Our military tries to never leave anybody behind in war, but unfortunately that is not always possible.

Today, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we remember the 83,000 Americans who are missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the 1991 Gulf War.

While it may not always be possible to recover prisoners of war and those listed as missing in action, our nation has a sacred duty to never give up trying to recover those who gave their all for their country.

The Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, has hundreds of personnel — both military and civilian — working in organizations around the world as part of its personnel recovery program.

Three recoveries have recently been announced — two from World War II and one from the Korean War.

The Korean War recovery was Army Pfc. Arthur Richardson, 28, of Fall River, Mass., who was to be buried Thursday, Sept. 18, in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

In January 1951, Richardson and elements of Company A, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, were deployed northeast of Seoul, South Korea, where they were attacked by enemy forces.

During the attempt to delay the enemy forces from advancing, Richardson and his unit were moving toward a more defensible position, when his unit suffered heavy losses. It was during this attack that Richardson was reported missing.

His remains and 208 others were returned by North Korea in the 1990s, but only recently identified through a DNA match with his niece and grand-niece.

World War II Army Air Force 1st Lt. William D. Bernier, part of a B-24D Liberator crew, was shot down April 10, 1944, on a mission over Madang Province, New Guinea. His remains were found, along with some of the other crewmen, in 2001. His remains were identified from a DNA match with cousins. He is to be buried today, Sept. 19, in his hometown.

Another World War II MIA recently buried, Sept. 12, was Army Pfc. Bernard Gavrin, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., in Arlington National Cemetery. He was serving with the 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, in heavy combat on Saipan Island when he was reported missing on July 7, 1944.

In September 2013, several Japanese non-governmental organizations recovered human remains on the island and turned them over to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command. A DNA match with Gavrin’s nephew allowed his remains to be identified.

There are many other recently accounted for cases, and their stories can be found on the DPMO’s web site, www.dtic.mil/dpmo/accounted_for.

As can be seen from these most recent cases, the DPMO’s job is far from done and its efforts are a constant reminder that the price of maintaining freedom is extremely high.

Remember all of these men on this solemn day, and may they all rest in peace.(MGNonline)