HELENA — Veterans and community members gathered at Memorial Park on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, to remember the 53 Montanans listed as prisoners of war and missing in action.
September 20 is known as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The ceremony at Memorial Park included a prayer and public reading to honor and remember Montana's POW/MIA personnel from World War II through the Cold War.
This year marks the 45th consecutive year for the POW/MIA service.
One of the readers at this year's service, Vietnam veteran Dave Dube, shared an emotional story of why ceremonies like these are important and encouraged others to join the remembrance in the years to come.
"If they've heard the names and they remember the names, even if it's just one name that they remember, maybe it's someone from their hometown that was a prisoner of war. That's encouraging to me," said Dube.
