News-Info-Alerts

Re: Viet Vets Stage Cage Walk

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: March 29, 2003

"'Michigan to D.C. Cage Walk' marches through Fremont

By Jack Buehrer
Staff writer

Nearly 35 years ago, Fred Bletz was stranded, alone, for more than five days in a Vietnamese jungle.

The former machine-gunner in the U.S. Marines was in a helicopter that was shot down during the Vietnam War. He managed to find his way back to his unit without being taken prisoner.

But the experience was enough to change his life.

"I know what it's like to be left behind by your unit, by your country," he said. "Talk about feeling alone. I was lucky that I wasn't captured, but it's affected me quite a bit emotionally."

Dressed in black, shackled and confined to a four-by-four bamboo cage, Bletz is part of Rolling Thunder, a non-profit prisoner of war/missing in action activist group. Rolling Thunder is staging a "Michigan to D.C. Cage Walk" to raise awareness of the more than 93,000 POW/MIAs that are still unaccounted for dating back to World War I.

Eight members of the organization rolled through Fremont Thursday on their way to Sandusky, where today they planned to visit the Ohio Veterans Home on Ohio 250.

Bletz, who will be "imprisoned" in the cage and pulled by members of Rolling Thunder throughout the entire trek to the capital, is committed to honoring the thousands of veterans who weren't as lucky as he was and demanding governmental accountability for them.

"I saw some of them (POWs), and I'll tell you, it's not a pretty sight," he said. "Whenever we sign a peace treaty, we should have accountability for everyone who is still missing. If you had a loved one, wouldn't you want to know if they'd actually died? They served their country; they should be accounted for."

Sponsored locally by the Fremont VFW Post 2947, who welcomed the group at the Beer Port on West State Street, the march covered a little more than a mile, ending up at Flag Memorial Park across the street from the Sandusky County Courthouse. There, they were greeted by Fremont Mayor Terry Overmyer, local veterans groups and residents giving their support to the cause.

"I think this is a good way to raise awareness for prisoners of war, especially now," said Glenn Maddy, 77, of Fremont.

Maddy was a POW for more than three months in 1945 in Germany after fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.

"It's a terrible experience. I was captured on January 1, 1945, and I was 19 years old. I lost 45 pounds, I had dysentery very bad ... I took a shower on Dec. 26, 1944, and the next time, I was able to bathe was May 11, 1945," he said. "But I'm not here to complain about the government. This is more to honor the POWs than to make a call to the government for accountability."

As they walked down State Street on their way to Flag Park, members of the group spoke little, but waved their American flags vigorously at the droves of passers-by who showed their support by honking their car horns and shouting words of encouragement.

"This is what we wanted," said Bletz, acknowledging the show of support from the Fremont community. "The cage is to bring attention to small-town America about POW/MIAs. A lot of our soldiers are from small towns, and when you're at war, soldiers lose their innocence. I like seeing people supporting the troops. Protesting the war costs soldiers their lives. I don't want to see the general public turn their backs on veterans again like they did with Vietnam.

"That just can't happen again."

After they completed their walk, the members of Rolling Thunder shook hands with the veterans who turned out to support their march and spoke freely about their cause.

"We're all in this together," said Gary Wilder of Lorain County, president of Rolling Thunder's Chapter 6 in Ohio. "We're out here to bring veterans' issues to the forefront. One thing about Rolling Thunder is that we're all family. We're all out here for the same reasons."

Copyright ©2003 The News-Messenger. "