Pow Mias example essay topic

Until All The Men Are Back " Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it? 'And, when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders and goes home. 'Then he calls [everyone] and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep'; (Jesus Christ: Luke 15: 4-6). For some thirty years, two thousand four hundred thirteen (2,413) souls have been crying out for freedom, but they are waiting as lost sheep for their shepherd to find. The title, whether Prisoner Of War, Missing In Action, or Killed In Action b. n. r. (body not recovered) matters not.

There is terrible wrong that continues to be allowed to perpetrate the halls of the United States Congress and the office of the President. The United States government considers these men and women more easily pronounced dead than becoming stuck within the quagmire of Vietnam investigations again. The majority attitude is to remember them in a past tense manner, a manner of 'out of sight, out of mind. ' ; The POW / MIA personnel took an oath upon entry into the armed forces, which the United States government needs to reciprocate. Within the context of this oath are phrases such as 'I am prepared to give my life in [my country's] defense. ' ; There are sworn words such as 'I will never forget that I am an American and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.

' ; The men and women falling under the aforementioned titles of POW, MIA or KIA (b. n. r.) need the same commitment shown them as the sheep in the scriptural quote above. The shepherd, the people of the United States, should commit to finding the lost and bring them back to the flock. This must be our mutual oath to the ones sitting day and night, year after year in the dejection and despondency of a prison. As written by Dennis Johnson in his poem 'Missing in Action,' ; he speaks in the first person tense of one missing: I am an MIA still waiting here today.

In a war that no one wanted I was lost and left behind. I did nothing to dishonor yet you still dishonor me. How can you disremember when my soul is not yet free? I am here because you left me. It's so simple, don't you see? There's but one thing I ask of thee, 'When will you come for me?' ;' When will you come for me?' ; That question sounds as a cry from a hell continually causing torment.

Is it? Are there actually people, to this day, still held prisoner in a country where our involvement ended in 1973? Absolutely! According to The Tighe Report of American POWs and MIAs to the House Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, 15 October 1986, Tighe reported with evidence obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that 'Although 591 American POWs were repatriated to the United States in February 1973, some POWs were left behind.

' ; The United States government, in its failure to secure the return home of all United States servicemen, is violating an historically founded ideal that says, 'the war is not over until all the men are back. ' ; Even in my imagination, I am unable to understand the callous attitude exhibited daily within the halls of both houses of the United States Congress. This callousness, in relation to the Vietnam POW / MIA issue, continues today. This attitude has a regurgitating effect on any American who dares say they support our forces wherever their assignment takes them. Since when do we forget those protecting either our freedom or the freedom of an ally? I remember during the Gulf War the patriotism shown in a place such as the Kelly Springfield tire factory in Tyler, Texas.

In twenty-one years of employment, never had I seen such support for an American military involvement. Flags were flying throughout the factory. Not a place was there where one could glance upward and not see 'Old Glory'; flying. United States flags and yellow ribbons, symbolizing an awaiting return home of U.S. troops, showed up on tire machines, walls of electrical panels, backs of fork trucks, and support beams.

The list could include virtually anything visible to anyone's eye. Yet, when it comes to remembering those who DID NOT return from such an unpopular conflict as Vietnam, where is the pride, the devotion, and the appreciation needed to get answers? The subject of American POWs in Southeast Asia is, debatable, one of the darkest pages within the confines of American history. It demonstrates that our nation's moral virtue is compromised.

The compromise is the categorical promise made to U.S. servicemen by their government that they would bring them all home at the end of the war. Does the blame rest on any one person or group? Why would Vietnam refuse to release any Americans they still hold? On February 1, 1973, President Richard Nixon sent a secret latter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong promising four and one-half billion dollars in postwar reconstruction aid. After Vietnam released the verifiable 591 POWs in a much-publicized ceremony, the money was not rendered.

According to a U.S. Senate Report, the belief is that the Vietnamese kept several hundred other POWs because 'collateral'; was needed to insure that the United States would fulfill its promise for postwar aid (U.S. Senate Committee Report 5-10). This places American servicemen's status to that of a pawn in a chess game. The United States Executive and Legislative branches, therefore, considers them expendable for the sake of money. On April 12, 1973, in an attempt to end the questions of outspoken Americans on the fate of other POW / MIAs, the U.S. State Department issued a proclamation to the Department of Defense. This statement said: 'There are no more prisoners in Southeast Asia.

They are all dead. ' ; Are we as Americans to take this theory and accept it on the merits of a government whose non-release of reconstruction aid amounted to an international lie? I think not. I remember passing by an exhibit at the State Fair in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1972. In this simple exhibit was a cage built from bamboo lanced together with crude rope. The message was clearly sent and understood: Do not forget the POW / MIAs.

The cage burned a place deep within me. Are there still Americans sitting and waiting for their country to rescue them? Do they sit day and night thinking of a wife and a baby daughter who is now thirty years older? Do they cry out in their in their hearts 'America, where are you?' ; Human ethics and an obligation to the families of lost unaccounted for Americans in Vietnam dictate that we, at the very minimum, supply closure for these families.

The United States government MUST honor its commitment to its servicemen and settle for nothing less than 'the war is not over until all the men are back. ' ; As the shepherd of the flock goes to the uttermost to find one lost sheep, we as Americans must go to our uttermost to account for two thousand four hundred thirteen heroes to whom we have not yet had the chance to say 'Welcome home. ' ;.