by Debbie Gildea
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – It wasn’t the first time she had been to the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, but Staff Sgt. Danielle Harris’ Sept. 21 visit was as emotionally energizing as if she’d never been there.
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – It wasn’t the first time she had been to the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, but Staff Sgt. Danielle Harris’ Sept. 21 visit was as emotionally energizing as if she’d never been there.
Annually, during the National Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition
Day events, New York City officials honor Department of Defense agencies
responsible for managing the POW/MIA Personnel Accounting program.
Harris, an Air Force Missing Persons Liaison assigned to the Air Force
Personnel Center, and six other DoD representatives participated in the day’s
events, which included a closing bell ceremony on the exchange floor and
participating in a N.Y. Yankees home plate tribute to service members past and
present.
“When we walked onto the exchange floor, everybody quit working and turned
toward us. They clapped and didn’t stop until we were all on the podium,”
Harris Said. “It was amazing.”
Representing the Air Force at the annual ceremony was an honor, the
28-year-old Wisconsin native said. But, she explained, the point of the trip
and all the events was to remind people that 83,000 Americans are still
unaccounted for from World War II to today.
“It wasn’t about me, or any of us. It was about our missing service members
and their families,” said Harris, one of 600 Department of Defense military
members and civilians committed to the POW/MIA Personnel Accountability
mission.
As a wife and mother, Harris feels strong empathy for the families of
America’s missing service members, as well. Working with family members is one
of the more gratifying aspects of her job.
“We represent our missing servicemen and their families. Honoring them and
their sacrifices was the whole point of the New York visit, for me,” she said.
“I don’t want people to forget that not everybody came home, and those service
members still unaccounted for are not forgotten.”
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