Is an MIA the same today as yesterday?

2017-08-24T12:22:48-04:00

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?

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2017 12:31 PM

2017-08-24T12:31:32-04:00

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.

Response by TSgt John Marshall made Aug 24 at 2017 12:34 PM

2017-08-24T12:34:52-04:00

The improperly folded flag, inappropriately resting on the plate is a concern.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2017 1:45 PM

2017-08-24T13:45:11-04:00

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.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2017 2:12 PM

2017-08-24T14:12:08-04:00

If this is about the nine missing sailors from USS McCain I do not think they are the same as POW/Mia because those service members are missing due to combat/ wartime conditions. This is a tricky one since they were lost at sea due to a collision but I think they are a little different. This is not to denigrate what happened to them but just there is a difference. Just as it made a difference when the USS Fitzgerald was involved in a collision and there were some RP members stating that they thought FC1 Rehm rated a MOH for rescuing his shipmates. There loss is not any less tragic but not the same as POW/ MIA.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2017 2:27 PM

2017-08-24T14:27:36-04:00

People were lost on active duty performing their mission. I see no reason to not honor them the same as those who were doing the same in conflict.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2017 3:22 PM

2017-08-24T15:22:56-04:00

GySgt John O'Donnell Absolutely. All MIA's, past, present, future are our fellow brothers and sisters.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Aug 24 at 2017 4:38 PM

2017-08-24T16:38:47-04:00

Yes, there is no change in the status of how they were declared, or why they were declared MIA

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Aug 24 at 2017 6:00 PM

2017-08-24T18:00:28-04:00

I might look at them differently, but that in no way diminishes the sheer amount of respect and sadness I have for the individual. Yes there is a difference between someone who was captured by an enemy force and someone who may have been lost in a training accident.

But I will shed a tear for both of them and think of both of them when I see that place set at the table which will never be occupied.

Response by CDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 24 at 2017 6:15 PM

2017-08-24T18:15:43-04:00

Unfortunately I think as time goes on POW/MIA status will be looked at differently. We rarely have either anymore in the truest sense of the terms. No service member is currently a prison of war and no service member is missing in action during combat operations. The most recent MIA was I think CAPT Scott Speicher USN from the First Gulf War. That was really the last time we had POWs as well except one or two in Afghanistan and Iraq. The way we fight wars has changed and POWs/MIAs will probably be very few and far between thankfully. Unfortunately that means the terms POW and MIA will loose their place of significance a bit as it becomes more out of sight out of mind.

As for honoring those who are lost during their time of service, I think we will always show respect and honor them, just maybe not with the terms POW or MIA.