Members of the Florida delegation on Capitol Hill want the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum in Jacksonville.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., introduced the “National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum Act” and his office offered some of the details behind the proposal.
“This bipartisan legislation will designate the POW/MIA Memorial and Museum at Cecil Field to serve as a national landmark to honor, connect, inspire, and educate the American people about members of the Armed Forces who were held as prisoners of war (POWs) and those who became missing in action (MIA) in our nation’s conflicts,” Bean’s office noted.
“America’s POW-MIAs should never be forgotten. These patriots deserve a special place of honor because of their selfless dedication, unmatched valor, and unsurpassed devotion to our nation’s values. This memorial will give Americans a unique opportunity to honor the immense sacrifice made by our POWs and serve as a powerful reminder of the service members whose fates are still unknown,” said Bean.
The bill has more than a dozen backers, including U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., Neal Dunn, R-Fla., Scott Frranklin, R-Fla., Bill Posey, R-Fla., John Rutherford, R-Fla., Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., Michael Waltz, R-Fla., and Dan Webster, R-Fla.
The National League of POW/MIA Families, Rolling Thunder National, National Naval Aviation Museum, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the City of Jacksonville are all backing the proposal.
“We appreciate Representative Bean’s support and thank him for introducing this much-needed bipartisan resolution which authorizes the title of ‘national’ for the POW/MIA Memorial and Museum in Jacksonville. When completed, it will attract visitors from across our nation and be a place to learn about and remember the over 80,000 of those still missing and unaccounted for from World War II to the present,” said Sam Houston, the chairman of the board of Cecil Field POW/MIA Memorial, Inc.
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Veterans Affairs and the Natural Resources Committees. So far, there is no companion bill in the U.S. Senate.
