92-year-old veteran receives honorary high school diploma
Associated Press
By Lucas High
June 6, 2015
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — In this era, when the biggest decision a teen might make is choosing which filter to use for his latest Instagram post, the decision made in 1941 by 17-year-old Vialquin "Val" Valdez borders on unthinkable.
Rather than finish high school, the teenage Valdez decided to forge a birth certificate and join the U.S. Army.
A year later, he was gunning his way through Italy. Two years after that, he was a captive in a Nazi prisoner of war camp.
Now, more than 70 years later, the 92-year-old Valdez has something he sacrificed as a teen in exchange for privilege of fighting for his country: a high school diploma.
He got an honorary diploma from Cheyenne's Central High at Friday's graduation ceremony.
Valdez enlisted in the Army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined up not out a desire to become a war hero — although he soon would become one. He joined because he thought the uniforms were sharp.
read more here
Showing posts with label ex-POW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ex-POW. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2015
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Louis Zamperini Captured By Grace, Saved By Christ
Review: ‘Unbroken,’ improbable and incomplete
Charlotte Observer
By Lawrence Toppman
Posted: Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014
According to the film “Unbroken,” Louis Zamperini had 30 percent of a remarkable life. By the time he was 28, he had competed as an Olympic distance runner, enlisted in the Army Air Force, crashed on a bombing run, survived six weeks on a raft at sea and endured terrible torture in a Japanese prison camp before coming back to the United States.
There director Angelina Jolie leaves him, seven decades before his death last July.
Perhaps the filmmakers were afraid his devout faith would consign their movie to the low-attendance ghetto where Christian movies often land. Maybe they felt the story was too long and complex. (In that case, it should have been a miniseries.) Maybe Jolie, who’s not a Christian, couldn’t figure out how to convey what Zamperini went through after faith healed him.
read more here
This is what was missing in Unbroken.
Charlotte Observer
By Lawrence Toppman
Posted: Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014
According to the film “Unbroken,” Louis Zamperini had 30 percent of a remarkable life. By the time he was 28, he had competed as an Olympic distance runner, enlisted in the Army Air Force, crashed on a bombing run, survived six weeks on a raft at sea and endured terrible torture in a Japanese prison camp before coming back to the United States.
There director Angelina Jolie leaves him, seven decades before his death last July.
We don’t see his alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder after coming home, the decay of his marriage, the vengeful hatred that led him to strangle his captors in his nightmares. Nor do we see his conversion to Christianity after a 1949 Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles, an event he credited with saving his sanity, marriage and perhaps his life. He was able to forgive his tormentors, even going back to Japan to try to do so in person.
Perhaps the filmmakers were afraid his devout faith would consign their movie to the low-attendance ghetto where Christian movies often land. Maybe they felt the story was too long and complex. (In that case, it should have been a miniseries.) Maybe Jolie, who’s not a Christian, couldn’t figure out how to convey what Zamperini went through after faith healed him.
read more here
This is what was missing in Unbroken.
From Billy Graham Crusades
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to Release New Documentary Film About Unbroken’s Louis Zamperini
December 15, 2014
Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 15, 2014 – The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will release a new documentary film on Dec. 25 called Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace. Zamperini is also the subject of Universal Pictures’ Unbroken, the movie based on the best-selling book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand.
Captured by Grace is a compelling, documentary-style film that chronicles Zamperini’s remarkable journey—from Olympic runner to WWII prisoner of war—all the way to his return home and encounter with Jesus Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles in 1949. The film includes recent interview footage of Zamperini sharing his complete story in his own words.
Zamperini DVD“I started to leave the tent meeting, and I felt awful guilty about my life,” Zamperini says about his experience at the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade held in a constructed tent on the corner of Washington and Hill streets in Los Angeles. “Yes, I had a lot of great times, a lot of great experience, a lot of escape from death, but I still didn’t like my life after the war. I came home alive. God kept His promise. I didn’t keep mine, and so I went forward and accepted Christ.”
“The heart of this story is when I found Christ as my Savior,” Zamperini continues. “That’s the heart of my whole life.”
Captured by Grace can be viewed online starting Dec. 25, and will be available via DVD as an offer of appreciation with any contribution to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The special DVD includes several bonus features: the short film Zamperini: Still Carrying the Torch; footage from Louis Zamperini’s visit to the Billy Graham Library in 2011; Louis Zamperini’s testimonies shared from 1958 and 1974 Billy Graham crusades and more. For more information, to watch a short trailer for the film, or preorder a copy, visit www.billygraham.org/unbroken.
Zamperini, who passed away earlier this year, visited Billy Graham in June of 2011 at his home in Montreat, N.C. At age 94, he also visited the Billy Graham Library where he signed copies of the New York Times bestseller Unbroken and greeted many WWII veterans. Up until his passing, Zamperini was an inspirational speaker and shared his life-changing testimony at several of Graham’s Crusades, including San Francisco (1958) and Los Angeles (1963, 1974).
This coming New Year’s Day, Will Graham, at the request of the City of Torrance, will represent his grandfather Billy Graham at the 126th Rose Parade on Zamperini’s hometown float. The parade’s theme for 2015 is “Inspiring Stories.” Zamperini was selected earlier this year to be the Grand Marshal of the annual event, and despite his passing, the Tournament of Roses Committee decided to use the opportunity to honor his life.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Louie Zamperini WWII Veteran "Unbroken"
If you have PTSD, then know this, you are not broken either. You changed the same way all men and women do in combat. Some just change more but that is because they feel things more. In other words, strong emotional core. It is never too late to get help to heal.
Unbroken Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Angelina Jolie Directed Movie HD
Unbroken Official Trailer #2 (2014) - Angelina Jolie Directed Movie HD
The Story of Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand
Eight years ago, an old man told me a story that took my breath away. His name was Louie Zamperini, and from the day I first spoke to him, his almost incomprehensibly dramatic life was my obsession.
It was a horse--the subject of my first book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend--who led me to Louie. As I researched the Depression-era racehorse, I kept coming across stories about Louie, a 1930s track star who endured an amazing odyssey in World War II.
I knew only a little about him then, but I couldn’t shake him from my mind. After I finished Seabiscuit, I tracked Louie down, called him and asked about his life. For the next hour, he had me transfixed.
Growing up in California in the 1920s, Louie was a hellraiser, stealing everything edible that he could carry, staging elaborate pranks, getting in fistfights, and bedeviling the local police. But as a teenager, he emerged as one of the greatest runners America had ever seen, competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he put on a sensational performance, crossed paths with Hitler, and stole a German flag right off the Reich Chancellery. He was preparing for the 1940 Olympics, and closing in on the fabled four-minute mile, when World War II began. Louie joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a bombardier. Stationed on Oahu, he survived harrowing combat, including an epic air battle that ended when his plane crash-landed, some six hundred holes in its fuselage and half the crew seriously wounded.
On a May afternoon in 1943, Louie took off on a search mission for a lost plane. Somewhere over the Pacific, the engines on his bomber failed. The plane plummeted into the sea, leaving Louie and two other men stranded on a tiny raft. Drifting for weeks and thousands of miles, they endured starvation and desperate thirst, sharks that leapt aboard the raft, trying to drag them off, a machine-gun attack from a Japanese bomber, and a typhoon with waves some forty feet high. At last, they spotted an island. As they rowed toward it, unbeknownst to them, a Japanese military boat was lurking nearby. Louie’s journey had only just begun.
That first conversation with Louie was a pivot point in my life. Fascinated by his experiences, and the mystery of how a man could overcome so much, I began a seven-year journey through his story. I found it in diaries, letters and unpublished memoirs; in the memories of his family and friends, fellow Olympians, former American airmen and Japanese veterans; in forgotten papers in archives as far-flung as Oslo and Canberra. Along the way, there were staggering surprises, and Louie’s unlikely, inspiring story came alive for me. It is a tale of daring, defiance, persistence, ingenuity, and the ferocious will of a man who refused to be broken.
The culmination of my journey is my new book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I hope you are as spellbound by Louie’s life as I am.
Unbroken Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Angelina Jolie Directed Movie HD
Unbroken Official Trailer #2 (2014) - Angelina Jolie Directed Movie HD
The Story of Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand
Eight years ago, an old man told me a story that took my breath away. His name was Louie Zamperini, and from the day I first spoke to him, his almost incomprehensibly dramatic life was my obsession.
It was a horse--the subject of my first book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend--who led me to Louie. As I researched the Depression-era racehorse, I kept coming across stories about Louie, a 1930s track star who endured an amazing odyssey in World War II.
I knew only a little about him then, but I couldn’t shake him from my mind. After I finished Seabiscuit, I tracked Louie down, called him and asked about his life. For the next hour, he had me transfixed.
Growing up in California in the 1920s, Louie was a hellraiser, stealing everything edible that he could carry, staging elaborate pranks, getting in fistfights, and bedeviling the local police. But as a teenager, he emerged as one of the greatest runners America had ever seen, competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he put on a sensational performance, crossed paths with Hitler, and stole a German flag right off the Reich Chancellery. He was preparing for the 1940 Olympics, and closing in on the fabled four-minute mile, when World War II began. Louie joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a bombardier. Stationed on Oahu, he survived harrowing combat, including an epic air battle that ended when his plane crash-landed, some six hundred holes in its fuselage and half the crew seriously wounded.
On a May afternoon in 1943, Louie took off on a search mission for a lost plane. Somewhere over the Pacific, the engines on his bomber failed. The plane plummeted into the sea, leaving Louie and two other men stranded on a tiny raft. Drifting for weeks and thousands of miles, they endured starvation and desperate thirst, sharks that leapt aboard the raft, trying to drag them off, a machine-gun attack from a Japanese bomber, and a typhoon with waves some forty feet high. At last, they spotted an island. As they rowed toward it, unbeknownst to them, a Japanese military boat was lurking nearby. Louie’s journey had only just begun.
That first conversation with Louie was a pivot point in my life. Fascinated by his experiences, and the mystery of how a man could overcome so much, I began a seven-year journey through his story. I found it in diaries, letters and unpublished memoirs; in the memories of his family and friends, fellow Olympians, former American airmen and Japanese veterans; in forgotten papers in archives as far-flung as Oslo and Canberra. Along the way, there were staggering surprises, and Louie’s unlikely, inspiring story came alive for me. It is a tale of daring, defiance, persistence, ingenuity, and the ferocious will of a man who refused to be broken.
The culmination of my journey is my new book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I hope you are as spellbound by Louie’s life as I am.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Veterans' Picnic Brings 300 Together
First-ever Salem County Veterans Picnic draws more than 300
South New Jersey Times
Spencer Kent
September 13, 2014
PILESGROVE TWP. — Tami Mowers-Thomas feared she'd fail in giving veterans the event she felt they deserved.
But the granddaughter of a World War II veteran, Mowers-Thomas was motivated to deliver something worthy of the sacrifice veterans of all eras have given to their country.
At the first-ever Salem County Veterans Picnic on Saturday at the Salem County Fairgrounds, Mowers-Thomas was in tears, as the event drew a successful crowd of roughly 300 people and veterans from all over Salem County.
Sandy Wentzello, of Salem, is a Korean War and World War II veteran. Wentzello served in the U.S. Air Force. After being wounded in Korea, he was held as a prisoner of war. He escaped and went 13 days without food and water. He had no shoes and had to wrap his feet with his shirt in the blistering cold.
These are the kind of stories that only those who have gone to war can understand. And it's the type of events like Saturday's picnic that allow veterans to get together to be with people who understand them.
read more here
South New Jersey Times
Spencer Kent
September 13, 2014
PILESGROVE TWP. — Tami Mowers-Thomas feared she'd fail in giving veterans the event she felt they deserved.
But the granddaughter of a World War II veteran, Mowers-Thomas was motivated to deliver something worthy of the sacrifice veterans of all eras have given to their country.
At the first-ever Salem County Veterans Picnic on Saturday at the Salem County Fairgrounds, Mowers-Thomas was in tears, as the event drew a successful crowd of roughly 300 people and veterans from all over Salem County.
Sandy Wentzello, of Salem, is a Korean War and World War II veteran. Wentzello served in the U.S. Air Force. After being wounded in Korea, he was held as a prisoner of war. He escaped and went 13 days without food and water. He had no shoes and had to wrap his feet with his shirt in the blistering cold.
These are the kind of stories that only those who have gone to war can understand. And it's the type of events like Saturday's picnic that allow veterans to get together to be with people who understand them.
read more here
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Ex-POW Veteran of 3 Wars Passed Away at 92
Brevard Vietnam veteran, POW dies
FLORIDA TODAY
Norman Moody
August 18, 2014
MELBOURNE – Retired Air Force Col. Larry Guarino, a fighter pilot who in the Vietnam War was shot down near Hanoi in 1965 and held as a prisoner of war for more than seven years, has died.
He was 92.
Guarino, an Indian Harbour Beach resident, was a highly decorated veteran, who also served in World War II and Korea. He told the story of his captivity in Vietnam in "A POW Story — 2801 Days in Hanoi."
"That book inspired so many people," said Evelyn Guarino, his wife of 71 years.
She said a young private once wrote her husband to say that after reading about what Guarino went through in prison, he was ashamed of himself for complaining about not having his family with him in Germany where he was serving.
"He was a wonderful man," Evelyn Guarino said. "He had a great sense of humor."
She said he served for 33 years as a pilot and loved the plane he flew in World War II, the Spitfire.
His medals included the Air Force Cross, the second highest military award, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Purple Hearts.
read more here
FLORIDA TODAY
Norman Moody
August 18, 2014
Retired Col. Larry Guarino was a POW for more than seven years. The Indian Harbour Beach resident died of natural causes at the age of 92.
(Photo: File photo)
MELBOURNE – Retired Air Force Col. Larry Guarino, a fighter pilot who in the Vietnam War was shot down near Hanoi in 1965 and held as a prisoner of war for more than seven years, has died.
He was 92.
Guarino, an Indian Harbour Beach resident, was a highly decorated veteran, who also served in World War II and Korea. He told the story of his captivity in Vietnam in "A POW Story — 2801 Days in Hanoi."
"That book inspired so many people," said Evelyn Guarino, his wife of 71 years.
She said a young private once wrote her husband to say that after reading about what Guarino went through in prison, he was ashamed of himself for complaining about not having his family with him in Germany where he was serving.
"He was a wonderful man," Evelyn Guarino said. "He had a great sense of humor."
She said he served for 33 years as a pilot and loved the plane he flew in World War II, the Spitfire.
His medals included the Air Force Cross, the second highest military award, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Purple Hearts.
read more here
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Vietnam Veteran held as POW returns to Hanoi Hilton
Vietnam POW returns to the Hanoi Hilton in search of closure
Stars and Stripes
By Paul Alexander
Published: August 12, 2014
HANOI, Vietnam — North Vietnam wasn’t on many Americans’ radar until President Lyndon B. Johnson went on radio 50 years ago to tell them about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, a naval clash off the coast of the Southeast Asian nation that escalated U.S. involvement there.
The next day, Aug. 5, 1964, American bombers were pounding targets in the communist country. Antiaircraft fire hit a Navy Skyhawk piloted by Everett Alvarez Jr. near Hong Gai.
Alvarez ejected and was captured. First held nearby, he was transferred to Hanoi on Aug. 12, becoming the first U.S. prisoner of war to be taken to the Hoa Lo prison.
For seven months, Alvarez was the only POW there. Then other aviators trickled in until the cells were crowded. Using gallows humor to cope with their poor treatment, they came up with a nickname for their harsh accommodations:
The Hanoi Hilton.
Returning to Vietnam
Alvarez had been a POW for three years and three months when Air Force Lt. Lee Ellis’ F-4C Phantom jet went down on Nov. 7, 1967, during a mission to pound the guns that protected the Quang Khe ferry near Route 1A, the main thoroughfare for transporting supplies to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He and Capt. Ken Fisher had just dropped their bombs when their plane was hit.
read more here
Stars and Stripes
By Paul Alexander
Published: August 12, 2014
HANOI, Vietnam — North Vietnam wasn’t on many Americans’ radar until President Lyndon B. Johnson went on radio 50 years ago to tell them about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, a naval clash off the coast of the Southeast Asian nation that escalated U.S. involvement there.
The next day, Aug. 5, 1964, American bombers were pounding targets in the communist country. Antiaircraft fire hit a Navy Skyhawk piloted by Everett Alvarez Jr. near Hong Gai.
Alvarez ejected and was captured. First held nearby, he was transferred to Hanoi on Aug. 12, becoming the first U.S. prisoner of war to be taken to the Hoa Lo prison.
For seven months, Alvarez was the only POW there. Then other aviators trickled in until the cells were crowded. Using gallows humor to cope with their poor treatment, they came up with a nickname for their harsh accommodations:
The Hanoi Hilton.
Returning to Vietnam
Alvarez had been a POW for three years and three months when Air Force Lt. Lee Ellis’ F-4C Phantom jet went down on Nov. 7, 1967, during a mission to pound the guns that protected the Quang Khe ferry near Route 1A, the main thoroughfare for transporting supplies to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He and Capt. Ken Fisher had just dropped their bombs when their plane was hit.
read more here
Monday, July 14, 2014
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl going back to duty after only a month of therapy?
Five years as a POW but treated for just a month, Bergdahl is going back on duty. Does that make sense to you?
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, freed Afghanistan prisoner of war, will return to duty early as Monday: report Bergdahl, 28, who was captured in 2009 and freed in May in exchange for five Taliban prisoners, will resume his military career at the Army North headquarters at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
BY BILL HUTCHINSON
Monday, July 14, 2014
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was a Taliban prisoner in Afghanistan for five years, will reportedly return to duty as early as Monday.
Bergdahl, 28, who was freed in May in exchange for five hardened Taliban prisoners, will resume his military career at the Army North headquarters at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, The New York Times reported.
Since returning to the U.S. on June 13, Bergdahl has received therapy at the base.
read more here
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Vietnam Veteran stole valor then corrupted justice
Former Marine's 'bogus as hell' service record used in trial
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: July 1, 2014
WASHINGTON — Former Marine Charles Allen Chavous was facing prison for his role in a decades-old murder. His attorney portrayed him as a Vietnam War hero who deserved leniency, telling the court he was a POW who escaped captivity and was awarded numerous combat valor medals, including the prestigious Navy Cross.
When the judge handed down his sentence, Chavous, 63, walked away a free man.
But in a case of stolen valor, none of the claims turned out to be true.
The proceedings in Augusta, Ga., were first reported by The Augusta Chronicle. After Chronicle readers expressed skepticism about the alleged war record, Stars and Stripes tried to verify attorney Scott Connell’s unchallenged claims.
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: July 1, 2014
WASHINGTON — Former Marine Charles Allen Chavous was facing prison for his role in a decades-old murder. His attorney portrayed him as a Vietnam War hero who deserved leniency, telling the court he was a POW who escaped captivity and was awarded numerous combat valor medals, including the prestigious Navy Cross.
When the judge handed down his sentence, Chavous, 63, walked away a free man.
But in a case of stolen valor, none of the claims turned out to be true.
The proceedings in Augusta, Ga., were first reported by The Augusta Chronicle. After Chronicle readers expressed skepticism about the alleged war record, Stars and Stripes tried to verify attorney Scott Connell’s unchallenged claims.
Stars and Stripes sent the DD-214 to Doug Sterner, a leading military records expert and the chief archivist for the Military Times Hall of Valor website. Sterner is a Vietnam veteran who has spearheaded efforts to protect the integrity of the military awards system, including the Stolen Valor Act, which would have made it a crime to falsely take credit for unearned medals. The Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, saying it violated the right to free speech.
Sterner noted “very serious discrepancies” that suggested the DD-214 was phony, including:
Parts of Block 24 (Awards) and Block 25 (Education and Training) clearly are in a different font than the rest of the DD-214.
The word “Gallantry” is misspelled “Gallentry” in Block 25.
The “Navy Cross Medal” and the “Silver Star Medal” — as they appear in the document — are referred to simply as “Navy Cross” and “Silver Star,” without the word “Medal” appearing after them.
Block 30 (Remarks) states that Chavous served in Vietnam 30 Jan 1970-1 December 1970 and then again from 15 Jan 1971-6 July 1971. But the font listing the second tour is different from the text above it, which indicates it came from a different typewriter.
Block 30 (Remarks) states that Chavous was “(Missing in Action) November 21-24, 1970,” but the (month/day/year) date format is different from the date format used just above it, and it is not the proper (date/month/year) format used by the military. This suggests the “Missing in Action” part was added later by someone else.
In Block 5a and 6 (Rank), his rank is shown as “Sgt.” with a date of rank of Jan. 3, 1970, but the “g” in “Sgt” is in a different font than the “g” in “Augusta,” which indicates that “Sgt” was written with a different typewriter.
“That DD-214 is BOGUS AS HELL,” Sterner said in an email.
read more here
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Congress spaming public
2nd Lt. Daryn Andrews, Staff Sgt. Clayton Bowen, Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss, Pfc. Matthew Martinek, Staff Sgt. Michael Murphy and Pfc. Morris Walker according to news reports these 6 soldiers died looking for Bowe Bergdahl. Why Bergdahl was captured and held all this time is still a mystery. One of the recent stories, hopefully, to be demystified soon. As of right now Democrats are flooding emails with defending what President Obama ordered and Republicans are flooding emails attacking his decision. All of them end up in my spam folder and deleted. I grew tired of political emails a long time ago.
The families should be supported no matter how they feel and we should all be seeking the truth. That is something that isn't going to happen very soon. Aside from supporting them, the rest of us need to open our eyes to one simple fact members of congress have little interest in talking about. The simple fact is, if it is true Bergdahl walked away, then the soldiers looking for him would have known that but they searched for him anyway. That is what most of them are like. He was one of them and they didn't want to leave him behind. I bet they did everything to find him up to and including losing their own lives.
We have seen too many generations sadly look back on all the MIAs left behind. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War have left too many and we've been searching for all of them for decades. Families need to know where they are laid to rest and to close the mystery. Many of them were heroes and many more heroes tried to find them.
As for politicians, this is another election year but so far none of them have held themselves accountable for anything.
They use the troops just as much as they use veterans. They pretend they are coming up with solutions no one else has tried before and then claim they have all the answers for everything else while holding themselves up as above having to answer for anything.
The two biggest stories last week were about veterans and Bergdahl. Congress has yet to answer for either one of them. So Democrats and Republicans fill emails with spam so that we think they actually did something to get their jobs back, but the trouble is, none of them can tell us how to get lives back that were lost for what they failed to do.
The families should be supported no matter how they feel and we should all be seeking the truth. That is something that isn't going to happen very soon. Aside from supporting them, the rest of us need to open our eyes to one simple fact members of congress have little interest in talking about. The simple fact is, if it is true Bergdahl walked away, then the soldiers looking for him would have known that but they searched for him anyway. That is what most of them are like. He was one of them and they didn't want to leave him behind. I bet they did everything to find him up to and including losing their own lives.
We have seen too many generations sadly look back on all the MIAs left behind. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War have left too many and we've been searching for all of them for decades. Families need to know where they are laid to rest and to close the mystery. Many of them were heroes and many more heroes tried to find them.
As for politicians, this is another election year but so far none of them have held themselves accountable for anything.
They use the troops just as much as they use veterans. They pretend they are coming up with solutions no one else has tried before and then claim they have all the answers for everything else while holding themselves up as above having to answer for anything.
The two biggest stories last week were about veterans and Bergdahl. Congress has yet to answer for either one of them. So Democrats and Republicans fill emails with spam so that we think they actually did something to get their jobs back, but the trouble is, none of them can tell us how to get lives back that were lost for what they failed to do.
Monday, June 2, 2014
What happened to leave no one behind?
During the Revolutionary War, POWs were swapped. During the Civil War, POWs were swapped. It happened after WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
142 Men Seem In Reasonably Good Health
John McCain was a POW. John McCain was released. John McCain turned out to be a politician and forgot about being a veteran a long time ago.
UPDATE
The day got stranger and stranger so I decided to keep on this topic for a little while more.
Remember the Gulf War? Remember there were POWs held by Saddam? Well, they filed a lawsuit back against Saddam but the case was tossed out.
Still Fighting, Senator Pushes Bush To Release Money To POWs From 1st Gulf War
What else happened was there was a prisoner exchange to get back our 35 POWs.
142 Men Seem In Reasonably Good Health
Col. Robinson Risner of the Air Force, senior prisoner on the second plane, said; "It's almost too wonderful to express. On behalf of all the other men who have been prisoners, I would like to thank you all. I would like to thank our President and the American people for bringing us home to freedom again. Thank you ever so much."
And Capt. James A. Mulligan of the Navy, senior officer and spokesman on the third plane from Hanoi, said, "It has been our privilege to serve you Americans these many years and during this time our faith in our God, our country and in our families had never wavered. Today I'd like to thank the President of the United States and our families for maintaining their faith with us and making this wonderful day possible. Thank you."
Roger E. Shields, the Pentagon's prisoner-of-was expert, who also went to Hanoi for the pick-up, said he was satisfied with today's operation even though it was delayed two hours by bad weather in the North and more than 12 hours by disputes in the South. He said the prisoners from Hanoi "said they have some things they want to tell us and they are very concerned about giving us information on other prisoners on our lists." Some 1,300 Americans are listed as missing in action.
On the first flight to the Clark base, Captain Denton said, he told the men that on arrival he intended to salute the flag and fellow officers and to shake hands with military dignitaries there to greet them - Adm. Noel A. M. Gayler, Commander in Chief of United States forces in the Pacific, and Lieut. Gen. William G. Moore Jr., commander of the 13th Air Force. He said that he did not tell the men they also had to do so, but that each did.
When the planeload of 27 prisoners from South Vietnam landed late tonight, completing the pick-up, Col. Leonard W. Johnson Jr., commander of the evacuation mission into Saigon, turned to Roger Shields of the Pentagon and said, "Well, we got them back."
John McCain was a POW. John McCain was released. John McCain turned out to be a politician and forgot about being a veteran a long time ago.
US defends captive swap with Taliban for Bergdahl; critics stir
The Associated Press
By LOLITA C. BALDOR and CALVIN WOODWARD
Published: June 1, 2014
WASHINGTON — Five years a captive from the Afghanistan war, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is back in American hands, freed for five Guantanamo terrorism detainees in a swap stirring sharp debate in Washington over whether the U.S. should have negotiated with the Taliban over prisoners.
U.S. officials said Sunday that Bergdahl's health and safety appeared in jeopardy, prompting rapid action to secure his release. Republicans said the deal could place U.S. troops in danger, especially if the freed detainees return to the fight — one called it "shocking." Another, Arizona Sen. John McCain, said of the five detainees: "These are the hardest of the hard core."
Visiting troops in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Hagel stepped forward at Bagram Air Field to thank the special operations forces that retrieved Bergdahl, who officials said was the only American prisoner of war still held by insurgents in that conflict. Gen. Joseph Dunford spoke of the excitement that spread through U.S. ranks when the sergeant's release was confirmed. "You almost got choked up," he said. "It was pretty extraordinary."
read more here
UPDATE
The day got stranger and stranger so I decided to keep on this topic for a little while more.
Remember the Gulf War? Remember there were POWs held by Saddam? Well, they filed a lawsuit back against Saddam but the case was tossed out.
2005-04-26 04:00:00 PDT Washington -- American pilots and soldiers who were taken prisoner and tortured by the Iraqis during the Persian Gulf War of 1991 have lost their legal bid to hold Iraq liable, as the Supreme Court turned away their final appeal Monday.
The justices heeded the advice of the Bush administration and let stand an appeals court ruling that threw out a nearly $1 billion verdict won by the prisoners of war two years ago.
The high court's refusal to hear the case spares the administration from having to go before the justices to argue against American POWs who were tortured. The 17 former POWs had sued Iraq and the government of Saddam Hussein under the terms of a 1996 anti-terrorism law that opened the courthouse door to claims from Americans who had been injured or tortured at the hands of "state sponsors of terror."
Still Fighting, Senator Pushes Bush To Release Money To POWs From 1st Gulf War
What else happened was there was a prisoner exchange to get back our 35 POWs.
6 March
At D + 49, in a prisoner exchange, 35 released Prisoners of War transit from Baghdad to Riyadh, 294 Iraqi Enemy Prisoners of War transit to Baghdad. U.S. POWs are transferred to USNS MERCY for medical treatment.
DOD announces cease-fire is holding, no incidents. Information exchange on location of land and sea mines continues. Mine clearing and equipment-collecting sweeps continue. To-date. 3.700 Iragi tanks. 2.400+ armored personnel carriers. and 2.600+ artillery pieces have been destroyed. damaged or captured.
Elements of 1st Marine Division withdraw from Kuwait to defensive positions in Saudi Arabia, 2d Marine Division shifts into 1st Marine Division's former positions.
Naval forces continue to conduct defensive counter-air operations to protect U.S. fleet, combat air patrols, maritime interceptions and minesweeping to clear A1 Ashwaba and other mined Kuwaiti ports. USS NEW ORLEANS (LPH 11), an embarked mine countermeasures squadron and four mine countermeasures ships, are leading minesweeping activities, aided by ships from UK, Holland and Belgium.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Patriot Guard Riders escorting MOH Colonel George Everette “Bud” Day last ride
Colonel George Everette “Bud” Day, 88
USMC, USAR, USAF
WW II, Korea, Vietnam
Fort Walton Beach, FL
1 August 2013
The Patriot Guard Riders have been asked to stand in honor of, and escort Colonel George Everette “Bud” Day, a true American hero. We will stand a flag line for visitation at the Emerald Coast Convention Center, 1250 Miracle Strip Pkwy., Ft. Walton Beach, FL (Okaloosa Island). Visitation is scheduled from 0900 – 1100 hours on 1 August 2013. Escort (LEO led) to Barrancas National Cemetery will commence at or around 1230 hours. Travis Watkins Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Day was born in Sioux City Iowa, on February 24, 1925. In 1942, he dropped out of Central High School and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served 30 months in the North Pacific during World War II as a member of a 5 in (130 mm) gun battery with the 3rd Defense Battalion on Johnston Island but he never saw combat. Following his service in World War II, Day joined the Army Reserve and received a direct commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Iowa Air National Guard in 1950, and was called to active duty in 1951 for Undergraduate Pilot Training in the U.S. Air Force. He served two tours as a fighter-bomber pilot during the Korean War flying the Republic F-84 Thunderjet. Promoted to captain, he decided to make the Air Force a career and was augmented into the Regular Air Force. He then transitioned to the F-100 Super Sabre in 1957 while stationed at RAF Wethersfield in the United Kingdom.
Anticipating retirement in 1968 and now a major, Day volunteered for a tour in Vietnam and was assigned to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa Air Base in April 1967. At that time, he had more than 5,000 flying hours, with 4,500 of them in fighters. On June 25, 1967, with extensive previous service flying two tours in F-100s, Major Day was made the first commander of Detachment 1, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Phu Cat Air Base.Under the project name "Commando Sabre", twin-seat USAF F-100Fs were evaluated as a Fast Forward Air Control ("Fast FAC") aircraft in high threat areas, given that F-4 Phantom II aircraft were in high demand for strike and Combat Air Patrol (CAP) roles. Using the call sign Misty, the name of Day's favorite song, his detachment of four two-seat F-100Fs and 16 pilots became pioneer "Fast FACs" (Forward Air Controllers) over Laos and North Vietnam. All Misty FAC crews were volunteers with at least 100 combat missions in Vietnam and 1,000 minimum flight hours. Tours in Commando Sabre were temporary and normally limited to four months or about 50-60 missions.
On August 26, 1967, Major Day was flying F-100F-15-NA, AF Serial No. 56-3954, call sign "Misty 01", on his 26th Fast FAC sortie, directing a flight of F-105 Thunderchiefs in an air strike against a surface-to-air missile (SAM) site north of Thon Cam Son and west of Dong Hoi, 20 mi (32 km) north of the DMZ in North Vietnam. Day was on his 65th mission into North Vietnam and acting as check pilot for Captain Corwin M. "Kipp" Kippenhan, who was upgrading to aircraft commander. 37 mm antiaircraft fire crippled the aircraft, forcing the crew to eject. In the ejection, Day's right arm was broken in three places when he struck the side of the cockpit, and he also experienced eye and back injuries.
Kippenhan was rescued by a USAF HH-3E, but Day was unable to contact the rescue helicopter by survival radio and was quickly captured by North Vietnamese local militia. On his fifth night, when he was still within 20 mi (32 km) of the DMZ, Day escaped from his initial captors despite his serious injuries. Although stripped of both his boots and flight suit, Day crossed the Demilitarized Zone back into South Vietnam, becoming the only U.S. prisoner of war to escape from North Vietnam. Within 2 mi (3 km) of the U.S. Marine firebase at Con Thien and after 12–15 days of evading, he was captured again, this time by a Viet Cong patrol that wounded him in the leg and hand with gunfire.
Taken back to his original camp, Day was tortured for escaping, breaking his right arm again. He then was moved to several prison camps near Hanoi, where he was periodically beaten, starved, and tortured. In December 1967, Day shared a cell with Navy Lieutenant Commander and future Senator and presidential candidate John McCain. Air Force Major Norris Overly nursed both back to health, and McCain later devised a makeshift splint of bamboo and rags that helped heal Day's seriously atrophied arm.
On March 14, 1973, Day was released after five years and seven months as a North Vietnamese prisoner. Within three days Day was reunited with his wife, Doris Sorensen Day, and four children at March Air Force Base, California. On March 4, 1976, President Gerald Ford awarded Day the Medal of Honor for his personal bravery while a captive in North Vietnam.
Day had been promoted to Colonel while a prisoner, and decided to remain in the Air Force in hopes of being promoted to Brigadier General. Although initially too weak to resume operational flying, he spent a year in physical rehabilitation and with 13 separate medical waivers, was returned to active flying status. He underwent conversion training to the F-4 Phantom II and was appointed vice commander of the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
After being passed over for nomination to brigadier general, Day retired from active duty in 1977 to resume practicing law in Florida. At his retirement he had nearly 8,000 total flying hours, 4,900 in single engine jets, and had flown the F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 Voodoo, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, F-4 Phantom II, A-4 Skyhawk, A-7 Corsair II, CF-5 Tiger and F-15 Eagle jet fighters.ppointed vice commander of the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Following his retirement, Day wrote an autobiographical account of his experiences as a prisoner of war, Return with Honor, followed by Duty, Honor, Country, which updated his autobiography to include his post-Air Force years.
Colonel Day’s awards and decorations include the Congressional Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Start with Valor Device and three bronze oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with silver and four bronze oak leaf clusters, Presidential Unit Citation with three bronze oak leaf clusters, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and three bronze oak leaf clusters, Prisoner of War Medal, Combat Readiness Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star, Korean Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with two silver and three bronze service stars, Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver oak leaf cluster, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, National Order of Vietnam Commander Badge, Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Award, United Nations Service Medal for Korea and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
USMC, USAR, USAF
WW II, Korea, Vietnam
Fort Walton Beach, FL
1 August 2013
The Patriot Guard Riders have been asked to stand in honor of, and escort Colonel George Everette “Bud” Day, a true American hero. We will stand a flag line for visitation at the Emerald Coast Convention Center, 1250 Miracle Strip Pkwy., Ft. Walton Beach, FL (Okaloosa Island). Visitation is scheduled from 0900 – 1100 hours on 1 August 2013. Escort (LEO led) to Barrancas National Cemetery will commence at or around 1230 hours. Travis Watkins Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Day was born in Sioux City Iowa, on February 24, 1925. In 1942, he dropped out of Central High School and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served 30 months in the North Pacific during World War II as a member of a 5 in (130 mm) gun battery with the 3rd Defense Battalion on Johnston Island but he never saw combat. Following his service in World War II, Day joined the Army Reserve and received a direct commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Iowa Air National Guard in 1950, and was called to active duty in 1951 for Undergraduate Pilot Training in the U.S. Air Force. He served two tours as a fighter-bomber pilot during the Korean War flying the Republic F-84 Thunderjet. Promoted to captain, he decided to make the Air Force a career and was augmented into the Regular Air Force. He then transitioned to the F-100 Super Sabre in 1957 while stationed at RAF Wethersfield in the United Kingdom.
Anticipating retirement in 1968 and now a major, Day volunteered for a tour in Vietnam and was assigned to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa Air Base in April 1967. At that time, he had more than 5,000 flying hours, with 4,500 of them in fighters. On June 25, 1967, with extensive previous service flying two tours in F-100s, Major Day was made the first commander of Detachment 1, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Phu Cat Air Base.Under the project name "Commando Sabre", twin-seat USAF F-100Fs were evaluated as a Fast Forward Air Control ("Fast FAC") aircraft in high threat areas, given that F-4 Phantom II aircraft were in high demand for strike and Combat Air Patrol (CAP) roles. Using the call sign Misty, the name of Day's favorite song, his detachment of four two-seat F-100Fs and 16 pilots became pioneer "Fast FACs" (Forward Air Controllers) over Laos and North Vietnam. All Misty FAC crews were volunteers with at least 100 combat missions in Vietnam and 1,000 minimum flight hours. Tours in Commando Sabre were temporary and normally limited to four months or about 50-60 missions.
On August 26, 1967, Major Day was flying F-100F-15-NA, AF Serial No. 56-3954, call sign "Misty 01", on his 26th Fast FAC sortie, directing a flight of F-105 Thunderchiefs in an air strike against a surface-to-air missile (SAM) site north of Thon Cam Son and west of Dong Hoi, 20 mi (32 km) north of the DMZ in North Vietnam. Day was on his 65th mission into North Vietnam and acting as check pilot for Captain Corwin M. "Kipp" Kippenhan, who was upgrading to aircraft commander. 37 mm antiaircraft fire crippled the aircraft, forcing the crew to eject. In the ejection, Day's right arm was broken in three places when he struck the side of the cockpit, and he also experienced eye and back injuries.
Kippenhan was rescued by a USAF HH-3E, but Day was unable to contact the rescue helicopter by survival radio and was quickly captured by North Vietnamese local militia. On his fifth night, when he was still within 20 mi (32 km) of the DMZ, Day escaped from his initial captors despite his serious injuries. Although stripped of both his boots and flight suit, Day crossed the Demilitarized Zone back into South Vietnam, becoming the only U.S. prisoner of war to escape from North Vietnam. Within 2 mi (3 km) of the U.S. Marine firebase at Con Thien and after 12–15 days of evading, he was captured again, this time by a Viet Cong patrol that wounded him in the leg and hand with gunfire.
Taken back to his original camp, Day was tortured for escaping, breaking his right arm again. He then was moved to several prison camps near Hanoi, where he was periodically beaten, starved, and tortured. In December 1967, Day shared a cell with Navy Lieutenant Commander and future Senator and presidential candidate John McCain. Air Force Major Norris Overly nursed both back to health, and McCain later devised a makeshift splint of bamboo and rags that helped heal Day's seriously atrophied arm.
On March 14, 1973, Day was released after five years and seven months as a North Vietnamese prisoner. Within three days Day was reunited with his wife, Doris Sorensen Day, and four children at March Air Force Base, California. On March 4, 1976, President Gerald Ford awarded Day the Medal of Honor for his personal bravery while a captive in North Vietnam.
Day had been promoted to Colonel while a prisoner, and decided to remain in the Air Force in hopes of being promoted to Brigadier General. Although initially too weak to resume operational flying, he spent a year in physical rehabilitation and with 13 separate medical waivers, was returned to active flying status. He underwent conversion training to the F-4 Phantom II and was appointed vice commander of the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
After being passed over for nomination to brigadier general, Day retired from active duty in 1977 to resume practicing law in Florida. At his retirement he had nearly 8,000 total flying hours, 4,900 in single engine jets, and had flown the F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 Voodoo, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, F-4 Phantom II, A-4 Skyhawk, A-7 Corsair II, CF-5 Tiger and F-15 Eagle jet fighters.ppointed vice commander of the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Following his retirement, Day wrote an autobiographical account of his experiences as a prisoner of war, Return with Honor, followed by Duty, Honor, Country, which updated his autobiography to include his post-Air Force years.
Colonel Day’s awards and decorations include the Congressional Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Start with Valor Device and three bronze oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with silver and four bronze oak leaf clusters, Presidential Unit Citation with three bronze oak leaf clusters, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and three bronze oak leaf clusters, Prisoner of War Medal, Combat Readiness Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star, Korean Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with two silver and three bronze service stars, Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver oak leaf cluster, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, National Order of Vietnam Commander Badge, Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Award, United Nations Service Medal for Korea and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Medal of Honor Vietnam Hero Col. Bud Day passed away at 88
Col. Bud Day, Medal of Honor Recipient, Dies at 88
Associated Press
by Jennifer Kay and Melissa Nelson-Gabriel
Jul 29, 2013
MIAMI -- Retired Col. George "Bud" Day, a Medal of Honor recipient who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam and was Arizona Sen. John McCain's cellmate, has died at the age of 88, his widow said Sunday.
Day, one of the most highly decorated U.S. servicemen since Gen. Douglas MacArthur and later a tireless advocate for veterans' rights, died Saturday surrounded by family at his home in Shalimar, after a long illness, his wife, Doris Day said.
"He would have died in my arms if I could have picked him up," she said.
Day received the Medal of Honor for escaping his captors for 10 days after the aircraft he was piloting was shot down over North Vietnam. In all, he earned more than 70 medals during service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was an enlisted Marine serving in the Pacific during World War II and an Air Force pilot in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
In Vietnam, he was McCain's cellmate at one camp known as the Plantation and later in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, where he was often the highest-ranking captive. During his imprisonment, the once-muscular, 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Day was hung by his arms for days, tearing them from their sockets. He was freed in 1973 - a skeletal figure of the once dashing fighter pilot. His hands and arms never functioned properly again.
read more here
Associated Press
by Jennifer Kay and Melissa Nelson-Gabriel
Jul 29, 2013
MIAMI -- Retired Col. George "Bud" Day, a Medal of Honor recipient who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam and was Arizona Sen. John McCain's cellmate, has died at the age of 88, his widow said Sunday.
Day, one of the most highly decorated U.S. servicemen since Gen. Douglas MacArthur and later a tireless advocate for veterans' rights, died Saturday surrounded by family at his home in Shalimar, after a long illness, his wife, Doris Day said.
"He would have died in my arms if I could have picked him up," she said.
Day received the Medal of Honor for escaping his captors for 10 days after the aircraft he was piloting was shot down over North Vietnam. In all, he earned more than 70 medals during service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was an enlisted Marine serving in the Pacific during World War II and an Air Force pilot in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
In Vietnam, he was McCain's cellmate at one camp known as the Plantation and later in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, where he was often the highest-ranking captive. During his imprisonment, the once-muscular, 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Day was hung by his arms for days, tearing them from their sockets. He was freed in 1973 - a skeletal figure of the once dashing fighter pilot. His hands and arms never functioned properly again.
read more here
Monday, July 22, 2013
John McCain and PTSD
While it has been well known that many people believe John McCain has PTSD, this article is stunning for the simple fact it ends with this.
John McCain is a jerk to most people including members of the Senate calling him McNasty. PTSD did not make him a jerk. Much as he has not been good for veterans, often dismissing other veterans with PTSD as not worth his time, we need to remember that most of the veterans with PTSD are not "unstable" even though some have mood swings. To make McCain a poster boy for PTSD is just playing politics.
Saying McCain has PTSD and that he attempted suicide is not new or news any more than saying he's been a jerk.
There is a lot more information about what he did to Carol, but I bring this up to try to show you that he is not stable and goes from reasonable behavior to sick behavior.
So he now sits there in the Senate making things difficult again. He is a problem and the fact that such a man could become a Senator is a problem for the country.
John McCain is a jerk to most people including members of the Senate calling him McNasty. PTSD did not make him a jerk. Much as he has not been good for veterans, often dismissing other veterans with PTSD as not worth his time, we need to remember that most of the veterans with PTSD are not "unstable" even though some have mood swings. To make McCain a poster boy for PTSD is just playing politics.
Saying McCain has PTSD and that he attempted suicide is not new or news any more than saying he's been a jerk.
John McCain and PTSD
Daily Kos
Don Mikulecky
SAT JUL 20, 2013
Besides having knowledge about this man from the fact that my wife knew his first wife fairly well (I met her at class reunions I accompanied my wife to), I have always suspected that he is not without certain psychological problems. Being a prisoner of war was extremely traumatic. He is a hero for his ability to come out of that as well as he did. He is not fit to govern in any sense and the fact that he was a presidential candidate says our system is very open to real problems. So now he is a Senator again. He has a way of misusing his power that makes it seem like a quirk. I think it goes deeper. Read on below and I'll air other opinions on this.
A lot of this came out during the Presidentail Campaign but seems forgotten now. For example:John McCain's suicide attempt and his resulting PTSD
McCain says because he survived 5½ years of brutal torture, while a prisoner of the communist Vietnamese, he is better qualified to be president of the United States than any other candidate. McCain claims his POW sufferings included three years in solitary confinement where he was tortured so badly that he "broke," causing him to attempt suicide.
What McCain's promoters have carefully edited out of their McCain-for-president equation is his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Department of Defense psychiatrists have evaluated McCain for PTSD several times, the results of which remain locked by privacy laws.
PTSD can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which physical harm occurred or was threatened. U.S. government studies have concluded that former POWs "may remain embroiled in a harsh psychological battle with themselves for decades after returning home."
An outcome of PTSD is a subtle web of personal problems including difficulty in controlling intense emotions such as anger and an inability to function well under stress.
read more here
Monday, July 15, 2013
Ex-POW Medal of Honor Vietnam Hero Jon Cavaiani Needs Help
Decorated Vietnam War Vet Faces Toughest Battle
NewsMax
By Geoff Metcalf
Monday, 15 Jul 2013
On June 4, 1971, as Jon Cavaiani was serving in the Vietnam War as a special forces officer, his platoon came under intense enemy attack. Cavaiani organized the unit's defense and, when evacuation by helicopter became necessary, he voluntarily stayed on the ground and directed the aircraft.
He successfully evacuated most of the platoon.
For Cavaiani and a small group that remained behind, the war would take a dark turn. As events took a turn for the worse, and after a major enemy attack the next morning, he ordered the remaining men to escape while he stayed and provided suppressive fire to cover their retreat.
When the position was overrun, although seriously wounded, he escaped and evaded the enemy for 11 days before eventually being captured and spening the next two years as a prisoner of war.
He was still listed as Missing in Action when his Medal of Honor was awarded. He was released on April 27, 1973.
Cavaiani served his country well. Now he needs our help. It is time we returned the favor. Cavaiani has been diagnosed with MSD, a chronic blood disease, and over the past four months, he has received many blood transfusions and chemotherapy treatments. He started his treatments at the VA Medial Center in San Francisco and the care they have provided has reportedly been outstanding.
read more here
Oct 6, 2011
Staff Sergeant Jon Cavaiani organized and led an aggressive defense when his force came under fierce attack near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, on June 4-5, 1971. He evaded capture for 11 days, but was eventually taken as a POW. When he was released in 1973, he heard that he had been recommended for the Medal of Honor. It was awarded to him on December 12, 1974.
NewsMax
By Geoff Metcalf
Monday, 15 Jul 2013
On June 4, 1971, as Jon Cavaiani was serving in the Vietnam War as a special forces officer, his platoon came under intense enemy attack. Cavaiani organized the unit's defense and, when evacuation by helicopter became necessary, he voluntarily stayed on the ground and directed the aircraft.
He successfully evacuated most of the platoon.
For Cavaiani and a small group that remained behind, the war would take a dark turn. As events took a turn for the worse, and after a major enemy attack the next morning, he ordered the remaining men to escape while he stayed and provided suppressive fire to cover their retreat.
When the position was overrun, although seriously wounded, he escaped and evaded the enemy for 11 days before eventually being captured and spening the next two years as a prisoner of war.
He was still listed as Missing in Action when his Medal of Honor was awarded. He was released on April 27, 1973.
Cavaiani served his country well. Now he needs our help. It is time we returned the favor. Cavaiani has been diagnosed with MSD, a chronic blood disease, and over the past four months, he has received many blood transfusions and chemotherapy treatments. He started his treatments at the VA Medial Center in San Francisco and the care they have provided has reportedly been outstanding.
read more here
Oct 6, 2011
Staff Sergeant Jon Cavaiani organized and led an aggressive defense when his force came under fierce attack near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, on June 4-5, 1971. He evaded capture for 11 days, but was eventually taken as a POW. When he was released in 1973, he heard that he had been recommended for the Medal of Honor. It was awarded to him on December 12, 1974.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
WWII vet tells of 42 months as Japanese POW
WWII vet tells of 42 months as Japanese POW
By Amy C. Rippel, Correspondent
January 8, 2012
MINNEOLA — After spending a horrific 42 months as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II, wasting away to nearly 90 pounds and being beaten within an inch of his life, you'd think Lee Wilson would have jumped at the chance to get his honorable discharge from the Navy and move on with his life.
But that simply wasn't Wilson's style. Instead, he returned his hometown in Kentucky, married his sweetheart and returned to duty. Today, Wilson and his wife Glenda, married for 65 years, have been enjoying their retirement in Minneola. With the most recent Veteran's Day fresh in mind, Wilson recalled his years of service, the horrors of being a prisoner of war and the joy of being reunited with his love. Despite his years in a prison camp, Wilson remains fervently patriotic.
"I'd do it all again for my country," said Wilson, 90.
Wilson was just 18 when he enlisted in the Navy. Even today, as aging and illness encroaches, Wilson can recall those years like they were yesterday. So poignant, his daughter-in-law Patricia Berg Wilson recorded them as a cherished family record.
"To know Lee Wilson is to know a true patriot," Patricia Berg Wilson wrote in her father-in-law's memoirs. "He is a proud American, yet a humble servant of God. For he knows that without his faith, he could have never been able to endure and survive the horrors of being a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp in WWII."
read more here
By Amy C. Rippel, Correspondent
January 8, 2012
MINNEOLA — After spending a horrific 42 months as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II, wasting away to nearly 90 pounds and being beaten within an inch of his life, you'd think Lee Wilson would have jumped at the chance to get his honorable discharge from the Navy and move on with his life.
But that simply wasn't Wilson's style. Instead, he returned his hometown in Kentucky, married his sweetheart and returned to duty. Today, Wilson and his wife Glenda, married for 65 years, have been enjoying their retirement in Minneola. With the most recent Veteran's Day fresh in mind, Wilson recalled his years of service, the horrors of being a prisoner of war and the joy of being reunited with his love. Despite his years in a prison camp, Wilson remains fervently patriotic.
"I'd do it all again for my country," said Wilson, 90.
Wilson was just 18 when he enlisted in the Navy. Even today, as aging and illness encroaches, Wilson can recall those years like they were yesterday. So poignant, his daughter-in-law Patricia Berg Wilson recorded them as a cherished family record.
"To know Lee Wilson is to know a true patriot," Patricia Berg Wilson wrote in her father-in-law's memoirs. "He is a proud American, yet a humble servant of God. For he knows that without his faith, he could have never been able to endure and survive the horrors of being a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp in WWII."
read more here
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Homeless ex-POW 4 tour Vietnam vet says he’s tired of fighting-was lying?
UPDATE
What was he thinking?
What was he thinking?
Jerry Davich: Hobart man’s P.O.W. claims refuted, paperwork fraudulent
August 2, 2011
The ‘Obama slam’
“If Barack Obama was standing right here, I’d bust him in the mouth for forgetting people like me.”
This inflammatory quote from now-disgraced “Vietnam era vet” Jerome Pagell was used as the front-page headline for my Tuesday column. And, although I had nothing to do with its placement on the front page, I heard repeated complaints about it.
It hasn’t helped that the quote came from a guy who is a lying, deceptive fraud. Then again, I heard several complaints well before anyone knew that new info. But are those readers upset because Obama is our president or because Obama is, well, Obama?
Meaning, I wonder if those readers would have been just as upset if, say, George Bush, was named instead? Or would I (and Post-Tribune editors) be hearing from only Bush supporters, equally upset about slamming their man in print?
Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that the majority of complaints have been from the black community, seemingly more upset about the “Obama slam” on the front page than the vet’s lies about being a P.O.W.
Connie Utley was duped. I was duped. And possibly so were many of you, thanks to me. For that, I sincerely apologize.
My Tuesday column on Jerome Pagell turned out to be only partly accurate in its tragic depiction of the disabled Vietnam era veteran.
In truth, the 69-year-old Hobart man showed me forged paperwork claiming he was a prisoner of war. He was not, according to multiple sources familiar with his “stolen valor” scam.
“He’s a fraud,” said Earl McDowell, district one commander for the state’s Veterans of Foreign Wars.
On Tuesday morning, McDowell went to Pagell’s home to confront him about his P.O.W. claims alongside Utley, the hair salon owner who first contacted me about Pagell. She has been helping Pagell for weeks and she called me Tuesday morning bawling from shame, disappointment, and anger toward Pagell.
“I have to know the truth,” she told Pagell face to face, with McDowell standing nearby. “I loved you, and I helped you with anything you needed. Why would you lie to me?”
Pagell refuted McDowell’s claims that he is a fraud, yet refused to provide him with the same paperwork he showed me when I visited his home. That paperwork confirmed that Pagell was a P.O.W. who was held captive more than two years in Vietnam.
read more here
Hobart man’s P.O.W. claims refuted, paperwork fraudulent
Jerry Davich: Homeless POW vet says he’s tired of fighting
JERRY DAVICH jdavich@post-trib.com
August 1, 2011 5:56PM
Jerome Pagell of Hobart talks about Vietnam at A Lil' Off The Top Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, in Hobart. Pagell was a POW in Vietnam for 26 months, 12 days, 14 hours, and 23 minutes. | Scott M. Bort~Sun-Times Media
Disobedient tears ran down the proud but tired face of Jerome Pagell.
“Sir, I served honorably for this country. I gave blood for this country. And I lived in a hell hole as a prisoner of war for this country,” he told me, fighting back emotions. “But my government doesn’t care about me, and I’m tired of getting crapped on and forgotten about.”
Pagell, who turns 69 next week, served four tours in Vietnam as a U.S. Army cardiovascular nurse, first arriving in 1961.
On June 6, 1964, he was captured by the Viet Cong and imprisoned in a cage that was 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet. There, for “26 months, 12 days, 14 hours and 23 minutes,” Pagell lived, cried, urinated, defecated, yelled, laughed and questioned God’s existence.
“I cried out to God for his angel of death to come take me home,” he recalled in vivid detail.
But the angel of death never came. He finally was discovered and released by the Swiss in August 1966.
During another tour of duty, his unit was hit by Agent Orange, the code name for a cancer-causing herbicide used by the U.S. military. He developed ocular blastoma, a cancer behind the eyes, causing him to slowly lose his eyesight.
He has since developed diabetes, high blood pressure and post-traumatic stress disorder, and he’s legally blind. His feet are dark purple from poor circulation.
read more here
Homeless POW vet says he’s tired of fighting
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Former Iraq POW looks back
Former Iraq POW looks back
20 years ago, Mike Roberts was shot down and captured by Iraqi troops
Jun 26, 2011
COLUMBUS -- The colonel in the olive drab flight suit picks up a remote control lying on his desk, aims it at the television mounted to his office wall and pushes play. The screen flickers on to a crude black and white video overlaid with numbers and symbols.
On the screen, from this bird's-eye view, jets careen through a morbid and magnificent fireworks display as rockets race up from below. The horizon tilts sharply as just ahead, a rocket finds its target. "Stroke One took a hit! Stroke One took a hit!" says an adrenaline-laced voice that transports the colonel in the flight suit back 20 years into the cockpit of his F-16 fighter jet. A moment later, another missile finds its mark.
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Former Iraq POW looks back
20 years ago, Mike Roberts was shot down and captured by Iraqi troops
Jun 26, 2011
COLUMBUS -- The colonel in the olive drab flight suit picks up a remote control lying on his desk, aims it at the television mounted to his office wall and pushes play. The screen flickers on to a crude black and white video overlaid with numbers and symbols.
On the screen, from this bird's-eye view, jets careen through a morbid and magnificent fireworks display as rockets race up from below. The horizon tilts sharply as just ahead, a rocket finds its target. "Stroke One took a hit! Stroke One took a hit!" says an adrenaline-laced voice that transports the colonel in the flight suit back 20 years into the cockpit of his F-16 fighter jet. A moment later, another missile finds its mark.
read more here
Former Iraq POW looks back
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Ex-POW says murder suspect saved his life
Ex-POW says murder suspect saved his life
OCRegister - Santa Ana,CA,USA
Friday, December 5, 2008
MORNING READ: Defense attorney calls retired colonel to talk about the horrors of the Vietnam War. A re-trial related to the case could begin today.
By LARRY WELBORN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
He was shot down over Vietnam in May of 1972. He crawled with a broken back and swollen ankle for three days before he was captured by the North Vietnamese.
He was interrogated, tortured and threatened with death.
And then it got bad.
Retired Army Col. William Spencer Reeder told an Orange County jury last year that he was forced to march for three months with a broken back, infected ankle and other injuries up the Ho Chi Minh trail to the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp.
More than three decades have passed since his Vietnam trek, but Reeder still has nightmares.
"I don't like to dwell on that trip," Reeder first told an investigator for the Orange County Public Defender's Office in 2005.
"That trip is about the most horrendous thing that's ever happened to me in my life," Reeder said.
"I mean the other stuff was bad enough. But by many magnitudes, that trip was awful."
Reeder said during the journey he became sick with malaria and dysentery. His ankle infection got worse, swelling three times its normal size. He was cold, fatigued and hungry, about as miserable as one human being could get.
He knew that if he failed to keep up during this three-month-long forced march – if he could not continue – he would be killed, just as he had seen other prisoners get killed when they dropped out.
And that point came.
OCRegister - Santa Ana,CA,USA
Friday, December 5, 2008
MORNING READ: Defense attorney calls retired colonel to talk about the horrors of the Vietnam War. A re-trial related to the case could begin today.
By LARRY WELBORN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
He was shot down over Vietnam in May of 1972. He crawled with a broken back and swollen ankle for three days before he was captured by the North Vietnamese.
He was interrogated, tortured and threatened with death.
And then it got bad.
Retired Army Col. William Spencer Reeder told an Orange County jury last year that he was forced to march for three months with a broken back, infected ankle and other injuries up the Ho Chi Minh trail to the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp.
More than three decades have passed since his Vietnam trek, but Reeder still has nightmares.
"I don't like to dwell on that trip," Reeder first told an investigator for the Orange County Public Defender's Office in 2005.
"That trip is about the most horrendous thing that's ever happened to me in my life," Reeder said.
"I mean the other stuff was bad enough. But by many magnitudes, that trip was awful."
Reeder said during the journey he became sick with malaria and dysentery. His ankle infection got worse, swelling three times its normal size. He was cold, fatigued and hungry, about as miserable as one human being could get.
He knew that if he failed to keep up during this three-month-long forced march – if he could not continue – he would be killed, just as he had seen other prisoners get killed when they dropped out.
And that point came.
Le, who had immigrated to Orange County from Vietnam years after the fall of Saigon in 1975, was charged with murdering his brother's live-in girlfriend Tuyet Le, 46, and her 15-year-ol daughter Jennifer Cu in December, 2004.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh argued during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial that Le, who had moved into his elderly parents' Santa Ana home about a month before the shootings, killed Tuyet because he felt she had been repeatedly disrespectful towards him and his parents.
Baytieh said Le armed himself and went on a rampage. He shot Jennifer Cu in the head and chest in the kitchen, and then shot Tuyet Le once in the chest in the back yard, according to evidence,
Le then prepared to shoot it out with police, but was talked out of it by his father, Baytieh contended. Instead, Peter Le phoned 911 and surrendered.
click link above for more
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Korean War ex-POW found peace with PTSD
Ed Slater: After captivity in Korea, and suffering more after the ...
Kansas City Star - MO,USA
Ed Slater: After captivity in Korea, and suffering more after the war, he found peace.
By LISA GUTIERREZ
The Kansas City Star
Ed Slater’s family “did what we did to get what we could get” during the Depression. So for the bad boy from Quincy, Ill., it was reform school or the military
He chose the Army.
So here he was, scared out of his 20-year-old mind, separated from his infantry unit, lost in the Korean countryside.
He wandered two weeks without food before begging for rice from a Korean peasant woman. He ate it up.
He heard the triggers as North Korean soldiers rushed him.
Click-click-click-click-click.
In the summer of 1950 Ed Slater became a victim of what historians call the North Korean atrocity mill.
As a prisoner of war, this son of a plumber learned what flesh sounds like when it’s pounded, what a human head looks like after struck by a bullet, what anguish feels like.
The cries came from his own mouth.
Kansas City Star - MO,USA
Ed Slater: After captivity in Korea, and suffering more after the war, he found peace.
By LISA GUTIERREZ
The Kansas City Star
Ed Slater’s family “did what we did to get what we could get” during the Depression. So for the bad boy from Quincy, Ill., it was reform school or the military
He chose the Army.
So here he was, scared out of his 20-year-old mind, separated from his infantry unit, lost in the Korean countryside.
He wandered two weeks without food before begging for rice from a Korean peasant woman. He ate it up.
He heard the triggers as North Korean soldiers rushed him.
Click-click-click-click-click.
In the summer of 1950 Ed Slater became a victim of what historians call the North Korean atrocity mill.
As a prisoner of war, this son of a plumber learned what flesh sounds like when it’s pounded, what a human head looks like after struck by a bullet, what anguish feels like.
The cries came from his own mouth.
“I thought I was going crazy,” he says. “I was sleeping in bars, sleeping in parks. I knew something was very wrong with me.”
He had post-traumatic stress syndrome, and it took a Veterans Administration psychiatrist and Prozac to treat it.
click link for more
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
House Allows Gulf War POWs to Sue Iraq Over Torture
This is how it started
This is what happened today
You would think that if Bush and the rest of the GOP had really cared about the troops, especially the veterans and especially these veterans of the Gulf War, they would have allowed the suit to go ahead years ago. But then you would also have to think that in this country, this country especially, no veteran would ever have to fight for the justice, service, care and treatment they earned by being willing to serve this nation.
RETURNED PRISONERS OF WAR
FROM GULF WAR I --1991
NAME SERVICE DATE OF CAPTURE CARRIED AS RELEASE DATE
Acree, Clifford M. USMC Jan.18, 1991 POW 03/05/91
Andrews, William USAF -- MIA 03/05/91
Berryman, Michael C. USMC -- MIA 03/05/91
Cornum, Rhonda USA -- * 03/05/91
Dunlap, Troy USA -- * 03/05/91
Eberly, David W. USAF Jan. 17, 1991 POW 03/05/91
Fox, Jeffrey USAF Feb. 19, 1991 POW 03/05/91
Griffith, Thomas E. Jr. USAF Jan. 17, 1991 POW 03/04/91
Hunter, Guy L. Jr. USMC Jan. 18, 1991 POW 03/05/91
Lockett, David USA Jan. 20, 1991 MIA 03/04/91
Roberts, Harry M. USAF Jan. - 1991 POW 03/05/91
Rathbun-Nealy, Melissa USA Jan. 30, 1991 MIA 03/04/91
Slade, Lawrence R. USN Jan. 21, 19915,3 POW 03/04/91
Small, Joseph USMC Feb. 25, 1991 MIA 03/05/91
Sanborn, Russell A.C. USMC Feb. 09, 1991 MIA 03/05/91
Stamaris, Daniel USA -- * 03/05/91
Storr, Richard Dale USAF -- MIA 03/05/91
Sweet, Robert J. USAF Feb. - , 1991 MIA 03/05/91
Tice, Jeffrey Scott USAF Jan. -, 1991 POW 03/05/91
Wetzel, Robert USN Jan. 17, 1991 MIA 03/04/91
Zaun, Jeffrey Norton USN Jan. 17, 1991 POW 03/04/91
http://www.nationalalliance.org/gulf/returnees.htm
Archive for Tuesday, February 15, 2005
White House Turns Tables on Former American POWs
By David G. Savage
February 15, 2005 in print edition A-1
The latest chapter in the legal history of torture is being written by American pilots who were beaten and abused by Iraqis during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. And it has taken a strange twist.
The Bush administration is fighting the former prisoners of war in court, trying to prevent them from collecting nearly $1 billion from Iraq that a federal judge awarded them as compensation for their torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The rationale: Today’s Iraqis are good guys, and they need the money.
The case abounds with ironies. It pits the U.S. government squarely against its own war heroes and the Geneva Convention.
Many of the pilots were tortured in the same Iraqi prison, Abu Ghraib, where American soldiers abused Iraqis 15 months ago. Those Iraqi victims, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said, deserve compensation from the United States.
But the American victims of Iraqi torturers are not entitled to similar payments from Iraq, the U.S. government says.
“It seems so strange to have our own country fighting us on this,” said retired Air Force Col. David W. Eberly, the senior officer among the former POWs.
The case, now being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, tests whether “state sponsors of terrorism” can be sued in the U.S. courts for torture, murder or hostage-taking. The court is expected to decide in the next two months whether to hear the appeal.
Congress opened the door to such claims in 1996, when it lifted the shield of sovereign immunity – which basically prohibits lawsuits against foreign governments – for any nation that supports terrorism. At that time, Iraq was one of seven nations identified by the State Department as sponsoring terrorist activity. The 17 Gulf War POWs looked to have a very strong case when they first filed suit in 2002. They had been undeniably tortured by a tyrannical regime, one that had $1.7 billion of its assets frozen by the U.S. government.
The picture changed, however, when the United States invaded Iraq and toppled Hussein from power nearly two years ago. On July 21, 2003, two weeks after the Gulf War POWs won their court case in U.S. District Court, the Bush administration intervened to argue that their claims should be dismissed.
“No amount of money can truly compensate these brave men and women for the suffering that they went through at the hands of this very brutal regime and at the hands of Saddam Hussein,” White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters when asked about the case in November 2003.
Government lawyers have insisted, literally, on “no amount of money” going to the Gulf War POWs. “These resources are required for the urgent national security needs of rebuilding Iraq,” McClellan said.
The case also tests a key provision of the Geneva Convention, the international law that governs the treatment of prisoners of war. The United States and other signers pledged never to “absolve” a state of “any liability” for the torture of POWs.
Former military lawyers and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have been among those who have urged the Supreme Court to take up the case and to strengthen the law against torturers and tyrannical regimes.
“Our government is on the wrong side of this issue,” said Jeffrey F. Addicott, a former Army lawyer and director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. “A lot of Americans would scratch their heads and ask why is our government taking the side of Iraq against our POWs.”
The POWs’ journey through the court system began with the events of Jan. 17, 1991 – the first day of the Gulf War. In response to Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait five months earlier, the United States, as head of a United Nations coalition, launched an air attack on Iraq, determined to drive Iraqi forces from the oil-rich Gulf state. On the first day of the fighting, a jet piloted by Marine Corps Lt. Col. Clifford Acree was downed over Iraq by a surface-to-air missile. He suffered a neck injury ejecting from the plane and was soon taken prisoner by the Iraqis.
Blindfolded and handcuffed, he was beaten until he lost consciousness. His nose was broken, his skull was fractured, and he was threatened with having his fingers cut off. He lost 30 pounds during his 47 days of captivity.
Eberly was shot down two days later and lost 45 pounds during his ordeal. He and several other U.S. service members were near starvation when they were freed. Other POWs had their eardrums ruptured and were urinated on during their captivity at Abu Ghraib.
All the while, their families thought they were dead because the Iraqis did not notify the U.S. government of their capture.
In April 2002, the Washington law firm of Steptoe & Johnson filed suit on behalf of the 17 former POWs and 37 of their family members. The suit, Acree vs. Republic of Iraq, sought monetary damages for the “acts of torture committed against them and for pain, suffering and severe mental distress of their families.”
Usually, foreign states have a sovereign immunity that shields them from being sued. But in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996, Congress authorized U.S. courts to award “money damages
This provision was “designed to hold terrorist nations accountable for the torture of Americans and to deter rogue nations from engaging in such actions in the future,” Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and George Allen (R-Va.) said last year in a letter to Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft that urged him to support the POWs’ claim.
The case came before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts. There was no trial; Hussein’s regime ignored the suit, and the U.S. State Department chose to take no part in the case.
On July 7, 2003, the judge handed down a long opinion that described the abuse suffered by the Gulf War POWs, and he awarded them $653 million in compensatory damages. He also assessed $306 million in punitive damages against Iraq. Lawyers for the POWs asked him to put a hold on some of Iraq’s frozen assets.
No sooner had the POWs celebrated their victory than they came up against a new roadblock: Bush administration lawyers argued that the case should be thrown out of court on the grounds that Bush had voided any such claims against Iraq, which was now under U.S. occupation. The administration lawyers based their argument on language in an emergency bill, passed shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, approving the expenditure of $80 billion for military operations and reconstruction efforts. One clause in the legislation authorized the president to suspend the sanctions against Iraq that had been imposed as punishment for the invasion of Kuwait more than a decade earlier.
The president’s lawyers said this clause also allowed Bush to remove Iraq from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism and to set aside pending monetary judgments against Iraq.
When the POWs’ case went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,, the three-judge panel ruled unanimously for the Bush administration and threw out the lawsuit.
“The United States possesses weighty foreign policy interests that are clearly threatened by the entry of judgment for [the POWs] in this case,” the appeals court said.
The administration also succeeding in killing a congressional resolution supporting the POWs’ suit. “U.S. courts no longer have jurisdiction to hear cases such as those filed by the Gulf War POWs,” then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage said in a letter to lawmakers. “Moreover, the president has ordered the vesting of blocked Iraqi assets for use by the Iraqi people and for reconstruction.”
Already frustrated by the turn of events, the former POWs were startled when Rumsfeld said he favored awarding compensation to the Iraqi prisoners who were abused by the U.S. military at Abu Ghraib.
“I am seeking a way to provide appropriate compensation to those detainees who suffered grievous and brutal abuse and cruelty at the hands of a few members of the U.S. military. It is the right thing to do,” Rumsfeld told a Senate committee last year.
By contrast, the government’s lawyers have refused to even discuss a settlement in the POWs’ case, say lawyers for the Gulf War veterans. “They were willing to settle this for pennies on the dollar,” said Addicott, the former Army lawyer.
The last hope for the POWs rests with the Supreme Court. Their lawyers petitioned the high court last month to hear the case. Significantly, it has been renamed Acree vs. Iraq and the United States.
The POWs say the justices should decide the “important and recurring question [of] whether U.S. citizens who are victims of state-sponsored terrorism [may] seek redress against terrorist states in federal court.”
This week, Justice Department lawyers are expected to file a brief urging the court to turn away the appeal.
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/feb/15/nation/na-pow15
This is what happened today
House Allows Gulf War POWs to Sue Iraq Over Torture
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
WASHINGTON — Former POWs and civilians who were tortured or held hostage during the 1991 Gulf War could pursue lawsuits against Iraq under legislation the House has approved.
The White House, saying the bill would threaten economic and political progress in Iraq, threatened to veto the measure if it reaches the president's desk. It still has to clear the Senate.
The legislation, passed by voice vote late Monday, could affect some 17 prisoners of war — all but one pilots of aircraft downed over Iraq or Kuwait — and more than 200 American civilians working in Iraq and Kuwait and held as "human shields" after then-President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, would take away the president's authority to exempt Iraq from lawsuits brought by Americans tortured by state sponsors of terrorism. The president could still grant immunity if he certifies that Iraq has adequately settled, or is making good-faith efforts to settle, claims against it from pending court cases.
A House Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, was behind the compromise language in the new bill, but the White House said the certification provisions were inadequate to allow the president's waiver rights to continue.
go here for more
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,423241,00.html
You would think that if Bush and the rest of the GOP had really cared about the troops, especially the veterans and especially these veterans of the Gulf War, they would have allowed the suit to go ahead years ago. But then you would also have to think that in this country, this country especially, no veteran would ever have to fight for the justice, service, care and treatment they earned by being willing to serve this nation.
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