Newt Heisley, a veteran of World War Two, designed the famous image of a gaunt profile with a watchtower and a line of barbed wire, and since 1971, this image has been a reminder to many of the more than 2,500 POW and MIA service members from the Vietnam War. It's the POW MIA flag, and with its official designation in 1990 as a national flag, it has flown ever since on the 3rd Friday of September, National POW/MIA Recognition Day. It is also displayed, along with Navy, Marine, Army, and Air Force flags, on Armed Forces, Memorial, Flag, Independence, and Veterans Days. Interestingly, the artist behind this particular flag is said to have based the image of the captured soldier on the silhouette of his son who contracted hepatitis while training for duty in Vietnam, and whose body was depleted by the illness.
The history of conflict in the world is rich and not always recorded consistently. Such is the nature of history. However, consistency can be found in the military traditions that strive to protect and serve, and which are represented worldwide by flags. Whether the emblem is the gaunt figure who appears to believe he's been forgotten on the POW MIA flag or the proud eagle with its wings spread on the banner of the Air Force, flags carry with them a distinctive significance that is colored by human drama. Many flags have flown in conflicts fought by American troops, from the Air Force to the Navy to the Army flag; many soldiers and veterans march in parades throughout the country on those holidays set aside to remember them and to thank them for their sacrifices. So, these military flags are so much more than the fabric and dyes and artists and manufacturers who make them. It is only that these efforts and materials must be fine enough to give due respect to those organizations and persons they represent.
