Today the United States honors and remembers former and active members of the military who have been prisoners of war or are missing in action. No words can express our heartfelt appreciation to these men and women who have suffered tremendously for the sake of our country. The sacrifices made by prisoners of war and those missing in action will never be forgotten.

I am honored to serve in Congress with Representative Sam Johnson (R-TX), who was a POW in the Vietnam War for seven years, 42 months of which he spent in solitary confinement, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a POW for five and a half years during the Vietnam War. He suffered many injuries from his time in a Vietnamese prison camp.

Every soldier that is captured or missing is another reminder that freedom is never free, and the price is often dearly paid by young men and women who endure for their fellow Americans. May God bless them and their families, and may we never forget them as we enjoy life and liberty in the greatest country on earth.