By SALINA POST
Salina has been designated as a Prisoner of War-Missing in Action City by the Jefferson Barracks POW-MIA Museum, Inc.
It is the second such designation in the state, according to information from Salina Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1432. Manhattan was the first city in Kansas to receive the designation.
The POW-MIA City designation is given to cities that honor and recognize all who served in any branch of the United States military and were captured by enemies of the U.S., or are missing in action from any year and from any conflict. There is no cost to the cities for the designation.
On Monday, the Salina City Commission adopted a resolution for Salina to become a POW-MIA City. Steve Murrison, commander of VFW Post 1432, officially presented a plaque to the city in recognition of the designation. The plaque is to be displayed at the City-County Building, 300 W. Ash Street.
According to information from Veterans Affairs, 140,000 American service members were captured and served time as POWs, and more than 81,500 Americans remain missing from WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Gulf Wars/other conflicts. Out of the more than 81,500 missing, 75 percent of the losses are located in the Indo-Pacific, and more than 41,000 of the missing are presumed lost at sea (i.e. ship losses, known aircraft water losses, etc.).
In the early 1970s, a black POW-MIA flag was created by the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia and was officially recognized by Congress after the U.S. was concerned about the number of missing soldiers from the Vietnam War, the local VFW organization noted.
The City of Salina flies a POW-MIA flag in front of the City-County Building.
Now that Salina has been designated as a POW-MIA City, the VFW will hold a ceremony in the near future to raise POW-MIA awareness, assist or facilitate a POW-MIA fundraiser, display a Missing Man Table at appropriate public events, and recognize National POW-MIA days throughout the year, VFW Post 1432 noted in a news release.