Rolling Thunder® Tennessee Chapter 1

History of the League's POW/MIA Flag

In 1971, Mrs. Michael Hoff, an MIA wife and
member of the National League of Families,
recognized the need for a symbol of our
POW/MIAs. Prompted by an article in the
Jacksonville, Florida Times-Union, Mrs. Hoff
contacted Norman Rivkees, Vice President of
Annin & Company which had made a banner for
the newest member of the United Nations, the
People’s Republic of China, as a part of their
policy to provide flags to all United Nations
members states. Mrs. Hoff found Mr. Rivkees
very sympathetic to the POW/MIA issue, and
he, along with Annin’s advertising agency,
designed a flag to represent our missing men.
Following League approval, the flags were
manufactured for distribution.

On March 9, 1989, an official League flag, which
flew over the White House on 1988 National
POW/MIA Recognition Day, was installed in the
U.S. Capitol Rotunda as a result of legislation
passed overwhelmingly during the 100th
Congress. In a demonstration of bipartisan
Congressional support, the leadership of both
Houses hosted the installation ceremony.

The League’s POW/MIA flag is the only flag
ever displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda
where it will stand as a powerful symbol of
national commitment to America’s POW/MIAs
until the fullest possible accounting has been
achieved for U.S. personnel still missing and
unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
On August 10, 1990, the 101st Congress
passed U.S. Public Law 101-355, which
recognized the League’s POW/MIA flag and
designated it "as the symbol of our Nation’s
concern and commitment to resolving as fully
as possible the fates of Americans still
prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in
Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for
their families and the Nation".

The importance of the League’s POW/MIA flag
lies in its continued visibility, a constant
reminder of the plight of America’s POW/MIAs.
Other than "Old Glory", the League’s POW/MIA
flag is the only flag ever to fly over the White
House, having been displayed in this place of
honor on National POW/MIA Recognition Day
since 1982. Passage by the 105th Congress of
Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization
Act requires that the League’s POW/MIA flag fly
six days each year: Armed Forces Day,
Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day,
National POW/MIA Recognition Day and
Veterans Day. It must be displayed at the White
House, the U.S. Capitol, the Departments of
State, Defense and Veterans Affairs,
headquarters of the Selective Service System,
major military installations as designated by the
Secretary of the Defense, all Federal cemeteries
and all offices of the U.S. Postal Service. By law
passed in 2002, it must fly year-round at the
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the
Korean War Veterans Memorial and the World
War II Memorial