The third Friday of September is POW/MIA Remembrance Day. In 2009, that is 18 September 2009. Many admitted they had never heard of it before. I too admit it has only in recent years come to my attention that a day had officially been set aside for this.
Please Remember particularly PFC Bowe Bergdahl
In later conversations with my friend Annie, we began checking our calendars and found it was not marked as anything but another day of the month on either of them. It’s her fault that I began to dig deeper to find the origins and authority for this day. It is declared every year, by the President currently. It is not a permanent recurring Day of Remembrance. And it is not that old.
I remember as I grew up, I began becoming aware of the POW/MIA issue. I recall meeting a woman whose husband had not returned from Viet Nam. She kept hope he was still alive and would return one day. Today I couldn’t tell you who she was or if she ever learned anything more but then I found it idealistic for him to still be alive.
Now I’ve studied POW escapes and of men that survived years in such camps and now that in the late 70’s and early 80’s it was entirely possible for him to be alive. I was merely too young then and Viet Nam seemed like so long before..
Movies such as Rambo II and another by Chuck Norris put the MIA issue into the public view. Many Americans began to step forward and demand action. Municipalities and States began to set aside days of remembrance for those still missing. Veterans’ organizations such as the VFW and American Legion began to push the agenda and eventually our national politicians responded. Congress set aside the first day of remembrance On July 18th 1979 and they continued to pass resolutions each year until 1995. Since then, it has been an annual proclamation by the President.
In 1990, the 101st Congress passed US Public Law 101-355 which recognized the POW/MIA flag we are so familiar with and designated it “as the symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty fro their families and the Nation.”It is the only flag other than Old Glory to have been flown over the White House and it has flown there every year on the day of remembrance since 1982.
In 1998, the 105th Congress added to this by adding Section 1082 to the Defense Authorization Act. It mandated that it will be flown over 3 war memorials: the Viet Nam, the Korean and the WWII memorials. It also mandates that the POW/MIA Flag be flown over many federal buildings and cemeteries on each of the 6 holidays honoring our veterans, including
Armed Forces Day: a day for us to honor those currently in our military.
Flag Day: this honors Old Glory herself, the living embodiment of our Nation and the US Constitution for which we fight.
Memorial Day: a day for us to remember those that gave their lives to keep us free. This holiday was born in the south when the widows of Confederacy set that day aside to visit the graves of their fallen husbands. Eventually all widows of the Civil War set it aside and it became a national day of remembrance for all who gave all in the protection of freedom.
Independence Day: when we celebrate the freedoms given us by the bravery of many citizen-soldiers in the 18th Century.
Veteran’s Day: a day to thank all of veterans for the sacrifices they made and the risks they took to keep that independence.
And of course on POW/MIA Remembrance Day which we will have on the 18th of September this year. Many think of these days as just another day to have a bar-b-q or to shop, a day off from work, but to our veterans, they have a special significance. Some are days of glory and others days of sadness. I have a tendency to lose my patience when someone who confuses the purpose of Labor Day and Memorial Day but many seem to care to little to know. And I went off on a school district once because my niece was in school on Veterans Day.
The POW/MIA symbol is likewise a confusing issue for some. A few weeks ago my old teammate and I were discussing this as we stopped at a country biker bar and riding the country roads of a neighboring state. He was putting the helmet sticker on his helmet, his first helmet sticker and we thought of how this has become a symbol almost universally used by Harley riders.
There are many different kinds of bikers today but the roots of the motorcycle clubs are veterans returning from the war. I’d bet they sell more Harleys than any car at the PX in Baghdad. But many bikers have missed the boat on why we enjoy riding. Instead they cover themselves up with particular symbols, colors and ideals they don’t understand in a desire to achieve the status symbol of a biker. One of those symbols is the POW/MIA flag.
This is not to say that a biker shouldn’t wear it nor that all bikers miss the boat on its significance but some do wear it for no greater reason than they’ve always seen bikers embrace it. Still others, veterans and non-veterans alike, take up the cause with great gusto. In fact, the best known supporter on this issue is Rolling Thunder. Every year, they ride Washington DC, to loudly remind the nation and our lawmakers that we still have men overseas from wars finished long ago. In fact, much of my research on the history of this day comes from a webpage of one of their chapters.
To me, it’s a quiet remembrance. A symbol that speaks for itself and reminds me of those who have not yet returned.
I’m proud of the extensive efforts our government and military are making to bring home and identify the remains of Servicemen from past wars. I hope the mistakes made by our government at the end of past wars is never repeated but if it is I’ll be one of those screaming from my bully pulpit, demanding that the issue be corrected.
Today we fight a different kind of enemy but we bring home our Soldiers quickly. It is rare for us to lose a Soldier’s body to the enemy but our enemy is not a nation state. It has neither diplomats nor rulers that would or could negotiate. Today, it is our Soldiers and Marines who make sure that every body comes home.
One of the worst mistakes AQI made in Iraq was kidnapping 4 of our Soldiers. Because they would not risk so much for a few of their own, they never imagined our military leaders would commit so much to finding our men. The campaign had additional consequences in that the house to house searches spreading across strongholds of the enemy also denied them their sanctuaries and captured their men and equipment. An act that was supposed to break our resolve reinforced it. .
In Somalia, over 100 Rangers and Delta Soldiers risked all to ensure that every one on the two downed helicopter crews came home. It is that important that more men gave their lives in that pursuit than were saved in the action to bring them home. And that is something few outside the military can understand. We leave no body behind.
Perhaps it is time for us to tell our legislators to make this day of remembrance permanent, so that it, like President’s day, Valentines Day, Columbus Day and Halloween will be marked on our calendars.
http://www.rollingthunderohio2.org/homepage.htm
National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2006
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
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 their valor and loyalty and will not rest until we have accounted for them all.
On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the National League of Families POW/MIA flag is flown over the White House, the Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, US military installations, national cemeteries, and other locations across our country. The POW/MIA flag is a symbol of our Nation's resolve never to forget the service and great sacrifice of the heroes who have carried out liberty's urgent and noble mission, even at the cost of their own freedom. On this day, we express our deep appreciation to each of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines and our enduring commitment to achieve the fullest possible accounting for all of our men and women in uniform who have been prisoners of war or are missing in action.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States do herebyproclaim Friday, September 15 2006, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United States to join me in paying solemn tribute to all former American prisoners of war and those missing in action who valiantly served our great country. I call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independenceof the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.
GEORGE W. BUSH
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060914-6.html
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