Posted on 05/08/2006 3:32:42 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
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 and win elections. For many Americans, the flag is simply a token of sorrow for the entire Vietnam episode, and it functions also as a sign of concern for a new generation of US troops who are at war. But the darker meaning dominates. After Vietnam, a self-pitying sense of victimhood defined the American mood. That generated a vengeful determination never to be shown up as weak -- or captive -- again. That, in turn, brought us to the disastrous present, which is explained by recalling that the men on whose watch the disgrace of Vietnam climaxed included Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. Their wars against Baghdad (Cheney's in 1991, Rumsfeld's now) were supposed to stifle the Vietnam syndrome once and for all, but Iraq, in pathological recombination, has only quickened it.
No wonder the grief-struck flag refuses to go away. When we Americans behold that silhouetted bowed figure -- the prison tower, the barbed wire -- we may feel the pointed shame anew, but now we recognize the unknown image. We ourselves have become the prisoners of war; it is our own government that has taken us captive. The black flag at last belongs to all of us.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I think I'll pass...
What a pathetic jerk. I am reading the book "Operation Code Name Bright Light" about the rescue attempts of POWs during the war, especially in Laos. Given that my Dad was a pilot on two tours in that area, it could have been him.
Get lost jackass. (Not you Cannoneer)
The "shame of Vietnam, the disgrace ".......it was mostly that to liberals.
I carry my Viet Nam service with PRIDE.
The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975.
Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense from Nov 20, 1975 - Jan 20, 1977.
Dick Cheney was Chief of Staff to the President from October 5, 1975 to Jan 20, 1977.
This author is an idiot.
Say what you will about Vietnam, Cheney and Rumsfeld had nothing to do with it.
Every time I see that flag under the American flag around here, it seems to be an antiwar statement. I know it sounds callous. People have been MIA in all wars. Get over it.
"I carry my Viet Nam service with PRIDE."
Bless you. I have known other Vietnam vets who served with pride and spent decades honoring the missing by flying the POW/MIA flag right below Old Glory. They are the ones who maintained the lonely vigil through the years, not some clown from the Bostom Globe who hasn't got a clue.
BTW, I have also met a number of ex-South Vietnamese soldiers in this country who also served with pride and defended their country alongside the Americans. One in particular fought in Hue and, after the war, spent 17-years in a concentration camp before being released. He made his escape by boat to Hong Kong before getting to the USA. He is one of the finest Americans I have ever met.
Just by reading the excerpt I am now stupider than I was 20 seconds ago. I dare not read the whole thing lest I become a total idiot and then, as I sink into the chasm of brain putrification and each synapsis slowly sputtering out--a liberal.
Blatent lies and propaganda. There are boxes of evidence of Americans being held prisoner and not returning after the war ended.
If your son or daughter should get that designated as POW or MIA I hope someone says, "Get over it" to you and walks away.
For those who've never been there, no explanation is possible....... For those who have, no explanation is needed..........
Yep.
Do you think there may be some alive after so long? Is there a web site out there still tracking them?
.Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense from Nov 20, 1975 - Jan 20, 1977.
Dick Cheney was Chief of Staff to the President from October 5, 1975 to Jan 20, 1977.
...Say what you will about Vietnam, Cheney and Rumsfeld had nothing to do with it.
In April 1975, Rumsfeld was Chief of Staff and Cheney an Assistant to the President. I'm not saying that they were responsible, but don't make it sound like they were nowhere near power at the time.
I have no idea if they are still actually alive but I do know they'll never die in my memories.
If your son or daughter should get that designated as POW or MIA I hope someone says, "Get over it" to you and walks away.
It came out wrong and I beg the forgiveness of anyone insulted. What I mean is that Vietname ended over thirty years ago. The MIAs are where ever they ended up. It is a reality of war. Some bodies dont come back. Some pows dont come back. War isnt clean...ever. We expect closure, but there has never and there will never be "closure" in times of war and tragedy for anyone.
Now this flag seems to be used as a warning against war rather than a support for MIAs.
I thought it was going to be about the "Stars and Bars".
I think that some are still alive.
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