The American Legion’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2146 will host a National Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Recognition Day ceremony on Friday, Sept. 18, marking the first such event in Idaho Falls in more than a decade.
The observance takes place at the veterans memorial along the Riverwalk greenbelt. Organizers scheduled the free, public event to begin at 5:15 p.m., with proceedings expected to last approximately 30 minutes.
Honoring the Missing
Mike Spencer, chairman of the organizing committee and a Navy veteran, said the ceremony aims to honor Americans who were held as prisoners of war or remain unaccounted for from any conflict. The event opens with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer.
Spencer is one of two speakers scheduled to address the crowd. Following remarks, a rifle team will perform a three-volley salute, concluding with the playing of “Taps.”
National POW/MIA Recognition Day was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Congress designated the third Friday in September for observance in 1986. The tradition became annual in 1995 when presidents began issuing proclamations rather than relying on new congressional legislation each year.
Idaho’s Missing Service Members
The ceremony highlights a somber statistic for the state: 15 Idaho veterans remain missing. Four Vietnam War veterans from Idaho are presumed dead with bodies never returned. Eleven Korean War veterans from the state are also on the list of unaccounted service members.
Among those listed is U.S. Army Sgt. Leonard K. Chinn of Idaho Falls. Chinn left Idaho in 1950 to serve overseas at age 34. He was assigned to Company D, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division.
On Dec. 1, 1950, Chinn was captured by enemy forces while retreating from Kunu-ri, North Korea. He was marched to the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley Main Camp Cluster and subsequently moved to POW Camp 5 at Pyoktong. Records indicate Chinn died of malnutrition on April 30, 1951.
For decades, his fate remained uncertain. In December 1993, North Korea turned over remains belonging to U.S. servicemen to the United States. Documents in 33 boxes indicated some remains were recovered near where POWs from Chinn’s unit died.
In 2018, Rodney Chinn received a phone call confirming the identification of his father’s remains. The identification came 67 years after Leonard Chinn’s passing. His remains were cremated and buried with his wife, Irene, at a cemetery in Silver Creek, Nebraska.
A Family Deeply Tied to Service
Spencer brings personal history to the organizing committee. He served in the Nuclear Navy from 1968 to 1974. During that time, he spent six months in Idaho Falls learning to operate a nuclear power plant. He later worked as an instructor at the Nuclear Power Training Unit, which is now part of the Naval Reactors Facility at Idaho National Laboratory.
Spencer retired from a 30-year career at INL in 2012. His family’s military service spans generations. His uncle was killed aboard the U.S.S. Nevada during the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Spencer’s son is an Iraq War veteran who retired from the Navy in 2015 after 10 years of service.
Beyond this upcoming ceremony, Spencer remains active in local veteran affairs. He is involved with the Idaho Falls chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America and helps host a public reading of veteran names on Memorial Day each year.
What Comes Next
The Sept. 18 ceremony offers a chance for the community to observe National POW/MIA Recognition Day locally. For other local events, residents can check the community calendar, which includes upcoming gatherings such as the Idaho Falls Gem and Mineral Society’s meeting on Saturday, Sept. 19.