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Principal Director of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office Ms. Alisa Stack, (center) rings the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange, with Army Staff Sgt. Joseph A. Green, III, (from right to left) Army Sgt. 1st Class Alethea R. Gardner, Air Force Maj. Carie A. Parker, Marine Gunnery Sgt Harlan R. Calilao, Air Force Staff Sgt. Danielle L. Harris, and Navy CDR David J. Mendez to commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day on Sept. 21 with NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer (back). (Photo courtesy of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office Public Affairs)
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AFPC Airman: Don't forget, they're not all home
Posted 10/11/2012 Updated 10/11/2012
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by Debbie Gildea
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
10/11/2012 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) -- It wasn't the first time she had been to the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, but Staff Sgt. Danielle Harris' Sept. 21 visit was as emotionally energizing as if she'd never been there before.
Annually, during the National Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Day events, New York City officials honor Department of Defense agencies responsible for managing the POW/MIA Personnel Accounting program and Harris, an Air Force Missing Persons Liaison assigned to the Air Force Personnel Center, and six other DoD representatives participated in the day's events, which included a closing bell ceremony on the exchange floor and participating in a N.Y. Yankees home plate tribute to service members past and present.
"When we walked onto the exchange floor, everybody quit working and turned toward us. They clapped and didn't stop until we were all on the podium," Harris Said. "It was amazing."
Representing the Air Force at the annual ceremony was an honor, the 28-year-old Wisconsin native said. But, she explained, the point of the trip and all the events was to remind people that 83,000 Americans are still unaccounted for from World War II to today.
"It wasn't about me, or any of us. It was about our missing service members and their families," said Harris, one of 600 Department of Defense military members and civilians committed to the POW/MIA Personnel Accountability mission.
As a wife and mother, Harris feels strong empathy for the families of America's missing service members, as well. Working with family members is one of the more gratifying aspects of her job.
"We represent our missing servicemen and their families. Honoring them and their sacrifices was the whole point of the New York visit, for me," she said. "I don't want people to forget that not everybody came home, and those service members still unaccounted for are not forgotten."
For more information about the DoD mission to account for missing Americans, visit the Defense POW/Missing Person Office website at www.dtic.mil/dpmo. For more information about Air Force personnel issues, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil. |
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