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As a Nation, do we look at those lost at sea and not recovered in the same way we look at past era POW/MIAs? I know when I see the POW/MIA flag or table I will...will you?
POW/MIA
Honor
Remembrance
Service
Memorial
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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GySgt John O'Donnell I do. Every. Damn. Time. I think some people outside of the military realm see it differently due to the amount of coverage of things (24/7 news on a 24 hour cycle). It can tend to desensitize people.
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To anyone besides us and our brothers and sisters in arms, Gunny, probably not. Warfare has changed in recent decades. We’re not deploying large numbers is personnel downrange to achieve a target (there were 156,000 Allied troops at Normandy on D-Day). Our accountability has increased, and we don’t measure wartime effectiveness as we did in WWII. We deploy and we recover, we don’t stay downrange for the duration of the war. The specter of losing someone on the field is diminished in the way we conduct war. It matters most only to those duty-sworn to never leave a man behind. We carry that burden because it is our place to do so.
The POW/MIA bracelet I wear everyday is now thirteen years old, and barely legible. Air Force Master Sergeant James H. Calfee was lost at Lima Site 85 during Project Heavy Green in Laos on 11 March 1968. I offered to send it to his remaining family when I bought it, and they insisted I keep it and remember. I’ll keep it until they find him or I’ll be buried with it.
The POW/MIA bracelet I wear everyday is now thirteen years old, and barely legible. Air Force Master Sergeant James H. Calfee was lost at Lima Site 85 during Project Heavy Green in Laos on 11 March 1968. I offered to send it to his remaining family when I bought it, and they insisted I keep it and remember. I’ll keep it until they find him or I’ll be buried with it.
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GySgt John O'Donnell
Whether an airman lost in the jungle in 1968, or 9 sailors lost at sea in 2017, they all were "in action" when they went missing, and must never be forgotten.
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The improperly folded flag, inappropriately resting on the plate is a concern.
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GySgt John O'Donnell
Are you kidding me? The point of the question was the "intangible" reverence of those lost (i.e Missing in Action) now and then, not the "tangible" picture I got off the internet. That said, there are many examples of the "Table of Remembrance" that may not meet the "letter" but definitely meet the "spirit" of intent.
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Sgt Wayne Wood
There's a table... i rarely see them anywhere... why not complain about the bible not representing non-Christian POW/MIAS? It upsets the hell out of me when Air Force ROTC honor guards show up at funerals for Marines... i get over it... it's better than no honors at all.
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TSgt John Marshall
GySgt John O'Donnell - then you really should have chosen a better picture. I know the point of the original post, which is quite interesting. However, the picture does not follow the guidelines of the POW/MIA Table.
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