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Federal buildings and POW/MIA flag


Nice Guy Eddie

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I don't have a problem with it but can anyone explain the purpose on why many federal buildings, including post offices now fly the POW/MIA flag underneath the US flag every day now? From what I can tell this started late last year according to some online searches.  It's extremely important that we always remember those that died in service of our country but is that now the de facto second national flag?

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Post offices are required daily as of end of last year.

Believe military installations were already required and any place the Sec of State is present.

Effective November 7, 2019, an amendment to 36 U.S.C. § 902 requires Post Offices to fly the Prisoner of War (POW)-Missing In Action (MIA) flag on the same days that the United States flag is flown.

Other govt buildings remain the normal 7/4, flag day, Memorial Day, etc.

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18 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I don't have a problem with it but can anyone explain the purpose on why many federal buildings, including post offices now fly the POW/MIA flag underneath the US flag every day now? From what I can tell this started late last year according to some online searches.  It's extremely important that we always remember those that died in service of our country but is that now the de facto second national flag?

It shouldn't be (the de facto second national flag), imo. 

At heart it's just a crass political move, like wearing a US flag lapel pin. We get it: you're a real patriot.  

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The Bureau of Nice but Unnecessary Patriotic Acts will never run out of ideas. Why not a KIA flag underneath the POW/MIA flag as well? 

And now what politician is going to go on record of saying that we should not require the flag to be at every post office, every day. 

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But it is still an official government organization though isn’t it?  My uncle was involved with it for many years after Vietnam and he described it as being like Amtrak.  It excepted outside dollars but was really funded internally by the feds.  And the idea was that the flag was sort of a catchall for the five military branches as well as Myriad  veterans groups.  

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15 minutes ago, Lobo said:

But it is still an official government organization though isn’t it?  My uncle was involved with it for many years after Vietnam and he described it as being like Amtrak.  It excepted outside dollars but was really funded internally by the feds.  And the idea was that the flag was sort of a catchall for the five military branches as well as Myriad  veterans groups.  

I always thought the group continued to exist on the hope that POWs still were in Vietnam long after the war, and that the MIAs were actually living POWs. I can't imagine the pain for families to not know anything and cling onto some hope.  Rambo aside, I don't think there was ever any POWs discovered after the final prisoner exchanges at the war's end.

I assumed it was a private organization and not the US govt even though the govt may help them. I know the military continues to work on identifying any remains discovered from any war.

EDIT: There is a military dept with the task of returning POWs and MIAs: https://www.dpaa.mil/

The private, non-profit group: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_League_of_POW/MIA_Families https://www.pow-miafamilies.org/

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I've just kind of regarded it (rightly or wrongly) as some sort of Boomer holdover.  I mean, Vietnam was the last war in which we really had any people go missing or taken prisoner.

I suspect that you'll see less and less of that flag as the Boomers die out.

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1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

The Bureau of Nice but Unnecessary Patriotic Acts will never run out of ideas. Why not a KIA flag underneath the POW/MIA flag as well? 

And now what politician is going to go on record of saying that we should not require the flag to be at every post office, every day. 

Diana Moon Glampers head that up, too?

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