{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://walkinshaw.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=841", "Walkinshaw , Thompson Introduce Bipartisan Resolution to Recognize our POW/MIA Servicemembers", "2026-09-21", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "James R. Walkinshaw", "W000831", "walkinshaw.house.gov", "walkinshaw", "https://walkinshaw.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Last week, U.S. Representatives James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) and Glenn \u201cGT\u201d Thompson (R-Pa.) introduced a bipartisan resolution designating Friday, September 18, 2026, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. This resolution pays tribute to American servicemembers who were prisoners of war or still missing while fighting in combat.\n\n\"As the father of a Purple Heart wounded warrior, my thoughts and prayers are with the families who are missing a loved one,\" Rep. Thompson said. \"More than 80,000 service members remain unaccounted for, and their families deserve a unified effort to help bring them home. This bipartisan resolution is a commitment to our men and women in uniform and serves as a reminder of the work needed to help reunite our military families.\"\n\n\u201cOn National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor the courage and sacrifice of those who endured captivity, those who have been accounted for, and those who remain missing. I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan resolution with Congressman Thompson and reaffirm our nation\u2019s enduring commitment to bring every servicemember home,\" Rep. Walkinshaw said.\n\n\"Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) proudly supports recognizing September 18, 2026, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. For VVA, this day is more than a ceremony. It is a reminder of a promise our nation has not yet fully kept. Our founding principle, \u2018Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,\u2019 is not a slogan. It is a sacred obligation. We will keep the POW/MIA flag flying, keep the candle burning, and keep faith with every family still waiting for answers. VVA believes one of the most meaningful ways to honor our POWs and MIAs is to provide the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency with $250 million to complete its mission. Recognition must be more than words. It must be backed by the resources, people, and commitment necessary to bring home every missing American who can still be found. We owe that to them. We owe it to their families. And we owe it to the promise our nation made when we sent them to serve,\u201d said Tom Burke, Vietnam Veterans of America President.\n\n\u201cWe have a sacred obligation to honor those whose service to their nation came at the cost of their freedom, and were never afforded the chance to return home. Recognizing the third Friday of September as National POW/MIA Recognition Day underscores that the 80,000 U.S. service members missing in action will never be forgotten, and reaffirms the gratitude of the American people for their sacrifices. With Honor Action, with solemn gratitude, is proud to endorse this resolution, and we thank Reps. G.T. Thompson and James Walkinshaw for ensuring the memory of our service members' lives on,\" said Rye Barcott, Co-Founder and CEO of With Honor.\n\n\u201cEANGUS proudly endorses this resolution recognizing the third Friday of September as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Our nation has a solemn obligation to remember those who never returned, continue the fullest possible accounting of our missing, and stand beside the families who have carried the burden of uncertainty and loss. Their service and sacrifice must never be forgotten,\u201d saidCSM John D. Gipe, USA Retired Executive Director, Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States.\n\n\u201cThe Jewish War Veterans of the USA (JWV) endorses House Res. 1566, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, introduced by Representatives Glenn \u201cGT\u201d Thompson and James Walkinshaw, and thanks them for their leadership. Recognizing and honoring the brave Americans who endured the unimaginable as prisoners of war and those who remain missing in action is vital to ensuring their sacrifices are never forgotten. JWV continues to strongly support the No Veteran Left Behind mission and to provide support to the families of POW/MIA servicemen and women who deserve closure. When JWV displays the POW/MIA flag and holds the Missing Man Table ceremony, we demonstrate our solidarity with families still awaiting answers. May the memory of our prisoners of war and those missing in action remain a constant source of blessing and a reminder of the true cost of our freedom,\u201d said National Commander Selina Kanowitz, MSgt. USAFR (Ret.).\n\nThis resolution is also endorsed by the Military Officers Association of America.\n\nBackground:\n\nEach year, National POW/MIA Recognition Day is honored on the third Friday of September. According to the Department of War\u2019s POW/MIA Accounting Agency, there are still 80,000 service members missing in action. Pennsylvania has the third most unaccounted for POW/MIAs with 5,375 servicemembers yet to be brought home. Since 2023, four POW/MIA\u2019s have been identified and returned home to Congressman Thompson\u2019s district.\n\nRead the full resolution here.", 1, "2026-09-23T09:45:16Z", "2026-09-23T09:46:14Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://walkinshaw.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=841"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0627088379114866, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}