National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony held at Alabama Capitol

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - A ceremony to commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day was held at the Alabama State Capitol on Saturday.

The ceremony honored and remembered the brave men and women who endured the hardships as Prisoners of War, and the Missing in Action who are still unaccounted for, and paid special recognition to their families.

Traditionally held on the third Friday in September, the ceremony was moved to Saturday to encourage and accommodate public attendance.

The ceremony included the raising of the POW/MIA Flag, featured patriotic music, a wreath-laying ceremony, and the playing of Taps.

The observance is one of six days of the year that Congress has mandated the flying of the POW/MIA flag at federal buildings. The Alabama Legislature passed legislation in 2008 that allows for the POW/MIA flag to be flown at state buildings as well.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Janet Cobb, executive director of the USS Alabama Battleship Commission and Battleship Memorial Park, gave the keynote address.

She was commissioned a 2nd Lt., Signal Corps in May 1978 from the University of Alabama ROTC program, where she was named a Distinguished Military Graduate. Ret. Maj. Gen. Cobb was the 54th general officer and the first female general officer to graduate from the University of Alabama.

In 2016, she was retired from the U.S. Army after 42 years. Her decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, and various campaign and service awards. In April 2017, Ret. Maj. Gen. Cobb was one of seven selectees for the inaugural University of Alabama ROTC Hall of Fame.

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