I pledge allegiance
to the flag of the
United States of America
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one Nation
under God,
indivisible,
with liberty
and justice
for all.





A List Of POW/MIA's



 

 

Shadows fall upon us
With glitter and with gleam
For Veterans united
Upon the earth esteemed

Each one our inspiration
For love that they did give
With honor to their country
They fought so we could live

Within the fields of battle
Upon the foreign shores
Each Veteran remembered
With honor and much more

Such glory and such honor
Within each war they fought
Pride we feel within our hearts
Such sadness for those lost

Flag they held still flying
With dignity so blest
Our heroes of the many wars
Have given all their best

Bow your heads in silence
For those who are not here
Remember all those living
Their courage we revere.

~ Francine Pucillo 
Read more of her poetry here.

 

 

 






In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed
November 11th as Armistice Day to remind
Americans of the tragedies of war. A law
adopted in 1938 made the day a federal
holiday. In 1954, Congress changed the
name of the holiday to Veterans Day to
honor all U.S. veterans.

Veterans Day is a time to remember
those men and women who served in our U.S.
Armed Forces.




On Memorial Day 1958, two more unidentified
American war dead were brought from overseas
and interred in the plaza beside the unknown
soldier of World War I. One was killed in
World War II, the other in the Korean War.
In 1973, a law passed providing interment of
an unknown American from the Vietnam War,
but none was found for several years. In 1984,
an unknown serviceman from that conflict was
placed alongside the others. To honor these
men, symbolic of all Americans who gave their
lives in all wars, an Army honor guard, The
3d U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), keeps day
and night vigil.





At 11 a.m. on November 11,
a combined color guard representing all
military services executes "Present Arms"
at the tomb. The nation's tribute to its war
dead is symbolized by the laying of a
presidential wreath. The bugler plays "taps."
The rest of the ceremony takes place in the
amphitheater.

HERE RESTS IN
HONORED GLORY
AN AMERICAN
SOLDIER
KNOWN BUT TO GOD

In 1998 the Vietnam soldier was
identified through DNA tests as Michael
Blassie, a 24-year-old Air Force pilot who
was shot down in May of 1972 near the
Cambodian border. His body was disinterred
and reburied by his family in St. Louis, Missouri.