RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, More than 138,000 American service members who fought in World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom were detained or interned as POWs, many suffering and thousands dying from starvation, forced labor, and severe torture; and
WHEREAS, An additional 84,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in these wars remain listed by the Defense Department as unaccounted for; and
WHEREAS, The efforts to recover fallen and missing service members from past and present conflicts serve the common interest of all Americans; and
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago intends to honor the 84,000 missing service members and their families and shares in the nation's gratitude to American prisoners of war; and
WHEREAS, The City additionally thanks the national POW/MIA organizations for their untiring efforts to recover fallen and missing service members and applauds those engaged in the accounting for missing members of the Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, The City Council recently designated a POW/MIA empty chair in the City Council Chambers in honor of American prisoners of war; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we the Mayor and the Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago do hereby urge the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Chicago Bulls to designate a POW/MIA empty chair at Wrigley Field and the United Center as a physical symbol of the thousands of American POW/MIAs still unaccounted for from all wars and conflicts involving the United States of America.