WHEREAS, the State will not forget our Nation's prisoners of war and those missing in action (POWs/MIAs) and the devoted service they have bravely rendered to our country, and neither will the State of Idaho fail to meet its obligation to their families; and

       WHEREAS, Idaho remembers those Americans who remain missing and unaccounted for; and

      WHEREAS, our State is determined to keep faith with those who have so faithfully served and defended the United States; and

      WHEREAS, Idaho recognizes the profound suffering of those who continue to await word of the fate of their loved ones, and the State is determined to help them gain the peace and consolation that word will bring; and

      WHEREAS, the POW/MIA flag symbolizes Idaho's firm and united commitment to securing the release of any Americans who may still be held against their will, to obtaining the fullest possible accounting for the missing, and to repatriation of all recoverable American remains; and

     WHEREAS, Executive Order 2003-03 establishes a schedule for flying the POW/MIA flag over the Idaho State Capitol Building, independent of this Executive Order,

      NOW, THEREFORE, I, DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Governor of the State of Idaho, by the authority vested in me under the Constitution and laws of this state do hereby order as follows:

      The POW/MIA flag shall be flown over the Idaho State Capitol Building from November 11, 2003, Veterans Day, until the opening of the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, at which time it will be transferred to and permanently flown at the cemetery. The POW/MIA flag is a symbol of the gratitude of the citizens of this state to all the men and women who are listed as missing in action, or who are or have been forcibly detained as a prisoner of war by our enemies. These persons have sacrificed and suffered much for their country while fighting for the cause of freedom.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Idaho at the Capitol in Boise on this eleventh day of November in the year of our Lord two thousand and three and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred twenty-seventh and of the Statehood of Idaho the one hundred thirteenth.

BEN YSURSA
SECRETARY OF STATE