COMMENTARY: Remembering their sacrifice: National POW/MIA Recognition Day Published Sept. 18, 2015 By Master Sgt. Kevin DeYoung 100th Maintenance Squadron production supervisor RAF MILDENHALL, England -- According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, 83,114 Americans remain missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf Wars and other conflicts. To put this in perspective, that's about twice the population of Bury St. Edmunds. Each one of these Americans is a part of a family - a child, a sibling or a parent. Each of them left to serve our country and still have not returned. Their families are left with uncertainty. I get to see my family grow and mature; they do not. I get a sense of closure as family members pass from this life, die and are buried; they do not. Since the POW/MIA Recognition Day last year, 73 missing Americans have been identified and repatriated for burial. Those 73 families now are able to know where their family members and loved ones final resting place is, but the years of time together that were lost can never be replaced. Every year, as I complete the survival, evasion, resistance and escape training, I am reminded that we as military members can find ourselves captured by enemies of our country and way of life. Fortunately, I have never had to personally face this situation and I'm not sure how I would react, despite all the training I receive. I've read the books and heard the stories related to the horrors and torture prisoners of war endured. Their suffering ensured my freedom, and I will remember them and remain forever grateful for the sacrifice they made. Today, as you go about your daily routine, pause for a moment and think about your freedom. Remember their sacrifice.