Losts' Cause
"We got 80 letters about our article on the POW/MIA flag. Heres one.
Letters to the Editor
In "Apocalypse Known" [Mark Oppenheimer, Nov. 20], your slapdash research underpins your biased writing to illustrate another example of mainstream media's split with and disregard for mainstream American values. We are fortunate to have growing public skepticism toward this type of distortion in both print and broadcast media.
Although the POW/MIA flag's origin was from the Vietnam War, its symbolic meaning has grown. Flying of the POW/MIA flag is a constant reminder of the plight of America's POW/MIAs from all wars, past and present. It serves to remind us that freedom isn't free, and it perpetually tells our national leaders that soldiers are not expendable. Were it not for the public awareness brought about by the display of the POW/MIA flag, there would likely be more POW/MIA servicemen like Capt. Scott Speicher and Spc. Keith Mathew Maupin. Do some research on these two cases, Mr. Oppenheimer.
With each passing day, the statistical probability decreases that a live POW/MIA will be returned from a previous war. However, the return of Sgt. Charles Robert Jenkins to U.S. authorities after almost 40 years AWOL and detention in Communist North Korea shows that it is possible.
Since WWII, about 80,000 MIAs have been recorded. In the last 30 years, more than a thousand MIAs have been recovered, identified and brought home. Invariably, the families of these MIAs need this closure. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command continues to bring home American MIAs from past wars. One example of loss, repatriation and closure for families follows.
On June 23, 1966, at 2125 hours, the pilot of an AC-47 "Spooky" gunship flying an armed reconnaissance mission over portions of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southern Laos radioed, "We have a hot fire!" Seconds later, "Bail out!" was the last transmission. After years of uncertainty, long-delayed closure for the families of the six-man crew was achieved when six meticulously folded American flags passed to the closest family member of each serviceman during the burial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 5, 2004.
Mr. Oppenheimer, if you would like to gain insight into the realities of the POW/MIA issue as well as veterans' issues in general, let me know. I can introduce you to some experts. You might also find it educational to visit the PTSD ward of a VA Hospital during the holidays. I welcome the opportunity to arrange this. In the future, please do some primary research and be editorially honest with your readers.
When one American is not worth the effort to be found, we as Americans have lost!
God bless our troops and the United States of America!
John T. Dooley, LTC(R), US Army
Rolling Thunder, Inc.
RollingThunder1.com
Mark Oppenheimer responds:
A couple thoughts, having read dozens of replies to my editorial.
First off, the sub-headline that read "Why do we continue to fly the Vietnam POW/MIA flag when all veterans of that war have been accounted for?" was obviously mistaken, and I am grateful to all of those who pointed out the error. Some MIAs have not been accounted for; in every war some people's remains are never found. I should have said that while some bodies have not been accounted for, the theory that prisoners of war (POWs) remain in Vietnam has been discredited.
Second, despite what many people were sure of, I do have veterans in my family. My father was in the army reserves, stationed at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Other relatives saw active duty in World War II. I am not sure why this matters, but there it is.
Finally, I am encouraged by how much common ground I found with some of you who wrote to me. If we can agree that sometimes our government errs--whether in this case or not--we can move forward by agreeing that we should only fight necessary wars, and that when we go to war we should pay our soldiers decently, better than we do now, and look after them and their families. The government's highest responsibility is to the welfare of its own citizens, and that includes those in the armed services.
--Mark Oppenheimer"
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