The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will host a remembrance ceremony on Friday, Sept. 18 at 1:30 p.m., in the State Capitol Rotunda in Lansing to mark National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

POW/MIA Recognition Day is a day when the nation pauses to remember those U.S. military members and civilians who remain missing from past and current wars, while the search continues each day to find those who are not accounted for. In Michigan we remember Army Reserve Soldier, Sgt. Ahmed K. Altaie, of Ann Arbor, who was listed as missing/captured in Iraq on Oct. 23, 2006, and remains so.

On this solemn day, the POW/MIA flag flies over the White House, the Michigan

Capitol, and veteran’s war memorials nationwide as a pledge to account for the missing U.S. service members. Missing Michigan service members include:  361 from the Korean War, 53 from the Vietnam War, four from the Cold War, and one Soldier from Iraq, Sgt. Altaie.

In addition, 4,400 American military personnel remain missing from WWI; 78,000 from WWII; more than 8,000 from the Korean War; 1,753 from the Vietnam War; 128 from the Cold War; one from the Persian Gulf War; one from the Iraq War; and one from the war in Afghanistan.

The public is welcome to attend the ceremony.