2006 National POW/MIA Recognition Day
September 15, 2006

We all had a great experience today – being in the midst of some of our heroes – former POWs attending the Wade Park VAVS’ National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

The National POW/MIA Recognition Day was again held on the third Friday of September (as mandated by Congress) at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, 10701 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio.  The ceremonies were again orchestrated by Dr. Barbara Fleming, POW Physician Coordinator for the Wade Park VA.  Barbara always does a great job for our veterans.

Ms. Alice Shepherd honored us with her Missing Man Table ceremony and Rolling Thunder® Ohio Chapter 2 member, Danny Griffin, got to participate with Ms. Shepherd.

The POW/MIA Recognition Day Keynote Speaker was Mr. Maynard “Doc” Unger, former WWII POW (held in Germany).  Doc is also is Commander of the Department of Ohio American Ex-Prisoners of War.  Doc is quite a guy and a very good speaker.  Doc was kind enough to allow this blogger to obtain his Keynote Address and place on the Rolling Thunder® Ohio Chapter 2 blog.  What follows is Doc’s Keynote Address (courtesy of Doc) and a book reading recommendation from Doc – enjoy.

 
Keynote Speaker Remarks

By Mr. Maynard “Doc” Unger, former WWII POW

At first, I had no idea as to how I was going to say something today, that you may not have heard from me before.  After some considerable thought, I have come up with something that I think is somewhat different.  I decided to remind you as to the how and why the POW/MIA Remembrance got started.  At this time last year, I was at the Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman when I went down the Memorial Walkway at the cemetery.  I was overly impressed with the POW/MIA Memorial Monument that is placed right at the very beginning of the walkway.  The POW/MIA monument was among the first monuments to be placed along the walkway.  When you go there, be sure to look at it.  It is beautiful.

 OK, here we go.

 The issue surrounding the large number of GI’s missing in action from the Vietnam and Korean wars, and to a larger extent, many of the soldiers missing, had been known to be alive when they were captured.  This, in part, led to the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action issue.  It became such a large question mark that Uncle Sam gave into pressure and agreed to a National POW/MIA Day and made a commitment to keep working on the issue.  A flag was designed and accepted to honor this day.[1]  Now, every veterans Administration facility is obligated to hold a ceremony in honor of POW/MIA Day, on the 3^rd Friday in September, today.  Also, all Federal buildings are to fly the POW/MIA flag.  That is why we are honoring POW/MIA today, September 15^th.  Organizations such as Rolling Thunder® and the Chained Eagles, that have as their motto, “No one left behind,” help keep this issue alive.  We owe our thanks to them. [applause]  Long ago, I decided that it was better to have been Missing in Action first, and then a Prisoner of War than to have been a Prisoner of War and now Missing in Action.  A few years ago, I told a story about Johnny Johnson from Lima, Ohio.  I think that story bears repeating.  Johnson at age 18, was a combat soldier when, in July 1950, he was captured in Korea.  A few weeks later, an American plane strafed the building they were being held in, killing several of the men.  Johnson thought these guys might be forgotten.  Johnny Johnson thought their families ought to know how they died.  Using a pencil stub and a piece of scrap paper, he wrote units, names, and dates of death.  This was the start of an almost unbelievable story.  Three months later, huddled in a pen in the village of Manapo, being fed wormy, half cooked millet, most of the group were now sick and malnourished, seventy had already died.  This number included seven who had been executed.  Listing names on discarded cigarette packages and torn wallpaper, Johnson kept recording the deaths.  Still, at a latter time, for 9 days they marched 120 miles in steep, mountain terrain.  Korean POW’s can related to this.  It was bitter cold and they were still wearing only their summer fatigues that they were captured in.  Risking execution if he were caught, Johnson managed to write down over 100 names of the men who died in the snowy mountains that winter.  Still that same winter, almost 300 more prisoners died in unheated huts where the sick were just abandoned.  His recording was discovered once and for this he was severely beat upon, but he persevered.  Here is an even bigger part of the story, maybe the most important part, as it relates directly to the POW/MIA issue.  When Johnny Johnson came back to the United States, he couldn’t get authorities interested in his list.  It was several years later, when he brought forth his list at a unit reunion.  Many men on his list were still being carried as Missing in Action.  Readers Digest had a story.

 Here is a short follow-up story, and is one I’m personally familiar with.  I won’t use their last names.  Lee was a Korean POW from the Cleveland area and while he was in prison camp, his friend Ray, who also was from the Cleveland area, died.  Soon after Lee was released and was home, he went to visit Ray’s widow, only to find out that she did not know that her husband was dead.  The experience was a tremendous setback to Lee’s already stressed experience.  Now, today, years later, he is still dealing with this additional traumatic situation.  As one can surmise from the stories, many deaths were not reported to the United States.

 Personally, except for my first week of capture, I was always with or near people that I knew, throughout most of my confinement in Germany.  I seldom doubted that we, USA, would win the war and that I would eventually be returned home.  There is a saying that misery loves company, and I had both.  The countries that were at war against the USA in the European Theater were part of the Geneva Convention that established rules of war.  One of these rules included treatment of POWs.  This was not the case in the Pacific Theater of operations.  Nor was it the case in our more recent conflicts with Vietnam, Korea, and now Iraq.  In these wars, we have been in conflict with countries that were not, and are not, participants in the Geneva Convention.  Therein lies the major festering problem.  There were no humanitarian rules of war used by the enemy.  We know for a fact that many POWs were killed or died after capture.  At the end of the Vietnam War there were, considering everyone, 2338 Missing in Action.  Over the years this number has been only reduced to 1,802.  These numbers, as small as they are, are primarily a result of the pressure put on earlier by the POW/MIA Group.  Vietnam and Korea officials are now helping in efforts to locate MIAs.  Efforts in North Korea have been halted due to lack of protection and that country’s position on the nuclear missile project.  For a short while they did help.  It seems to be a slow process.  The use of DNA for identification has helped immensely.  In June and July, some MIAs from Vietnam were identified.  In June, a Korean MIA was also recovered and, believe it or not, I read somewhere that an MIA from WWI was located.  The POW/MIA issue will never go away, thanks to the original POW Group and organizations such as Rolling Thunder® and the Chained Eagles.  As I said earlier, their mission is “No One Left Behind.”  My parents received a letter from the War Department, informing them that I was Missing in Action (MIA).  Knowing my parents and the trauma they experienced during this period, before it was determined that I was safe and indeed a prisoner of the Germans, makes understanding the tragedy associated with those men and women who are still listed as MIAs easier for me.  Not easy at all for those families still involved.  We must not give up on our efforts until all possible information is exhausted. 

 Before I finish, I want to mention a book that is recently in publication, Prisoners of Hope.  119 former Prisoners of War were contributors and were asked to write a statement about their faith and the significance.  Their answers to that question are in the book and are followed by a brief story about their Prisoner of War experience.  In one book, you get 119 brief POW stories from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Capture of the Pueblo and the Gulf War.  Almost to a man, they state that they think that they are a better person for having endured this experience.  And they thank GOD.  And I thank you.”

Book Recommendation

Prisoners of Hope

by COL Jimmie Dean Coy (Ret)

Evergreen Press

Synopsis of Book

Colonel Coy's newest book: PRISONERS OF HOPE - A Gathering of Eagles is "advice for life" from 119 ex-Prisoners of War from WWII to the Gulf War.   They share their harrowing experiences, core beliefs and inspirational stories.

2005 National POW/MIA Recognition Day
September 16, 2005

Click here to go to the 2005 Wade Park V.A. POW/MIA Day Ceremony
 

Decisions on exact dates of observance rest with local planners depending on the needs of the military or civilian community.  National POW/MIA Recognition Day is one of the six days specified by law 36 USC 902 on which the black POW/MIA flag shall be flown over federal facilities and cemeteries, post offices and military installations.

The first national commemoration held to honor America's POW/MIAs took place on July 18, 1979.  That first year, congress passed resolutions to recognize POW/MIAs and held the national ceremony at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC.  Congress continued to pass resolutions yearly to recognize POW/MIAs until 1995.  Since 1995, the President has signed a proclamation designating National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

With the passage of Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act during the first term of the 105^th Congress, the POW/MIA Flag will fly each year on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day and Veterans Day at major military installations as designated by the Secretary of the Defense, all Federal national cemeteries, the national Korean War Veterans Memorial, the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the White House, all United States post offices and at the official offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense and Veterans' Affairs, and Director of the Selective Service System.
 

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, 2005
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

GEORGE W. BUSH

National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2004
By the President of the United States
A Proclamation

Throughout our history, when the enemies of freedom were on the march and our country needed brave Americans to take up arms and stop their advance, the members of our Armed Forces answered the call of duty. These patriotic men and women defended our country in hours of need and continue to stand watch for freedom. Many of these courageous individuals risked capture, imprisonment, and their lives to protect our homeland. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor the sacrifices and remarkable determination of those captured as prisoners of war. We also remember those who remain unaccounted for and ask for God's special blessing on their families. Our Nation will not forget these heroes, and we will not stop searching for our service members who are missing in action.

On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the flag of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia is flown over the White House, the Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service System Headquarters, the National Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Veterans Memorials, U.S. military installations, national cemeteries, and other locations across our country. This flag serves as a reminder of our continued commitment to those still missing and those imprisoned while serving in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Kosovo, Iraq, and other conflicts. We remain grateful for their service and sacrifice and pledge to continue to achieve the fullest possible accounting for all of our men and women in uniform still missing.

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 hereby proclaim September 14, 2004, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United States to join me in saluting all American POWs 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, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-ninth.

GEORGE W. BUSH