The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (Neches River Chapter) held its regular meeting on April 14, 2022, in Canton, Texas. First Vice Regent Rose Ann Ward presided, in the absence of Regent Sherrie Archer.

The speaker for the meeting was Cathy Sadler, member of the Star of Destiny DAR Chapter in Katy, Texas. Ms. Sadler spoke regarding the issue of U.S. military personnel who were or are Prisoners of War (POWs) or Missing In Action (MIAs). She serves as the Chair for the DAR Project Patriot, and has worked with the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to bring honor and remembrance to many lost military service members.

Sadler emphasized the tragic plight of those service people who, in various armed conflicts, are POWs or MIAs. She told of the anguish of families trying to locate loved ones who have been captured or who are missing during military action. She described her own family’s struggle to locate her uncle, who was declared MIA in 1951, during the Korean War.

In the ensuing years, her uncle’s parents and siblings received conflicting information from the Defense Department as to whether he was really MIA or a POW. Later the family received information from a non-government source indicating he was alive but MIA. Decades were spent in searching for him, with inconclusive results. The family eventually worked to obtain a military marker in the uncle’s memory, although they never secured any remains and never knew if he died during the war or survived.

Sadler’s experience prompted her to work to spread the word about the issue of POWs and MIAs, which she has spent many years doing. She stressed that people should let family members of POWs or MIAs know that they are not forgotten. She also reminded everyone of the value of submitting their DNA if asked by the U.S. Defense Department to locate an MIA loved one, even if that person has been missing for generations.

Members at the meeting learned a lot about the bravery of military service people, and the human cost of war.