KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Friday, a ceremony honored prisoners of war and servicemembers who remain missing in action at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in World's Fair Park.
The ceremony also honored the sole surviving Vietnam prisoner of war from Knox County — Captain Bill Robinson. He was an Airman First Class at the time when his rescue helicopter was shot down. He was 22 years old and was taken prisoner in September 1965.
He spent 2,703 days in captivity and he was released in 1973, before a brief hospitalization in Maryland. He was held at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, and his family previously said they did not know if he was alive for around three-and-a-half years.
As of May 2023, more than 81,000 U.S. servicemembers are still missing. More than 1,400 of them are from Tennessee.
National POW/MIA Recognition Day is Friday, meant to honor people who were prisoners of war and to remember those who are still missing.