Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

Over the past several years, all or most of the 50 states have proclaimed POW/MIA Recognition Day in conjunction with the national effort.

Steven Saunders, commander of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 51 said he hopes that while no local official ceremony is planned in observance of the day, people will nonetheless remember the sacrifices of those who were captured by the enemy, some of whom never came home.

"Friday will be a day of great joy as well as deepest grief. We will celebrate the homecoming of those whom were fortunate enough to be repatriated, and we will also mourn the absence of those whom are still missing," Saunders said. "Every American citizen needs to know the situation that these people have faced, the statistics as well as the current situation regarding veterans' benefits. These heroes must never be forgotten."

Vietnam-era veteran James DeLong agreed. "I believe it should be set aside. and we should remember those who didn't make it back, if only for the morale of the soldier who is out there now. How would you like to be a soldier, not knowing if you're going to be captured, wouldn't it be nice to know if you're taken prisoner people will be looking for you?"

DeLong said that U.S. government officials need to use whatever means necessary to keep pressure on foreign governments to account for American soldiers who have been lost on their soil.

According to U.S. government statistics, the whereabouts of more than 78,000 World War II-era soldiers remain unknown, along with more than 8,100 from the Korean War, 120 from the Cold War, more than 1,900 from the Vietnam War, and three from the Gulf War.