FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON (Friday, Sept. 15, 2000) - Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, a day when our government demonstrates a fleeting regard for America's captured and missing servicemen. Most Americans probably do not realize U.S. policy does not comport to the moral gravity of recovering those who were last seen fighting for our country. The policymakers here work near Arlington National Cemetery, where the remains of a repatriated Vietnam War MIA were to be laid to rest today.

Today, the black and white POW/MIA flag, featuring the silhouette of a beleaguered captive, will fly underneath Old Glory at Recognition Day ceremonies nationwide and on military installations around the world; it flies above The American Legion National Headquarters in Indianapolis 365 days a year. Military aviators will fly missing-man formations over a current of patriotic music. Wreaths will be placed. Prayers will be offered. The repatriated will speak of unforgettable wartime experiences and unbelievable acts of heroism. The families will express their yearning for closure.

After the ceremony, in all certainty, our government will grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations to China even though China is uncooperative on the accounting of U.S. POW/MIAs from the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War. On the eve of this special day, the White House confirmed President Clinton's November visit to Vietnam. The focus of the visit will be economic ties, although trade ought to be subordinate to the 2,005 U.S. servicemen who remain unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War.

Isn't it high time our government remembers the veterans not only on Veterans Day; remembers the honored dead not only on Memorial Day; and remembers the POW/MIAs not only on this day? If you believe the answer is yes, then remind your federal elected officials -- by phone, e-mail, fax or letter -- to make national security and the full accounting of America's POW/MIAs our nation's highest priority.

By virtue of our collective voice, as constituents and as voters, America's foreign policy and America's moral imperative will be harmonized. And all of our most courageous citizens will be mercifully welcomed home.

Copyright©2000 by The American Legion

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