Week recognizes POWs, MIA troops in Tennessee

By The Associated Press

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and state Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder have declared this week as Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Week.

Since 2011, the week beginning with the third Friday of September and extending through the following Thursday is designated to remember and pay tribute to service members captured by the enemy and those still missing in action.

The state said in a news release that more than 83,000 Americans and more than 200 Tennesseans are still missing or unaccounted for since World War II.

Grinder said in a statement that offering recognition as a state is a powerful way to salute their bravery.