For POW/Missing Personnel Affairs
September 18, 1998
Indianapolis, Indiana
THANK YOU FOR THAT KIND INTRODUCTION IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK IN INDIANA -- BACK HOME! DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
TODAY IS A VERY SPECIAL DAY FOR ME, AND I TRUST IT IS FOR MANY OF YOU.
IT MARKS THIS NATION'S ANNUAL RECOGNITION OF THE SACRIFICES MADE IN COMBAT BY THOSE WHO HAVE NOT RETURNED. THEY ARE HONORED BY OUR MILITARY, THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNITY.
THIS IS NOT A DAY YOU WILL FIND MARKED ON MANY OF YOUR CALENDARS BUT IT IS A DAY WHICH LIVES IN THE HEARTS OF SO MANY WHO HAVE WAITED FOR ANSWERS. ANSWERS ABSENT SINCE THE DAY THEIR LOVED ONES WENT OFF TO WAR.
AS A MUCH YOUNGER MAN, LIKE MANY OF YOU, I FELT I WANTED TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO OUR COUNTRY
LIKE SO MANY THOUSANDS OF OTHERS, I DONNED THE UNIFORM, SWORE MY ALLEGIANCE, AND HEADED FOR WAR
FROM MY HOMETOWN OF TERRE HAUTE, THERE WERE MANY OTHERS. WE JOINED THOSE FROM FRENCH LICK, HOBART, WARSAW, TIPTON, FORT WAYNE, FROM INDIANAPOLIS.
OFF WE WENT TO WAR. FOR "WAR IS A SPECIAL KIND OF ACTIVITY, DIFFERENT AND SEPARATE FROM ANY OTHER PURSUED BY MAN." (CLAUSEWIZ)
MANY OF US WENT WITH LOFTY IDEALS IN OUR HEARTS, BUT EVERY ONE OF US WENT FULL OF THE DETERMINATION AND PASSION THAT ALL YOUNG SOLDIERS HAVE.
WE SAW THE HORRORS OF COMBAT, AND WE SAW SO MANY OF OUR YOUNG FRIENDS MAIMED, OR KILLED.
EVERY DAY WE PRAYED, "DEAR GOD, JUST ONE MORE DAY!"
FOR SOME, OUR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED. WE CAME HOME.
HOME TO THE LOVING ARMS OF A FAMILY AND A HOOSIER TOWN......A TOWN WHERE THE AMERICAN FLAG FLEW EVERY DAY
I AM PROUD OF THAT FLAG
AND DEFEND IT WITH ALL MY HEART
TO THOSE WHO WOULD DESECRATE IT I SAY, HAVE YOU NO SHAME?
OUR FLAG STILL FLYS, BUT ALONG SIDE THAT AMERICAN FLAG IS A STARK, BLACK POW FLAG
YOU WILL SEE THAT FLAG FROM TIME TO TIME AS YOU SEE IT HERE TODAY.
YOU'LL SEE IT ON JULY 4th. ON MEMORIAL DAY. ON FLAG DAY. AND YOU'LL SEE IT TODAY -- NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY.
IT'S NOW THE LAW OF THE LAND -- A LAW THAT THIS FLAG SHALL BE FLOWN OVER CERTAIN FEDERAL INSTALLATIONS ON SPECIAL DAYS.
I AM PROUD TO HAVE PLAYED A SMALL ROLE IN THIS WHEN YOU SEE THIS FLAG, PLEASE STOP FOR A MOMENT.
REMEMBER A YOUNG MARINE. CORPORAL KENNETH LOYD CRODY. THAT YOUNG MARINE, ONLY 18-YEARS-OLD.
HIS ASSAULT HELICOPTER WAS HIT BY ENEMY FIRE OVER QUANG TRI PROVINCE, SOUTH VIETNAM.
THE HELICOPTER EXPLODED AND BURST INTO FLAMES. THE PILOT STRUGGLED BUT MANAGED TO BRING IT TO THE GROUND.
A NUMBER OF THE CREW MEMBERS MANAGED TO ESCAPE.
IN SPITE OF SEARCHES OF THE AREA, AND IN FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATIONS CORPORAL CRODY HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND.
HIS FAMILY, AND HIS HOMETOWN OF GRIFFITH, STILL WAIT KENNETH IS MISSING IN ACTION.
WHEN YOU SEE THAT POW FLAG, THINK OF DEAN A. DUVALL, AN AIR FORCE CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT FROM MONTICELLO.
ON THE 13TH OF MARCH 1966, ALONG WITH OTHER CREWMEMBERS, CHIEF DUVALL TOOK OFF FROM DA NANG, HEADED FOR AN ARMED RECONNAISSANCE MISSION OVER THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL.
THE LAST CONTACT WITH HIS FLIGHT WAS JUST MINUTES BEFORE THE PLANNED ENTRY INTO LAOTIAN AIRSPACE.
THEY NEVER RETURNED.
IN SPITE OF AN INTENSIVE SEARCH AT THE TIME OF THE LOSS, NO CRASH SITE WAS FOUND.
AS LATE AS 1992, A TEAM VISITED A SUSPECTED CRASH SITE. THEY FOUND NOTHING.
WE CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE LEADS, BUT .. DEAN A. DUVALL IS STILL MISSING IN ACTION.
REMEMBER ALSO PRIVATE JAMES T. MCINTYRE. NEW ALBANY WAS HIS HOMETOWN.
ON A SWELTERING JULY DAY IN 1950, HIS UNIT FELL BACK TO A LINE SOUTH OF SEOUL, KOREA.
HIS POSITION WAS OVERRUN IN THE HELL OF THE BATTLEFIELD, AND HE WAS TAKEN PRISONER.
MARCHED NORTH AS A POW TO SEOUL, THEN FARTHER NORTH TO PYONGYANG.
PACKED INTO A CROWDED TRAIN, WHICH TOOK HIM AND HUNDREDS OF OTHER AMERICANS EVER NORTHWARD.
ENDURING "DEATH MARCHES," HE WAS PUSHED FARTHER AND FARTHER INTO THE INTERIOR OF NORTH KOREA
GREATLY WEAKENED, HE FELL BEYOND THE HOPE OF MEN AND DIED AMONG FRIENDS É. THREE DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS.
IT WAS STILL 1950. JAMES T. MCINTYRE HAD BEEN PROMOTED TO CORPORAL, BUT HE NEVER KNEW IT.
HE NEVER CAME HOME TO INDIANA.
BUT WE KNOW WHERE JAMES IS NOW.
HIS SHALLOW GRAVE LIES ON A HILLSIDE OVERLOOKING THE NORTH KOREAN VILLAGE OF HANGJANG-NI ("HONG JONG KNEE")
WE ARE IN NORTH KOREA NOW AND WE PLAN TO BE THERE FOR A LONG TIME YOU CAN BE SURE THAT someday, JAMES T. MCINTYRE WILL COME HOME.
WE VETERANS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO ENSURE THAT HE -- LIKE HIS WAR -- IS NEVER FORGOTTEN
WHEN YOU SEE THAT HARSH FLAG, REMEMBER FOR ONE SOLEMN MOMENT THAT 61 OF INDIANA'S SONS NEVER RETURNED HOME FROM VIETNAM.
FROM THE KOREAN WAR, FROM WORLD WAR TWO..... HUNDREDS MORE OF INDIANA'S SONS HAVE NEVER RETURNED
WE ALSO PAUSE TODAY TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO ENDURED THE HARDSHIPS OF IMPRISONMENT AND RETURNED TO LEAD AMERICA
WE REMEMBER ONE YOUNG NAVY FLIER, FLYING A DANGEROUS RECONNAISSANCE MISSION OVER NORTH VIETNAM
<
BR>BLOWN OUT OF THE SKY, HE SURVIVED. BUT ONLY TO ENDURE A HELL ON EARTH AS A P.O.W.
YOU ALL KNOW THAT YOUNG NAVY LIEUTENANT AS JOE KERNAN, OUR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.
THIS STARK, BLACK FLAG STANDS FOR REMEMBRANCE.
IT ALSO STANDS FOR COMMITMENT.
THE COMMITMENT IS A NATIONAL ONE
THE COMMITMENT IS TO BRING THEM HOME !
FROM ALL CONFLICTS, FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE GLOBE, WHEREVER IT TAKES US, AND FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES US.. WE WILL BRING THEM HOME!
NOW, AS WE GATHER HERE IN THE HEARTLAND OF AMERICA, HUNDREDS OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN ARE SEARCHING THE STEAMING JUNGLES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA.
FROM THE GLACIERS OF TIBET AND FROM THE FROZEN MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN CHINA. FROM THE RUGGED HILLSIDES OF NORTH KOREA, FROM THE FROZEN PLAINS OF RUSSIA, OUR TEAMS ARE IN THE FIELD
THEIR SEARCH IS FOR ANSWERS FOR CLOSURE.
WITH MORE THAN 88,000 AMERICANS MISSING FROM ALL CONFLICTS, OUR TASK IS A DAUNTING ONE.
BEHIND THE LINES OF NORTH KOREA, A COUNTRY WITH WHICH WE ARE TECHNICALLY STILL AT WARÉ..WE CONTINUE THE SEARCH.
IN THE RICE PADDIES OF NORTH VIETNAM, FOLLOWING YEARS OF INVESTIGATIONS AND THROUGH THE USE OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY, WE ARE BRINGING AMERICA'S SONS HOME.
EVERY MONTH, OUR OPERATIONS RETURN MORE AMERICANS TO THEIR LOVED ONES
WE ARE RELENTLESS IN OUR QUEST TO DETERMINE THE FATE OF OUR MISSING -- TO BRING THEM HOME
BUT THAT SOMBER, BLACK FLAG...... WHILE IT REMINDS US OF THOSE WHO NEVER RETURNED, IT SHOULD ALSO REMIND US OF THE COMMITMENT.
THE COMMITMENT THAT THE UNITED STATES MAKES TO EACH OF ITS YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO ANSWER THE NATION'S CALL.
THE COURAGE OF THE SOLDIER IS HEIGHTENED BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS PROFESSION. IT IS INGRAINED IN OUR SERVICE TRADITION "TO PERISH YOUR SELF, BUT RESCUE YOUR COMRADE."
THEY MUST HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT OUR COMMITMENT IS THAT WE WILL BRING THEM HOME.
FOR HOW CAN WE, IN SHAME, FACE THEIR FAMILIES
IT'S A COMMITMENT TO THE FAMILIES WHO GAVE THEIR LOVED ONES, WHO HAVE ENDURED A PAIN THAT MANY OF US CANNOT IMAGINE -- WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THOSE FAMILIES.
ON A QUIET, SHADY HILLSIDE OF ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, NOW RESTS THE 17- MAN CREW OF A SINGLE AIR FORCE AIRCRAFT.
THEY WERE CASUALTIES OF THE COLD WAR.
FEW AMERICANS KNOW THAT THE COLD WAR CLAIMED THE LIVES OF ABOUT 130 SERVICEMEN
THEIR MISSION, A SECRET ONE, WAS TO SKIRT THE FORMER SOVIET UNION AND GATHER INTELLIGENCE
THEY STRAYED ACROSS THE BORDER AND WERE ATTACKED BY SOVIET MIGS. THAT WAS 1958.
I WAS HONORED TO JOIN THE FAMILIES IN ARLINGTON JUST TWO WEEKS AGO, AS THEY SAID THEIR FINAL GOODBYES TO THESE YOUNG MEN.
I WAS HONORED TO KNOW OF THE MASSIVE EFFORT, THROUGH THE U. S.- RUSSIA JOINT COMMISSION ON POW/MIAS -- AND THE COMMITMENT -- THAT LED TO THE ANSWERS WE NEEDED TO LOCATE AND IDENTIFY THESE BRAVE CREWMEMBERS.
ONE OF THESE YOUNG WARRIORS, AIRMAN SECOND CLASS JAMES E. FERGUSON WAS FROM KINGSFORD HEIGHTS, INDIANA.
IT TOOK 40 YEARS, BUT AIRMAN FERGUSON IS HOME.
OBSERVE THE SURROUNDINGS HERE IN VETERANS MEMORIAL PLAZA
HONOR THE MEMORY OF THOSE BEFORE US WHO HAVE GIVEN SO MUCH
SEE THE FLAG UNDER WHICH WE ENJOY THE PLEASURES OF FREEDOM
SEE THE STARK, HARSH, BLACK FLAG THAT SYMBOLIZES OUR RESOLVE
KNOW THAT AMERICA'S COMMITMENT TO ITS MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER.
IN TIME OF NEED, THEY ANSWERERD THE CALL
THEY KNOW FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE
ITS CURRENCY IS THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE OF OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM
IT IS NOW TIME FOR US TO RENEW OUR COMMITMENT..
TO HONOR.. AND TO REMEMBER TO BRING THEM HOME
BURNED INTO THE HEARTS OF MANY AMERICANS ARE A FEW LINES FROM A POW''S PRAYER
I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT WAS WRITTEN, OR WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN, BUT ON THIS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, IT SEEKS WISDOM AND IT SEEKS STRENGTH:
-- FATHER, YOUR OWN SON WAS A PRISONER. CONDEMNED, HE DIED FOR US. VICTORIOUS, HE RETURNED TO BRING US THE GIFT OF LIFE EVERLASTING. COMFORT US NOW IN OUR LONGING FOR THE RETURN OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR AND THOSE MISSING IN ACTION.
-- INSPIRE US TO REMOVE THE OBSTACLES
-- PROTECT THOSE WHO SEEK IN SECRET, AND HELP THEM TO SUCCEED
-- LET THEM COME HOME SOON
THANK YOU