Mount POW/MIA
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| Mount POW/MIA | |
|---|---|
  Mount POW/MIA | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,280 feet (1,300 m)+[1] |
| Coordinates | 61°26′45″N 149°11′55″W / 61.44583°N 149.19861°W[2] |
| Geography | |
| Location | Anchorage Municipality, Alaska, U.S. |
| Parent range | Chugach Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Anchorage B-6 |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | From the south side |
Mount POW/MIA is a mountain in the U.S. state of Alaska that has been dedicated to all the soldiers that are or have been given the status of Prisoner of War or Missing in Action (POW/MIA).[3] The mountain is just north of Eklutna Lake and is west of Twin peaks and Bull Peak, six miles southeast of Wasilla in Chugach State Park.[3] There is a POW/MIA flag placed atop of Mount POW/MIA and is replaced annually by the Local Colony Army JROTC program during Memorial weekend in May.
The black and white flag was designed by the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia and has been flown at the White House.[4]
This mountain was originally known to locals by the name Anvil Peak and was renamed by the efforts of John Morrissey, a Vietnam veteran from Patterson, New York. Morrissey, with the help of veterans advocate Leo Kaye, pressed the USGS to recognize the mountain as a monument for all American soldiers that have been prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) in America's past and future conflicts. The two veterans' mission was completed on Veterans Day 1999 with the official naming of the mountain.[3] John Morrissey died in New York September 19, 2007. His ashes were placed to rest on the mountain on June 17, 2008.
