VietNow National Magazine

Charlie's POW Jacket
You remember Charlie – don't you?

By Rich Sanders – VietNow National President

Who is that gray-bearded guy standing over there wearing the POW jacket? Is that Charlie? You know – the guy who was part of the large group that organized all the POW-awareness events years ago, and handed out the latest news and information about men who were listed as POW/MIA. I think that it is Charlie. I haven't thought about him or that group in years. I wonder why he is still at it after all these years. Oh well – to each his own.

The above fictitious scenario caused me to wonder just what the public's thoughts are about those people who are still dedicated to finding our POWs and MIAs from the Vietnam war. Are POW/MIA activists viewed as just some other group with a cause? Some rogue radical group? Or just some hangers-on who won't forget? Is the sentiment that as long as it doesn't affect me, then I am not concerned with this segment of history?

What do young people think of the POW/MIA issue?

With those queries running rampant in my mind, I began to read essays from 10 college-bound students who had -applied for scholarships from a local group. The essays were to be developed around the question, "When you see a POW/MIA flag flying, what comes to your mind…about the flag and/or about the person or business that is flying the flag?" I hoped that my quest for an answer about the public perception regarding POW activists, and the issue in general, would be answered in these youthful viewpoints.

One of the essays contained a comment from the person's father, a Vietnam veteran, describing the POW/MIA flag as, "A symbol of pride and thanks to veterans and all who currently serve our nation." I call that a miss. However, she went on to write that she felt the POW/MIA flag was the only flag deserving to fly with the U.S. flag over the White House.

Another applicant wrote, "I cannot begin to know the grief of the families and friends of soldiers who are missing or imprisoned…" She continued, "Seeing a POW/MIA flag reminds me that there are families who wait every single day to receive news of their loved one."

Helplessness seems evident in one essay, "All I can do is offer a prayer of patience, and hope that one day their loved one will return home." Still another person wrote, "I also begin to wonder if the flag is flown for the survivors of the house."

One person wrote that our nation should never forget those who have served, and it was nice that someone was making that known by flying the POW/MIA flag.

The knowledge gap: Close but not quite

After an exhaustive hour of reading through the students' essays, I realized that the answers I was looking for were not popping out. I found a great deal of patriotic comment. I found much knowledge (which may have come through recent research) about the POW/MIA issue. But what I was looking for was: What is the reaction when someone sees Charlie wearing his POW/MIA jacket or wearing a POW/MIA bracelet?

My reasoning was that, if I could look through the public's eyes, I could see why fewer and fewer people – and veterans – seem interested in delving into the POW/MIA issue as a current event, rather than a moment in history. My hope was that, armed with that knowledge, a new approach could be taken to reignite the candle.

Where did the outrage go?

Why is it that videos of Bowe Bergdahl being held in captivity do not incite a public outcry, and only get buried as old news after a few viewings? Why is there no political outrage about the documented information that is contained in Billy Hendon's and Elizabeth Stewart's book, An Enormous Crime, The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia?

The people who spotted Charlie, still wearing his POW jacket after all these years, probably thought that all the POW stuff had no bearing on their lives. But – what if?

I am saddened that the group around Charlie has dwindled. I know that he still stands – just as tall as ever – knowing that live prisoners were left behind. Charlie has to live with the fact he will never have the false feel-good satisfaction that others feel when they simply memorialize all POWs as one would do at a funeral.

As one of those scholarship applicants wrote in his essay, "Prisoners of war, soldiers captured by enemy soldiers during time of war, are casualties that can all too often be easy to forget. I can't ignore the price that they have paid and are paying for my freedom."

Can we ever bring it back to life?

We can only hope that maybe – just maybe – Charlie will some day be surrounded by a reinvigorated group who will once again forcibly and vigorously challenge for a resolution to our POW debacle.

To all of the Charlies who are still out there, I say, "Bring 'em home."

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