LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Langley Air Force Base is hosting its fourth annual POW/MIA Recognition Day events Sept. 19 and 20 to honor Service members lost in battle.
The events will include a 24-hour run, which will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 at the Shellbank Fitness Center outdoor track and conclude at the Langley POW/MIA memorial.
Directly after the run, the Recognition Ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. Sept. 20, also at the memorial.
"The event is a moment where we can slow down and pay our respects to POW and MIAs," said Master Sgt. Jeffrey A. Koenig, 633rd Air Base Wing noncommissioned officer in charge of wing protocol and Air Force Sergeant's Association chapter 358 president.
Originally, Congress passed a resolution authorizing the observance of POW/MIA Recognition Day to take place July 18, 1979. Dates varied in the years following, until 1986 when it was designated as the third Friday in September.
According to the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office, more than 83,000 Service members are still unaccounted for from conflicts such as World War ll, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Iraq and other conflicts.
The AFSA chapter 358 will be organizing the POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony, where retired U.S. Army brigadier general and former POW, Dr. Rhonda Cornum, will be the guest speaker.
Cornum was commissioned into the U.S. Army in 1978, with a doctorate in nutrition and biochemistry from Cornell University.
Before retiring as the Director of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness in the Army, Cornum achieved many accomplishments in her career, including senior flight surgeon wings and airborne, air assault, and expert medic badges. Her decorations include the Legion of Merit (with two oak leaf clusters), Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (with four oak leaf clusters), Purple Heart, Air Medal and POW Medal.
In August 1990, Cornum was assigned as the flight surgeon to the 2/229 Attack Helicopter Battalion in Iraq.
Her world changed the last week of February 1991. During a search and rescue mission for a downed Air Force F-16 and injured pilot, her Black Hawk helicopter was attacked and brought down. She was working with an eight-person crew; five of the eight didn't make it. The survivors, including Cornum, were captured by Iraqi forces, then later being released on March 6, 1991.
In an interview with Joellen Perry for a "heroes" issue of U.S. News and World Report, Cornum said she remembered thinking as the helicopter fell, "at least I'm dying doing something honorable."
Koenig said that all Service members can benefit from learning of Cornum's experiences and sense of duty during the POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony.
"The event is for us to pay the respect to all of the POW/MIA," said Koenig. "It shows everybody that the Joint Base Langley-Eustis family has not forgotten about the prisoners of war and the ones that are still missing in action."
For more information on the Langley POW/MIA Recognition Day events, or to sign up for the run, register at http://tinyurl.com/POW-MIA-Run or contact Master Sgt. Alfredo Perez at 764-42510.