Kirtland Air Force Base, NM -- Team Kirtland will begin its annual prisoner of war and missing in action remembrance with a 24-hour POW/MIA vigil run Sept. 16 at Hardin Field.

The opening ceremony will start at 9:45 a.m. More than 150 military and civilian volunteers will keep the POW/MIA flag in motion around Hardin Field to honor those who have been prisoners of war or are missing in action.

"This 24-hour vigil honors the individuals who sacrificed days, months and even years of their lives," said Tech. Sgt. Marcy DeCoff, noncommissioned officer in charge of the dental support flight and event organizer. "The event also honors those still unaccounted for, for one word - 'freedom.'"

The Team Kirtland runners will deliver the POW/MIA flag to the New Mexico Veterans Memorial at 10 a.m. Sept. 17. The Kirtland AFB honor guard will then post it during the POW/MIA Remembrance Day Ceremony, held each year on the third Friday of September. The event's keynote speaker will be Col. Robert Maness, 377th Air Base Wing commander.

"On that day, we remember the commitments and sacrifices of our prisoners of war and those still missing in action," said Sergeant DeCoff. "These men and women are forever in our hearts and minds."

National POW/MIA Recognition Day is one of six days specified by law on which the POW/MIA flag shall be flown over federal facilities and cemeteries, post offices and military installations. The observance honors the commitment and sacrifice of POWs and MIAs throughout the nation's history.