The American Legion Department of Louisiana

Only one flag besides the Stars and Stripes that represents the United States has ever flown over the White House in Washington, D.C.  Only one flag is ever displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.  That flag is not one that represents an individual state, branch of service, or other select group.  It is the POW/MIA (Prisoners of War/Missing In Action) Flag that calls to mind the sacrifice and plight of those Americans who have sacrificed their own freedom to preserve liberty for all of us.  Its presence serves to remind us that, while we enjoy the privileges of freedom, somewhere there are soldiers who have not been accounted for and may, in fact, be held against their will by the enemies of Freedom.

THE POW/MIA FLAG

In 1971, Mrs. Michael Hoff, the wife of a U.S. Military officer listed as Missing In Action during the Vietnam War developed the idea for a national flag to remind every American of the U.S. service members whose fates were never accounted for during the war.  The black and white image of gaunt silhouette, a strand of barbed wire, overlooked by an ominous watchtower, was designed by Newt Heisley, a former World War II pilot.  The silhouette is based on his own son, Jeffery, who became very ill with Hepatitis while training with the Marines at Quantico, Virginia, for combat during the Vietnam War years.  While observing his son's ravaged body and emaciated facial features, he pondered that this must be what it was like for those held captive on foreign soil under harsh conditions.  After staring at his son's sunken features, Newt Heisley took pencil in hand and slowly began to sketch his son's profile, creating a black and white image that would become the basis for a symbol having a powerful impact on the national conscience.  On August 10, 1990, Congress passed the U.S. Public Law 101-355, designating the POW/MIA FLAG:

"The symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia."

The design for the MIA/POW Flag was never copyrighted.  Though it has been issued in other colors, the original black and white remains the most used. It became a flag that belongs to everyone, a design that hauntingly reminds us of those we dare not ever forget.  Behind the black and white silhouette is a face we can't see.....the face of a husband, father, or a son who has paid with their freedom for our freedom.  Beneath the image are the words....

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

Visit http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfb_disp9c.html to see a more detailed account on the creation of the POW/MIA FLAG and see the story plus pictures of Newt Heisley and his son, Jeffery.  This website is an excellent souce of further information on the POW/MIA FLAG and family support groups.