National POW MIA Day

In the United States, National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed on the third Friday in September. It honors those who were prisoners of war (POWs) and those who are still missing in action (MIA). It is most associated with those who were POWs during the Vietnam War. 

For the past several years, we held a small ceremony at the Vietnam Soldiers statue at the MWRTA Station on Bladin Ave. This year with covid and our elderly Nam veterans, we decided not to do it. 

There are 39 Massachusetts men still not home from  Vietnam.

Earlier this year, President Trump sign into federal law, the POW MIA Flag be flown on ALL federal buildings including the White House.  On Sept 11th he decided to remove the flag from the White House and fly it so no one from the public can see it. 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A decision by the Trump administration earlier this year to move the flag honoring missing war veterans from a prominent position atop the White House to a less visible spot on the South Lawn has angered some veterans and lawmakers, who see it as disrespectful and potentially illegal.

The flag is dedicated to prisoners of war and service members who are missing in action. According to a White House video posted in June, it was relocated in a private ceremony with full military honors, months after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill requiring the flag to be flown at certain federal properties including the White House every day.

The revelations come amid growing questions over Trump’s respect for the military, after a report last week by the Atlantic magazine alleging that Trump had called fallen American soldiers “losers” and “suckers” sparked outrage and controversy.

Trump denied the assertions, but has publicly disparaged the service of the late Senator John McCain, a war veteran, and was accused of criticizing his own generals in excerpts of a forthcoming book titled “Rage,” by Bob Woodward.

“It’s bad enough that President Trump publicly ridicules American heroes like Senator McCain and others who were captured on the battlefield. He inexplicably promotes the Confederate flag but fails to fly the POW/MIA flag,” said Democratic Senator Jack Reed, a co-sponsor of the bill. “It’s part of a pattern of disrespect by President Trump toward those who honorably served our nation.”

Reed, and fellow Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Margaret Hassan, who also co-sponsored the bill, sent a letter to the White House on Thursday requesting that it reconsider the flag’s relocation.

“This decision to abruptly move the POW/MIA Flag from atop the White House to an area that is apparently not visible to the public may violate federal law and does not appropriately honor the service and sacrifices of American prisoners of war, missing servicemembers, and their families,” the letter reads.

Hassan said that law was intended to pay tribute to the prisoners of war and those missing in action and called on the White House to reverse its decision.

 

The list of men still not home yet.:

 

BAXTER, BRUCE RAYMOND Laos E8 1967/11/09 LOWELL, MA

USAF BB BERESIK, EUGENE PAUL N. Vietnam O4 1968/05/31 WEBSTER, MA

USMC BB BERUBE, KENNETH ALLEN S. Vietnam O2 1967/08/11 MONSON, MA

USN BB BOLES, WARREN WILLIAM N. Vietnam O2 1968/01/18 MARBLEHEAD NECK,

SA XX BOTT, RUSSELL PETER Laos E6 1966/12/02 WORCHESTER, MA

USA XX COCHRANE, DEVERTON C Cambodia E6 1970/06/17 BROOKLINE, MA

USN XX DUNN, JOSEPH PATRICK China O2 1968/02/14 HULL, MA

USN BB EARLE, JOHN STILES S. Vietnam O3 1970/06/22 WESTFIELD, MA

USN XX FRAWLEY, WILLIAM D N. Vietnam O3 1966/03/01 BROCKTON, MA

USMC BB  GAUGHAN, ROGER CONRAD S. Vietnam E4 1967/05/01 BELCHERTOWN,

USN BB  GRAVES, RICHARD CAMPBELL N. Vietnam O1 1967/05/25 SUNDERLAND,

USN BB GREENLEAF, JOSEPH G S. Vietnam O3 1972/04/14 WEST NEWTON, MA

CIVILIAN KK GRZYB, ROBERT H Cambodia 1967/12/10 MA

USA BB HARPER, RICHARD K S. Vietnam W1 1965/05/19 BURLINGTON, MA

USAF XX HAUER, ROBERT D S. Vietnam O2 1970/09/05 BROOKLINE, MA

USA XX HENN, JOHN ROBERT JR S. Vietnam W2 1972/05/24 SUTTON, MA

USN XX HERRIN, HENRY HOWARD JR N. Vietnam E6 1968/01/01 WEST SPRINGFIELD

USAF XX HOLMES, DAVID HUGH Laos O3 1966/03/15BELMONT, MA

USA BB KELLEY, DANIEL MARTIN S. Vietnam E4 1968/04/25 DORCHESTER, MA

USAF XX KERR, EVERETT O Laos O3 1966/06/13 BELMONT, MA

USA BB KING, PAUL CHESTER JR Laos E3 1968/05/04 WALTHAM, MA

USA BB KINSMAN, GERALD FRANCIS S. Vietnam O2 1971/01/15 FOXBORO, MA

USN XX KUSTIGIAN, MICHAEL J S. Vietnam E2 1968/05/05 WORCHESTER, MA

USN BB LEAVER, JOHN MURRAY JR N. Vietnam O5 1972/05/08 ARLINGTON, MA

USAF XX MACCANN, HENRY ELMER N. Vietnam O4 1968/03/28 MARBLEHEAD, MA

USAF XX MAGNUSSON, JAMES A JR N. Vietnam O3 1965/04/04 NAHANT, MA

USAF XX MCLAUGHLIN, ARTHUR V JR N. Vietnam E7 1972/12/20 ROXBURY, MA

USN BB MILLER, CARLETON PIERCE JR N. Vietnam O2 1971/01/06 MELROSE, MA

USMC XX MORIN, RICHARD G Laos O2 1968/12/20 TWEKSBURY, MA

USMC XX MULLEN, WILLIAM FRANCIS Laos O3 1966/04/29 BROCKTON, MA

USAF XX OVERLOCK, JOHN F N. Vietnam O4 1968/08/16 SPRINGFIELD, MA

USN BB PAINTER, JOHN ROBERT JR N. Vietnam O3 1971/06/18 VINEYARD HAVEN

USMC BB ROGERS, EDWARD FRANCIS S. Vietnam E2 1968/03/12 ROSLINDALE, MA

USN BB SANSONE, JAMES J N. Vietnam E3 1972/08/10 NORWOOD, MA

USA K SMITH, WILLIAM M S. Vietnam E3 1969/03/03 MIDDLEBORO, MA

USN BB SULLIVAN, MARTIN JOSEPH N. Vietnam O4 1967/02/12 LAWRENCE, MA

USMC BB TODD, ROBERT JACY S. Vietnam E1 1967/05/09 NORTH EASTON, MA

USA KK WALKER, ORIEN J S. Vietnam O3 1965/05/23 BOSTON, MA

USMC BB WEITZ, MONEK S. Vietnam E1 1969/05/25 ROXBURY, MA