The Jefferson Barracks POW-MIA Museum will observe POW-MIA Recognition Day on September 20, 2019, with a ceremony in St. Louis to designate Missouri as their first official POW-MIA State.

Col. Brian Pearl, head of the European-Mediterranean Directorate of the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency, will be the speaker for the ceremony at Jack C. Taylor Hall at the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.

Paul Dillon, director of the museum and illustrator of N is for Never Forget: POW-MIA A to Z, said the official POW-MIA State designation recognizes the Missouri legislature’s passage of a measure directing state locations to fly the POW-MIA flag along with the American flag.

Dillon said museum representatives will present Col. Pearl with a copy of N is for Never Forget and a museum challenge coin. A similar presentation is planned for Missouri Governor Mike Parson or his representative.

In addition, the museum will present the family of Capt. Bernard Plassmeyer with a replica of the A4 Skyhawk he flew in Vietnam. Capt. Plassmeyer, of Marine Attack Squadron 311, was declared missing in action on Sept. 11, 1970. The aircraft replica was created by Tom Bogacki.

The Jefferson Barracks POW-MIA Museum has extended POW-MIA City designations to eighteen cities, most recently to Florissant, Missouri. In an August ceremony, Mayor Tim Lowery accepted an official proclamation and a sign indicating the designation.