This tree is a symbol of the
never ending
hope that all POW/MIAs
will be brought home to
America. Lets
bring them home to the land
of the free and the home of
the brave.
.
 .
The Loneliest Prayer
As I squat here in the lonely
place,
A man, maybe you even
forgot,
I wonder, am I in living hell?
Am I alive or not? I think it's been more than
ten years now,
Since my last friend left this
place.
I guess he's back home-
Wherever that is-Among the
human race.
Forgive me Lord, if I seem
untrue
To the values that my parents
taught,
To thoughts of you, of family
and of country-
These things for which I
fought.
But, as I've endured the
endless days
That dragged on into years,
I've battled with my very being
To hold back the bitter
tears.
My children,
By now they're no longer small,
By now they've nearly
grown.
My poor wife, she's had that
too;
She's raised them all
alone.
I've wept to hold my
darlings,
To watch my children grow,
To feel your presence, Lord,
My faith in you to show.
Bless me, Father, and take
this life,
Please let it end today.
I wonder how they listed me
POW or MIA
Author: Hardy B. Abbott
.
The Vietnam Memorial wall is
certainly a touching
and powerful memorial to those who were "lost" in the
war. Many
people find comfort when visiting the wall. Many people feel a sense
of peace
at seeing their loved ones name on the wall. I can't help but wonder
how
much more comfort and peace that some of them could have if their loved
ones were coming home. Jon Keith
Bodahl's name is on the wall
and can be
located here: Panel 16W - Line 61. His name is there for all to
see that
he was and still is a hero. When will our government make things
right by bringing
him home?
The Call
.
.
The call rang out across the land
I was barely eighteen
No longer a boy, but not yet a man
I was somewhere in-between
They said I was needed by Uncle Sam
It was for Freedom I was to fight
In a strange and distant place, called
Vietnam
It was my duty, an honor, a right
When I arrived "in country" I was
considered green
But a man you'd make of me
I'd learn to fight, learn to survive
And return home to my family
But things they never seem to go
The way we have them planned
So as I lay hurt, my friends lay dying
I fell into enemy hands
The years have come and gone
And still I am their guest
I remember hearing my brothers went home
God, I wish them all the best
I came here when my country called
It was for Freedom I was to fight
I was barely eighteen on that day
I turned forty-eight tonight
Each night I say a silent prayer
Hands clasped and on my knees
Hoping the country that I love so dear
Hasn't forgotten about me
Author: Eddie Luffman
© 1997-2007
E-mail me about POW/MIAs
May 30, 2000
Senate Passes Bill on
POWs/MIAs from
Korean and Vietnam
Wars
Grants refugee status to those
who help in
return of MIAs
The Senate passed May 24 by
unanimous consent
a bill that would grant refugee status to nationals of foreign
countries
who help in the return of American prisoners of war (POWs) and missing
in action (MIAs) from the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
Senator Ben Nighthorse
Campbell (Republican
of Colorado) sponsored S. 484 in 1999. It was put before the Senate May
24, and approved, with minor amendments, the same day. It was sent to
the
House of Representatives on May 25, and referred to the House Judiciary
and International Relations Committees.
A companion piece of
legislation, H.R.
1926, already has 98 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
So while the Senate will be
taking up the
fate of legislation granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations
(PNTR)
status, passed the same day as Campbell's legislation, the House will
be
looking at the issue of American POWs and MIAs from two wars that
involved
the Peoples Republic of China.
The legislation, titled
"Bring Them Home
Alive Act of 2000," directs the U.S. Attorney General to grant refugee
status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, and
child
of such) who "personally delivers into the custody of the United States
Government a living American."
Section 2 of S. 484 deals
with the Vietnam
War and cites nationals from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and China as
eligible
for refugee status.
Section 3 of S. 484, which
deals with the
Korean War, cites nationals from North Korea, any independent state of
the former Soviet Union, and again China.
The potency of the issue
regarding POWs
and MIAs from one war that began 50 years ago with North Korea's
invasion
of South Korea, and another that ended 25 years ago with the fall of
Saigon,
was demonstrated over Memorial Day when more than 250,000 motorcyclists
rallied at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. to call
for
a full accounting of American POWs and MIAs.
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