PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Friday is National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

It’s a day meant to bring attention to our veterans that are prisoners of war and missing in action.

Thursday, a ceremony was held at the campus of Bay Pines Veterans Hospital to pay homage to prisoners of war and those missing in action.

It’s a tradition David Miller has been a part of for decades.

“I had a lot of friends who were prisoners of war and MIA’s,” he said.

Setting up before the ceremony starts, Miller remembered his comrades from over the years.

A veteran himself, Miller said there are still far too many missing Americans.

That’s why he set up the missing man table.

Each item is meant to remind people of the fallen, the missing, and those still imprisoned. “The salt on the plate is the bitter tears caused by the families, and the lemon as well takes care of the tears and the bitterness of a P.O.W. and M.I.A. missing from their family,” he said.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, there are nearly 1,600 Americans missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam war, a number David wants to see hit zero. 

“There are our forgotten heroes that we’re remembering,” he said. “They were never brought home. They were left or forgotten, and you know what? Our country has a duty to bring them back.” 

National POW/MIA recognition day was established in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter.