September 16, 2011, 7:26 AM
Filed under: Patriotism
Filed under: Patriotism
There are 1,741 American personnel listed by the Defense Department’s POW/MIA Office as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, as of April 2009. The number of United States personnel accounted for since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 is 841. About 90 percent of the 1,741 people still missing were lost in Vietnam or areas of Laos and Cambodia under Vietnam’s wartime control, according to the National League of Families website (cited in the United States Army website).
Let us never forget those who were prisoners of war, and those who were never repatriated with their nation, family and friends; today remember them in our hearts and prayers.
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Even with the many passing years, we thank your service in protecting our freedom. You, and your friends and family, are never forgotten.
Comment by Glenn Laycock September 28, 2011 @ 10:46 PMThe Jungle
by Christopher Donaghy
They say there was a Jungle,
Written by Sinclair,
A place of grave danger,
Where men often tread in dare.
These men were from Chicago,
Yes, New York and LA,
But rendering at the stockyards,
Was not their duty this day.
This Jungle I speak of:
Was far from Michigan’s shore:
This Jungle I speak of:
Was called the Vietnam War.
I watched these men on TV,
As they bravely took a stance,
And I wondered at age 15,
When I would get my chance?
I saw my brother get drafted,
And how he pondered his fate,
I imagined how I’d handle the call,
Upon my selection date?
That date never came,
And the war it did end,
A war I grew up with,
Sitting in my family den.
I remember seeing the action,
Cast upon our TV;
I remember the media criticizing
And siding with the VC:
The protestors, the hippies,
I remember all that and more,
What I don’t remember hearing,
Was support for our boys at war.
This was treason!
Against those who put it on the line,
And I hold the media in contempt!
For this and other crimes.
Today I watch on TV,
A similar case unfold,
As the media turns and twists,
A truth seldom if ever told.
When I look to find a common thread,
I see it loud and clear;
The protestors and hippies of old,
Own the voice Americans tend to hear.
So, will we stand idly by,
And allow minority dissent to win?
Or will we shout loud and clear:
Not on my watch again!
Copyright Christopher Donaghy 2009. This poem was inspired by the death of Walter Cronkite when the media placed him on a pedestal for his ethics in journalism. Walter Cronkite was the first nationally respected anchorman to give his opinion on the Vietnam War instead of the facts. His fictitious commentary led to the needless deaths of thousands of American troops and countless innocent civilian men, women and children when his opinion provided comfort to the enemy. “And that’s the way it is.” Our troops were winning the Vietnam War in 1968! After the Tet Offensive in 1968, the NVA and VC were soundly defeated according to high ranking General Bui Tin, NVA, and he gives credit to the American news media for allowing them to recover from defeat by distracting the American public from the facts of the war with myths, opinions and protests.
Comment by chris donaghy October 24, 2011 @ 10:41 AM