Dem, GOP senators urge Joe Biden to restore 'missing war veterans' flag atop White House relocated by Trump
Three senators on Friday, January 22, urged President Joe Biden to restore the flag honoring missing war veterans atop the White House after his predecessor Donald Trump irked a section of the veterans by moving it to a less prominent location last year. The POW/MIA flag, which is dedicated to the prisoners of war (POW) and missing service members, was relocated from a prominent place atop the presidential residence to a spot on the South Lawn in 2020, reported Reuters. The move came months after the former president signed a law that required the flag to be flown every day at certain federal properties, including the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The black-and-white POW/MIA flag features a silhouette of a POW before a guard tower and barbed field. The word POW/MIA appears above the silhouette while down, the words “You Are Not Forgotten” are imprinted below. About 82,000 American service members are still listed as missing from conflicts dating back to the World War II (1939-45). Among the senators who requested the new president to restore the flag are Democrats Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire) and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Republican Tom Cotton (Arkansas), who has been known to be one of the closest allies to Trump.
'Take swift action'
“We ask that you take swift action to restore the flag to its place of honor atop the White House, thereby prominently recognizing the service and sacrifices of American prisoners of war, missing service members, and their families,” the trio wrote in a letter released on Friday, which Reuters first reported about.
“This issue is critically important to veterans and other Americans who care deeply about the POW/MIA flag as a sign that we will never forget about the thousands of American service members who are still far from home against their will,” the senators, who co-sponsored the measure signed by Trump, added.
President Biden’s response on this is expected to be positive as he has often been found extolling his deceased elder son Beau over his military service in Iraq in the late 2000s. Reuters added that under the US law, the flag needs to be displayed in certain places in a “manner designed to ensure visibility to the public.” The POW/MIA flag, in its current position, can be seen from only a few vantage points outside the White House complex. The previous Trump administration did not reveal why the flag was relocated but said last year that it was done with full military honors on a private occasion.
Hassan and Warren had previously criticized the move as disrespectful and potentially illegal while some other veteran groups too were not happy. One of the groups -- The American Ex-Prisoners of War -- even called the decision a “slap in the face”, the report added.
The three senators were thanked by bodies representing veterans and missing service members over their initiative. “The National League of POW/MIA Families deeply appreciates the bipartisan support that Senators Hassan, Warren and Cotton have again demonstrated by asking President Biden to restore our POW/MIA flag to its intended place atop the White House,” Ann Mills-Griffith, who heads the National League of POW/MIA Families, issued in a statement, Reuters said.