

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ensure that these reflections in

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Kendall in us . The desire to

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rededicate our efforts in your service

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continue to bless those who , through

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their leadership operations and teams

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around the world , make countless

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personal sacrifices and take courageous

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actions for the sake of the Republic .

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In your wisdom , we asked that you

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continue to deepen our faith and

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strengthen our fortitude , thereby

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equipping us to respond with the

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highest ideals and greatest strength

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and never tire in our efforts to bring

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forth decisions that lead to authentic

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and lasting peace . Gracious Lord

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continue to bless our country , those

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who serve and all who strive to bring

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truth and freedom throughout the world .

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The United States of America always

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reflect your direction , established

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peace among those of goodwill and pass

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from victory to victory against all who

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oppose the truth . Grant confusion to

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our enemies . Bless those forward

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deployed our loved ones and those who

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could not be with us . Here today we

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ask this in your holy name . Amen

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Ladies and Gentlemen , this concludes

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the Department of Defense 2021 prisoner

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of war and missing in action

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recognition day ceremony . Thank you

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for joining us .