In 1970, MIA wife and member of the National League of POW/MIA Families, Mrs. Michael Hoff, recognized the need for a symbol of our POW/MIAs. She reached out to a designer that came up with the design for the flag. The design was approved by the National League of POW/MIA board of directors on January 22-23 of 1972. The flags were manufactured and ready for distribution.

The POW/MIA flag is a visible reminder of those veterans that have not returned home. Besides our national flag it is the only ever to fly over the White House. It was first flown over the White House on National POW/MIA REcognition Day in 1982. In 1989 an official League flag was installed permanently in the US Capitol Rotunda.

The League’s POW/MIA flag is the only flag ever displayed in the US Capitol Rotunda where it stands as a powerful symbol of America’s determination to account for US personnel still missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. On August 10, 1990, the 101st Congress passed bipartisan legislation and President George H.W. Bush signed PL 101-355, recognizing our POW/MIA flag and designating it “the symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation”.

On November 7, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed PL 116-67, amending Title 36, Section 2 (Days on Which the POW/MIA Flag is Displayed on Certain Federal Property), and Subsection 902(c) (Days for Flag Display). For the purposes of these sections, POW/MIA flag display days are all days on which the flag of the United States is displayed. The Federal property locations where the POW/MIA flag must be displayed in a manner visible to the public are: The US Capitol; the White House; the WWII Memorial; the Korean War Veterans Memorial; the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial; each national cemetery; buildings containing the offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs; office of the Director of the Selective Service System; each major military installation as designated by the Secretary of Defense; each Veterans Affairs medical center; and each office of the US Postal Service. Most states have adopted similar laws as have local governments nationwide.