OWEGO, N.Y. (WENY) -- The third Friday in September marks a day for Americans to remember service members who never came home, and the families still waiting for word. On Friday, September 20th, there was a ceremony in Owego to honor the over 81,000 American service members who are still unaccounted for. 

"We hope is they remember there are many, many sacrifices that occur when men and women volunteer to serve in our nations military. We take an oath, and we sign a blank check up to and including our lives, and even though our motto is to leave no one behind on the battlefield, it doesn't always guarantee we're going to find everyone and bring them home," said Michael Middaugh, director of Veteran Services for Tioga County, New York.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, of the 81,186 service members who are unaccounted for, roughly 72,000 are from World War 2, with 7,500 from the Korean War, and 1,500 from the Vietnam War. Work continues to identify the unknown remains that have been recovered. This year alone, 149 unaccounted for service members have been identified.