Lexington VA to honor POW/MIAs Friday at Sousley campus

Friday is national Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Day and Lexington’s Veterans Affairs Healthcare System will mark the occasion at the Sousley campus on Leestown Road. Becky Thomas is the Lexington VA’s interim public affairs officer. She said executive director Russell Armstead and POW advocate Barry Holt will speak.

“Lexington VA will do just a small ceremony at our flagpole in front of Building 1 to just kind of honor and recognize the courage, sacrifice and resilience of our former prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action.”

The program begins at 11 a.m. Friday and the public is invited. Thomas said Holt will discuss how the VA can help former POWs.

“Former prisoners of war are entitled to certain benefits and care through the VA just because we recognize those hardships and how they may have led to some certain health conditions later in life.”

Thomas said since World War I, more than 142,000 Americans, including 85 women, have been POWs, and only about a fifth of them are still alive. An estimated 90,000 were lost and never recovered.

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