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(UNION TOWNSHIP, OH) -- Keith Maupin confirmed this afternoon that the remains of his son, Matt Maupin, have been identified by the army in Iraq. In a statement Keith said "We are proud of the continued efforts of the military and the army to return Matt to us. We must now work on efforts to return Matt.' "Please keep the military and our family in your prayers." Carolyn Maupin, Matt's mother said, "Thanks to everyone for their prayers and continued strength of the family." "It hurts after four years of hope and this is what happens it is like a...

WASHINGTON - China has agreed to a long-standing U.S. request for access to sensitive military records that Pentagon officials believe might resolve the fate of thousands of U.S. servicemen missing from the Korean War and other Cold War-era conflicts, a Pentagon official said Monday. The arrangement is scheduled to be publicly announced Friday in Shanghai after a final set of talks to work out certain details, according to Larry Greer, spokesman for the Pentagon's POW-MIA office. The deal marks a modest step forward for U.S.-China military relations, which have been strained in recent years, in part by sharp U.S. criticism...

Flying low over the dangerous and impenetrable Laotian jungle on a bombing mission against the Viet Cong, U.S. Air Force Colonel Eugene Deatrick saw a lone figure waving to him from a clearing below. He continued on his flight path, but ten minutes later - puzzled that a native in this hostile terrain would try to attract his attention - he decided to turn back for another recce. This time, he saw the letters SOS spelt out on a rock. Beside them stood an emaciated man dressed in rags, waving the remains of a parachute over his head and signalling...

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Maj. Robert G. Lapham, U.S. Air Force, of Marshall, Mich. He will be buried Friday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On Feb. 8, 1968, Lapham was flying the lead A-1G Skyraider in a flight of two in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. The aircraft were alerted to join an airborne forward air controller to destroy enemy tanks that had overrun the...

Dear Freepers, I wanted to share an After Action Report on the MIA/POW rally held in San Marcos for Pvt. Byron W. Fouty and the young man who went missing with him SPC Alex R Jimenez. This was on MIA/POW National Day. When I talked to the Mayor, I told her I had lots of pro-troops signs and that I was with FreeRepublic.com, which she did not recognize but offered me a booth. OK. I set up the signs saying Thank you Soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guard and God Bless Marines. I had 2 signs from other freeps for individual...

FORT HUACHUCA — The third Friday of September every year is set aside to honor America’s prisoners of war and those missing in action. As has become a tradition on this Southern Arizona Army posts, members of America’s armed forces, former GIs, civil service employees and family members gathered on Chaffee Parade Field before the sun broke over the Mule Mountains to the east of the fort. It was time for the annual POW/MIA Walkathon. As the sky over the distant mountain range began brighten from the rising sun, a couple thousand GIs stood in unit formations. The American flag...

9/20/2007 - FORT DIX, N.J. (AFPN) -- Memorial Day was a day when Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia was at its finest. Each gravesite was adorned with American flags. Many also either had wreaths, flowers and even personal memorabilia left behind by visiting families. Even the weather was appropriate with partly cloudy to an overcast sky and balmy spring temperatures. For Staff Sgt. Gary Ritter, a combat arms instructor from the Air Force Expeditionary Center at Fort Dix, coming to Arlington from New Jersey with his wife, Kristina, and daughter, Cheyenne, marked the end of a very long personal journey....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2007 – A veritable sea of colors paraded across a field outside the Pentagon today, and military leaders sported uniforms adorned with colored ribbons and shiny medals. Patricia Scharf, widow of Col. Charles Scharf, addresses the audience during a POW/MIA Recogniton Day ceremony at the Pentagon, Sept. 21, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. A line of colorful flags loaded with kaleidoscopic streamers caught a gentle breeze as starched members of color guards in their best dress marked time against blue skies, and a high-hatted drum major led...

Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy, And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. Jeremiah 31: 16-17 Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies militaryand the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2007 Amazing Grace How Great Thou Art Bring Him Home Battle Hymn...

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, U. S. Marine Corps, will host the Pentagon ceremony for National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the Mall Entrance Parade Field on Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, at 11 a.m. EDT. Mrs. Patricia Scharf, widow of Col. Charles Scharf, an Air Force pilot who went missing-in-action during the Vietnam War and whose remains were recently identified, will be the guest speaker. Observances of National POW/MIA Recognition Day are held across the country on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, schools and veterans' facilities. This...

Veteran actress and feminist Jane Fonda has been slammed for not paying her female employees working in the actress' radio network Green Stone Media. The twice Oscar winner and the radio network's co-founder Gloria Steinem have been accused of "putting their own reputations above their female employees' finances." According to the New York Post, Fonda and Steinem are 'refusing to pay severance, and the founders won't file for bankruptcy protection because it would publicly embarrass Jane and Gloria.' However, the 'Klute' star's spokesperson has denied the reports and said that the accusations are unfounded. "This is pure speculation. There is...

Edison officials apologized yesterday to veterans angered by an ethnic ceremony held at town hall earlier this week in which the POW/MIA flag was removed from a pole so the Indian tricolor could fly below the American flag. "There was never any intention to disrespect or dishonor veterans, or any group of people," Mayor Jun Choi said. "We have enormous respect for the tremendous sacrifices made by our veterans and the servicemen and women currently defending our freedoms." To mark India's 60th independence anniversary from Britain, Choi, several senior Edison police officials and more than 100 Asian-Indians gathered Wednesday at...

RAINELLE, W.Va. - Cole Kayser signs his name on a white shirt for fifth-grader Christian Martin, then rises from the grass outside Rainelle Elementary School, a tall and imposing figure. He is every inch the retired Marine, from silvery brush-cut hair and camouflage cap to black leather motorcycle boots and the ``USMC'' tattoo on the edge of his right hand, on display when he salutes. But ask him how it feels to be here, in a sleepy southern West Virginia town where children chase one-time warriors like Hollywood paparazzi, and a tear slides down his cheek. ``I've been holding back...

Quoted from a posting I found at DC Indy Media: "It would be a real shame if the expensive custom paint on one of these bikes ended up with, say, Inca's tag keyed into the gas tank and a lot of nice chrome accessories as well as the spark plug wires missing at 3 AM. Riding while drunk and literally "getting smashed" would be an even bigger shame!" http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/139196/index.phpEAGLES UP!

WASHINGTON, DC -- Army Private Jessica Lynch told a congressional hearing Tuesday morning that "Americans are capable of creating their own heroes" without the military making them up. Lynch, a West Virginia native who got tremendous coverage after a military team rescued her from a makeshift Iraqi hospital, joined relatives of NFL-star-turned war hero Pat Tillman in discussing her time in the limelight. "This is not a time for finger-pointing, but a time for proof," she told the panel. Lynch's platoon was hit by a rocket and grenade attack on the initial drive to Baghdad in 2003. Three in her...

/16/2007 - HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFNEWS) -- One by one the flag draped coffins containing the remains of six U.S. service members killed in the Korean War were carried by a multi-service detail from the back of a C-17 Globemaster III during a repatriation ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Distinguished guests, veterans and a joint honor guard of Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guard rendered honors as the coffins were transported across the tarmac and then loaded into the back of an awaiting bus for the ride to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Headquarters at...

3rd Annual SSgt. Matt Maupin - Glen Este H.S. Scholarship Run.

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: Our President and First Lady were attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation smmit in Hanoi, Vietnam, this weekend. I'm going to let the photos do the talking today.

As a Nation, we look to our service men and women as examples of courage and sacrifice. When our country and the world have needed brave Americans to advance the cause of freedom, our men and women in uniform have proudly stepped forward and selflessly endured hardships to defend liberty. We are grateful to all who have served, and on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we give special honor to the extraordinary patriots who have been prisoners of war and to those who are still missing in action. We take inspiration from...

HANOI, Vietnam, June 4, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived here this evening to meet with Vietnamese leaders on a host of issues and to visit a U.S. team painstakingly investigating the whereabouts of the nearly 2,000 American servicemembers still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. "We appreciate what (the Vietnamese) do with respect to missing-in-action activities, and I'll be having lunch with the U.S. team that works that set of issues, which, of course, are important to us," Rumsfeld said aboard the airplane flying him here from Singapore, where he had been attending a meeting of defense...

CPT. George D. Macdonald - Abandoned by the USA in Laos Unit: 16th Special Operations Squadron, Ubon RTAFB, Thailand Loss Coordinates: 152712N 1060048E (XC087086) Position: LLL/TV Sensor Operator (MOS 1585Z) Aircraft: AC-130A Spectre Gunship #56-0490 Home City of Record: Evanston, Illinois, USA Date of Loss: Thursday, 21 December 1972 Date of Birth: Thursday, 2 September 1948 Status in 1973: Missing In Action Country of Loss: Laos Category: 2 Other Personnel In Incident: Thomas T. Hart III; Francis A. Walsh; James R. Fuller; Robert T. Elliott; Robert L. Liles; Harry R. Lagerwall; Paul O. Meder; Rollie K. Reaid; Delma E. Dickens;...

THE SAD BLACK flag flies today from the tallest pole at Fenway Park. It flies atop municipal buildings, legion halls, and police stations in every city and town. Fire trucks carry it on antennae, and it waves from highway overpasses. The silhouetted profile of a beleaguered man droops before a prison tower and a string of barbed wire. Inscribed above are ''POW-MIA," and below, ''You are not forgotten." One would like to think the POW-MIA flag had transcended the reactionary uses to which it was put by a political fringe that abused the memory of lost heroes to raise money...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Remains of a U.S. Navy sailor who was listed as missing in action after Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified and will be returned to his family, the Department of Defense said. Seaman 2nd Class Warren P. Hickok of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was assigned to the USS Sicard when Japanese aircraft attacked the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the Defense Department's POW/Missing Personnel Office said Friday. Hickok was among crew members who were sent to assist the crew of the USS Cummings, a destroyer docked nearby.

WASHINGTON - Nearly four decades after 11 American servicemen were killed by North Vietnamese commandos at a secret radar site in Laos, U.S. investigators have made the first identification of remains — with the help of two of the commandos. The breakthrough is one of the most remarkable achievements in the U.S. military's decades-long effort to find and identify the remains of hundreds of U.S. serviceman missing in action from the Vietnam War. Yet the recovery and identification of the remains of Air Force Tech. Sgt. Patrick L. Shannon, of Owasso, Okla., also created a new mystery. On the mountain...

Friday, November 18, 2005 ON CAPITOL HILL Vets' group feels cut out of budget process Date change for congressional testimony seen as detrimental Posted: November 18, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Jon Dougherty © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com The head of the nation's largest veterans' group says the decision by a House committee chairman to move forward by several months the traditional date such organizations give budget testimony will likely lead to less, not more, influence in the process. Thomas Bock, the national commander of the American Legion, says a recent decision by House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer, R-Ind., to...

UNION TWP., CLERMONT COUNTY | — The parents of the military's only soldier listed as missing-captured said they've "had enough" of the Army's breakdown in alerting them to developments in the search for their son, Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin. "Twice now they've dropped the ball where we've learned about something happening with our son from other sources, like the media," said Carolyn Maupin, mother of the Army reservist, missing since his April 2004 capture by Iraqi insurgents just outside Baghdad. The Dayton Daily News was the first of several media outlets to tell the Maupins on Monday about a search...

North Korea admitted yesterday that it was still holding prisoners from the Korean War as well as South Koreans it had abducted since. Ten PoWs are still in the North, 52 years after the war ended, the South Korean ministry of unification was told in response to inquiries about 103 missing people. Another 11 people who had been abducted were also being held. Six PoWs and 10 abducted prisoners whose existence was previously unknown had died in captivity. The rest were unaccounted for, the ministry said. Pyongyang said the 21 would be included in the next re-union for relatives separated...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 15, 2005) –This year’s observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day is on Sept. 16 and it has a special poignancy to those with ties to the remembered. As Americans, we should pause to remember our fellow citizens who were prisoners of war in a World War II POW camp – like the heroes of Bataan and Corregidor held in the Cabanatuan POW camp that is the subject of the current film, “The Great Raid” -- or who are still missing from the Vietnam War. It’s one thing, though, when that tie to those remembered is...

ROCHESTER — Meeting on Tuesday evening, the Fiscal Affairs Committee voted 4-0 to recommend to the full City Council that Rochester Veterans' Council should be allowed to relocate a POW/MIA flagpole from Union Street to a spot on Rochester Common, immediately behind the existing POW/MIA stone.City Councilor Sandra Keans, who made the initial motion to send the issue to the Finance Committee — although no taxpayers' money is involved in making the switch — abstained from the committee vote, explaining that she "didn't feel there was any need. It was pretty clear to me people made up their minds."Snip...Earlier, members...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The remains of two U.S. Air Force officers from Texas, missing for 40 years since their bomber crashed in Laos during the Vietnam War, have been found and are being returned to their families for burial, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Col. James Lewis of Marshall, Texas, and Maj. Arthur Baker of San Antonio were aboard one of four B-57B Canberra bombers on April 7, 1965, when the plane went down in cloudy weather during a mission over Xiangkhoang Province, Laos. Lewis, the pilot, radioed that the plane was departing the target area, but there was no...

http://soft-vision.com/only/ ( either join so you can post or when you get to the login screen click on : back to blog. ) Former PoW's from both sides of the issue are encouraged to post their view. But note, to say NO ONE was left behind is ludacrist ( what ever) and unproveable, yet below, in Sen. McCain's own words he admits ... just a "tiny hand full".. well I feel as a majority do, ONE is to many to leave, ONE is a father, a brother, an uncle and on and on.. who should have the right to the...

Remains of Missing Soldier Identified Associated Press July 13, 2005 RUSSELL SPRINGS, Ky. - The family of a soldier listed as missing in action in Vietnam 36 years ago will bury him this weekend with full military honors after his remains were found and identified. Pfc. Raymond Edward Bobe, 21, and four other soldiers died March 16, 1969, when the U-21A plane they were in crashed in a mountainous region northwest of the Phu Bai airport, said Larry Greer, spokesman for the Pentagon's POW-MIA office. Bobe's father, Henry Bobe of Russell Springs, said the identification of his son's remains offered...

RELEASE NO. #05-25 JPAC TeamS Deploy TO VIETNAM HICKAM AFB, HAWAII Five Recovery Teams, one Research and Investigation Team, and one Investigative Team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command will deploy from Hawaii this week for approximately 30 days to conduct operations in Vietnam in hopes of accounting for Americans still missing from the war in Southeast Asia. This is the 82nd Joint Field Activity in Vietnam. RTs will conduct operations of up to eight cases in six provinces, the RITs will investigate up to 15 cases in six provinces, and the ITs will investigate up to 15 cases in...

Review of M.I.A. or Mythmaking in America 10 July, 2005 Much thanks to Nathan Alexander for this. Additionally, his other reviews are a must read. In particulare "Reporting Vietnam", " Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes 1968-1972", and " The Vietnam War and the Resurrection of the Dead". "Review of M.I.A. or Mythmaking in America by Nathan Alexander 26 May 2005 In his book M.I.A. or Mythmaking in America, H. Bruce Franklin attempts to establish that the POW "myth" was created by the Nixon White House in order to extend the Vietnam War. His first speculations about potentially unaccounted for servicemen...

The Department of Defense POW/MIA Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial. He is Air Force Lt. Col. Darel D. Leetun of Hettinger, N.D. Leetun will be buried with full military honors July 8 at Arlington National Cemetery. On Sept. 17, 1966, Leetun led a bombing mission over Lang Son province, North Vietnam when his F-105D 'Thunderchief' aircraft was hit by enemy fire. Other pilots in the flight observed the aircraft crash, but did not receive...

Review of M.I.A. or Mythmaking in America by Nathan Alexander 26 May 2005 In his book M.I.A. or Mythmaking in America, H. Bruce Franklin attempts to establish that the POW "myth" was created by the Nixon White House in order to extend the Vietnam War. His first speculations about potentially unaccounted for servicemen suggest that they may have been deserters who formed new families, got involved with drug trafficking, or helped lead attacks on U.S. forces. The symbol of the Vietnam war, for the past two decades, has been that of the American POW. The American prisoner of war,...

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial.He is Air Force 1st Lt. Lee A. “Larry” Adams of Willits, Calif. A memorial service with full military honors will be held at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. on June 1, and he will be buried in Willits at a later date. On April 19, 1966, Adams was attacking enemy targets in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam, when he rolled his F-105 “Thunderchief” in...

The faded handwriting on deeply creased, 4-by-8-inch stationery captures his last words home. In the summer of 1950, Pvt. Harold Shepard wrote of what he’d done the day before, the California heat and how getting letters from home would take longer once he left the country. His word choices are a dead giveaway of his Southern roots. He “reckoned” it wouldn’t take more than 14 days to get to Japan. The wind in California was “right hot.” He hoped the tobacco growing on the family farm “makes alright this year.” “Well momma I guess I will close for this time...

WASHINGTON - Thousands of motorcycles rolled down the streets of the nation's capital Sunday in a rally organized by Rolling Thunder, a biker group that supports veterans' rights. The group has been staging the rally on Memorial Day weekend since 1988 to focus attention on POW-MIA issues. Many of the bikers took part in the annual memorial ride from Arlington National Cemetery to the National Vietnam War Memorial before heading to the Lincoln Memorial. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, and his wife joined the thousands of bikers riding through Washington. Later in the day,...

DALLAS - Air Force Reserve Capt. Troy "Gordy" Cope was presumed dead after a fierce firefight Sept. 16, 1952, with six MiG-15s above the Yalu River near the North Korea-China border. The military honored him with a posthumous Purple Heart. His family held a memorial service for him in 1988. But with no body and no aircraft, older brother Carl Cope had held onto slim hope that his brother somehow survived. And why not? Carl Cope, 83, had survived a crash after his C-47 transport plane was shot down in Sicily during World War II. "We had come to the...

US POWs and Spies – Czech Style Hana Catalanova, Vaclav Eminger, Zdenek Valis, PhDr - Journalists reporting from within the secret services should above all answer a question to themselves, whether they do not only serve as instruments of so called intelligence games. An example of this are also the articles in MFDnes daily (Czech newspaper) about the issue of an investigation into the fates of American prisoners of war from the Korean and Vietnam wars which are served to the readers – as an eked out porridge – by Messrs J. Gazdik and L. Navara. The last but one...

The following dembot senators were very active in the check bouncing scandal in 1992 i.e. kiting many checks in the House: (up)Chuck Schumer Barbara (dumb as a) Boxer (rocks) Ron Wyden Dick(head) Durbin Jack Reed Bernie Sanders (for the upcoming election) I have been searching for information about their involvement in this. Hey lets hobble their asses with outside charges like they do us. I know Boxer was in the top 10. Also who other than McCain was involved in Keating 5 PAYBACK TIME

May 19, 1:22 AM (ET) The land crew waits for the arrival of the USS Nimitz into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii May 18, 2005. The... Full Image Google sponsored links Eliminate Your Debt Today - Consolidate Your Loans Into Easy Affordable Payments & Start Saving! www.next-day-loans.com Get out of Debt - Free consultation on your options from professional counselors Preceptfinancial.com By Vicki Allen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans on a U.S. House of Representatives committee retreated from a sweeping ban on women in combat support and service units, and instead put into law the Pentagon's policy barring women from direct ground combat...

Well-meant biker gathering's time has passed By Robert F. Dorr Soon, it will be Memorial Day. On May 30, ceremonies will honor Americans who died in battle. The most important commemoration will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, just across the river from Washington. There will be speeches, hymns and moments of silent reflection. There is a right way to observe Memorial Day. This isn't it. I'm not against bikers. This column has regularly supported military members who choose to ride rather than drive. ("Military puts up too many obstacles for members who ride motorcycles," Army Times, April 29, 2002)....

Over the past couple of days I have read a number of posts from FReepers who insist that john mccain is deserving of our respect ...

POW/MIA Effort Continues Three Decades After Vietnam War By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 29, 2005 – The United States and Vietnam are helping heal wounds left by the war that ended 30 years ago by working together to determine the fate of missing servicemembers in Vietnam, including 1,800 from the United States. "As we mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the war, we must not forget those on both sides who made the ultimate sacrifice during the terrible conflict," said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine. "The best way to do this is to...

HANOI, Vietnam - It's been 30 years since the end of the Vietnam War; 40 years since the first American combat troops, one battalion of Marines, landed at Danang in the northern part of South Vietnam. It's as good a time as any to take a look at where we stand on the search for the 1,399 Americans who are still listed as missing in action in Vietnam, and no better place to do that than here at the offices of Detachment Two of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). The small detachment permanently stationed in the capital of Vietnam...

Jane Fonda talks about how she is 'riveted' by faith and why feminism is what Jesus taughtFrom her longtime political activism to her Oscar-winning acting, Jane Fonda has never done anything halfheartedly, and she brings this characteristic intensity to her faith. When she talks about "feeling the presence of the Almighty," her view of Jesus, and the way she prays, her voice wells from deep within her chest. You may know this voice from her films (among dozens of others: Barbarella, Klute, On Golden Pond, and currently in theaters, Monster-in-Law), or from her aerobics videos ("feel the burn!"), or from...

Dear Everyone, We were able just today to get the itinerary for Jane Fonda's book signing tour. We are encouraging all Vietnam Veterans and their family, as well as all concerned Americans, to protest her signings. This is Operation Street Corner, now used for another traitor, Jane Fonda. Watch the Operation Street Corner website for pictures and information about our protests (http://operationstreetcorner.com/). There is nothing posted yet, as we are getting the word out first to our email listservers. Thank you so much for your time and help! I will be sending out additional information about Jane soon. See Hanoi...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police said they arrested a man for spitting on Academy Award winning actress Jana Fonda during a book-signing stop in Kansas City Tuesday night.Fonda, 67, spoke at Unity Temple, in The Plaza shopping district, about her new book, "My Life So Far" and her new movie with Jennifer Lopez called "Monster-In-Law."At about 9 p.m., police said a man who had been waiting in line for about 90 minutes, passed a book to Fonda and then spit a large amount of tobacco juice into her face. Michael A. Smith Thy said the man then ran away and...