Remembrance Day Ceremony
POW/MIA Remembrance Day Ceremony 2025
Friday, September 19, 2025
11:30 am: Pre-ceremonial concert
12:00 pm: Ceremony
LOCATION: Pershing Auditorium, Indiana War Memorial, 55 E Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Honoring former prisoners of war and those missing in action and unaccounted for, and their families.
Many service members suffered as prisoners of war during several decades of conflicts. Many others are missing in action and never made it home. Join us on Sept. 19, 2025, for POW/MIA Remembrance Day, as we come together as a nation to honor these heroes and their families who paid the ultimate price.
With the support of the Indiana National Guard ceremonies team, representatives from all military service branches, the City of Indianapolis, and the State of Indiana, this ceremony was uniquely created for citizens of Indiana to honor and recognize the sacrifices made by former Indiana Prisoners of War and their families, along with the families of Indiana’s Missing in Action. The Council realizes the importance of this remembrance and vows to continue our ongoing commitment to those who gave so much.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ROBERT APODACA
Robert Apodaca was born at Laredo AFB, TX in 1964, while his father was an Air Force Instructor Pilot with the 3640th Pilot Training Wing. In 1967, Major Victor Joe Apodaca Jr. was killed in Vietnam when Robert was just three years old. His F4 Phantom fighter jet was shot down over North Vietnam, and he was missing in action for years.
In the summer of 2001, his father’s remains were identified through a blood sample from an uncle. In September, Robert accompanied his father’s remains for burial at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was the only passenger allowed in U.S. airspace in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
After decades of what he calls an ‘emotional roller coaster’ of false hope, Robert’s family finally had answers – and peace. But he hasn’t stopped helping other Gold Star families. He remains involved in Sons and Daughters in Touch, an all-volunteer, national support organization committed to uniting the Gold Star sons and daughters of service members who were killed, or who remain missing from the Vietnam War.
“I want them to know the Airman’s Creed, the last two lines: I will never leave an Airman behind, I will never falter, And I will not fail,” says Apodaca. “For me those aren’t words. That’s a promise the military kept,” he adds. “It’s our military brothers in arms. We’ve got to keep going and make the effort to do it.”
Robert Apodaca is a Sr. Staff Systems Engineer / Sr. Staff Flight Test Engineer with Lockheed Martin in Orlando, Florida. Robert is responsible for Integration and Flight Test activities supporting both classified and unclassified programs at Lockheed Martin.
After high school Robert attended the U.S. Air Force Academy but ultimately got his Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Alabama. Robert was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Alabama, and for his first assignment he was sent back to Colorado Springs.
During his brief active-duty career in the USAF, Robert was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, and the Aerial Achievement Medal for his actions in his service to his country.
Robert has also served on the Board of Directors for the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.
The Indianapolis POW/MIA Council, Inc. is dedicated to preserving the memory of our Nation’s veterans. National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremonies are held throughout the Nation and around the world on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, schools, churches, national veteran and civic organizations, police, and fire departments, etc.
