83,000.

That’s enough people to fill MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey–currently the largest-capacity venue in the NFL–and keep almost an additional five hundred people outside. Not enough? Look at it this way: Champaign, Illinois as a ghost town. Ponder that for just a moment.

Eighty-three thousand is the number of Americans who haven’t returned home from wars in distant lands. The anguish felt by family, friends, comrades-in-arms, and even entire communities is not something that can be described with words. You’ve either felt it or you haven’t, and if you haven’t, you’ll never understand.

The table setting for those missing or held captive, honored by the USAF Weapons School during the graduation dinner.
The table setting for those missing or held captive, honored by the USAF Weapons School during a graduation dinner.

Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and we at FighterSweep wish to take a moment to honor those who haven’t come home, and lift up those left behind.

Lest We Forget…