Oregon Chapter Member Leads Effort to Honor POW/MIA Veterans
December 14, 2020
Lt. Col. Dick Tobiason, USA (Ret), far left, members of the Crook County High School Navy Junior ROTC unit, and others, dedicate a sign along Oregon s new POW/MIA Memorial Highway in September. (Courtesy photo)
By Blair Drake, contributing editor
Members of the Central Oregon Chapter were instrumental in an effort to honor Oregonians who were prisoners of war (POWs) and those listed as missing in action (MIA). On Sept. 19, 2020 National POW/MIA Recognition Day Oregon’s 471-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 26 was dedicated as the state’s official POW/MIA Memorial Highway. It honors the 920 Oregonians who were POWs and approximately 1,000 who are still listed as MIA since World War I. It is believed to be the first border-to-border POW/MIA memorial highway in the nation.