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Prisoners of War / Missing In Action
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Posted on 12/02/2004 8:10:17 PM PST by moonpie57
Why do we continue to fly the Vietnam POW/MIA flag when all veterans of that war have been accounted for?
In front of every post office in the state of Connecticut hang at least two flags: the flag of the United States and the Vietnam POW/MIA flag. You probably know the POW/MIA flag, seen often on bumper stickers. It's a black silhouette of a man, with barbed wire and a guard tower in the background, above the legend, "You are not forgotten." This particular design is, in fact, recognized by a federal law. And the display of the flag is required at certain places--like post offices, national cemeteries, and major military installations--on certain special days, like Independence Day, Flag Day, and Veterans Day. A federal law passed in 1998 and signed by President Clinton requires that this flag be flown.
At first, flying this flag may seem like a good idea; it honors veterans and reminds us of those who don't come home from war. But I hope I can persuade you that this flag is a more complicated symbol, one that we should question as well as honor.
I honor veterans. Veterans defended our country so that the rest of us could stay home and rest, peacefully, in the company of our families. Too many people (especially liberals) caricature the military, dismissing an institution that has been at the fore of racial integration and the promotion of social class mobility (even if I think the military's position on homosexuality is misguided).
But I believe that this flag may be the wrong way to honor veterans, for two reasons.
First, the issue of prisoners of war and missing-in-action soldiers is a partisan political tool, a leftover from Cold War, Reagan-era posturing. The hatred of communism--which I share--led many to conclude that Vietnam must still be harboring American soldiers. The Rambo movies, with their wacky conspiracy-mongering, didn't help.
This flag became a part of that battle, a battle waged even after after 1992, when a bipartisan Senate commission led by Sens. John Kerry and John McCain, found (in the words of its report) "no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia."
The committee--comprising conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats--took hundreds of depositions; questioned government officials, both American and Vietnamese, who had served in the war; and traveled to Vietnam and Laos to inspect prisons, interrogate officials, and read through records. And they found no evidence of POWs or MIAs.
I know that our government lies to its people, a lot. I respect anyone who is skeptical of power, and I am glad that veterans' groups forced our leaders to really grapple with this issue. And it's impossible ever to know the whole truth. But on this issue we've come about as close as we can. And now that we have re-established ties with Vietnam, and Americans travel there relatively freely, it is more unlikely than ever that soldiers are being held captive.
But to those of you who have weighed the evidence and sincerely believe that POWs remain, I say this: Those soldiers already have a flag. It's the American flag. The Stars and Stripes belongs to all of us. And the American flag is also the flag of Vietnam vets who made it home-- and Korea vets and World War II vets and veterans of the Gulf War, plus veterans of smaller excursions, like Panama and Grenada. It's the flag of Japanese-Americans interned during World War II and Southerners descended from Confederate soldiers. It's the flag of gay rifle-owners and Asian-American poetry slam champions.
(It's also the flag of today's soldiers, who--like Vietnam veterans--run the risk of being abandoned by their government. President Bush is paying them too little, forcing them to work too long, and lying to them about the reasons for his decisions. One way to honor Vietnam vets is to take seriously a lesson of that war: Even as we question our leaders, we must do right by our soldiers.)
So I would prefer to let the American flag stand for all of these difficult truths and emotions. Especially on federal property. The proliferation of symbols can be a bad thing: Seeing too many symbols makes us indifferent to them all. Imagine if every war's veterans had a flag on Federal Plaza, on Church Street in New Haven. All those flags would start to blend together into a big piece of public art, divorced from any original meaning.
Postmasters in Connecticut all fly the POW flag every day--much more often than the law requires. "We're in a war, we honor our veterans," says Postal Service spokesman Carl Walton. "We have a huge veteran work force, so it's as much a tribute to them as anything." Well, I honor those veterans, too--and I join in welcoming home our newest veterans, Connecticut's men and women serving in Iraq. And I believe that our public squares belong to those Gulf veterans, and all the other veterans, and all of us. And together, we have a flag.
Prisoners of War / Missing In Action
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"What about Spiecher, and what about Matt Maupin? This flag not only represents those in Vietnam, but all conflicts."
Exactly.
Typical Hanoi Kerry spin!
Wait, is this a**clown trying to say the generic POW/MIA flag applies to Viet vets only?
Tell him "We still fly it in Florida because we don't have a living Scott Speicher, or his remains to respectfully bury. And we won't take it the F down until then. So stick your request where the sun don't shine."
My reply to "editor@newhavenadvocate.com":
About the question:
"Why do we fly the Vietnam POW/MIA flag when all the veterans of that war have been accounted for?"
I am a Vietnam Vet, not a grunt, but I went there so others wouldn’t. Two of my college fraternity brothers are on The Wall and a third spent five years learning how to walk with just a cane.
Why should we keep flying that flag? Mark Openheimer offered a single reason.
Let me offer a few to keep it flying.
1. It is a personal memorial to those who never returned.
2. It is a memorial that is THERE, at you place of residence, to remind you daily of the cost - in human futures - of your individual freedoms.
3. Remember that the POW/MIA flag was NOT something that the government designed nor initially approved of.
4. The POW/MIA flag reminds us of those who had no idea of how to win the war or to stop it.
These political cowards fed us into a war because they were unwilling to pay a POLITICAL price for saying “I don’t know what to do about Vietnam.” The human cost of those eight words was how many American and Vietnamese lives? How often does Mark Openheimer want to pay that butcher’s bill?
If flying that flag reminds our current and future leaders of the political stupidity and cowardness that caused Vietnam then I say fly it from every flag pole every day!
Emmett A. Redding
Major, USAF Retired
This really makes me steam as I display this flag in my business every single day.
Living in Cambodia, I've had the opportunity to make friends with a number of soldiers and other specialist with the Joint Task Force whose mission is to find and bring home the remains of our soldiers lost during the Vietnam conflict. These same missions are also happening elsewhere in the world. To me, "You are not forgotten" means precisely that, full respect and accountability for those who have never came home, whatever their status might be.
thanks for posting that.
The POW/MIA flag flys at our house as well.
Always will. As long as there is one service member unaccounted for, we will keep that flag flying. And if the day ever comes (I pray it will) that all ARE accounted for, I will celebrate with unending joy the lowering of that flag.
God Bless America
"Living in Cambodia, I've had the opportunity to make friends with a number of soldiers and other specialist with the Joint Task Force whose mission is to find and bring home the remains of our soldiers lost during the Vietnam conflict. "
My husband was over there with JTF. He said it was the best mission he ever undertook. He proudly helped recover four MIAs. He had his retirement ceremony at the Wall South under the name of one of the men.
Did you read this POW thread?
Please correct me if I am wrong, but this statement is blatently untrue.
While Kerry & McCain did indeed state that there was no evidence that there were still POW's in Vietnam - the fact remanins that these people are still missing - fate unknown.
Oh yeah, one more thing: "It's also the flag of today's soldiers, who--like Vietnam veterans--run the risk of being abandoned by their government. President Bush is paying them too little, forcing them to work too long, and lying to them about the reasons for his decisions." Is this guy for real??
Is he REALLY comparing the two? Soldiers who served in Vietnam were comparatively "well paid"? Didn't work as long? Weren't lied to about the reasons for being there??
I'm glad there was an idiot alert to this article. Otherwise I might have assumed that the author was rational.
Right. Another "bush evil-- America evil-- we only love our soldiers when they shoot their officers" type...
Nope, no bias here, folks, just keep moving.
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