Apparently, They Can?t Even Get It Straight?

[HARDCORE]

Without publishing the entire correspondence, I will attempt to cover (briefly) certain portions of a letter that was recently received by Wilbert (Shorty) Estabrook, a Korean War Prisoner of War, and an honorable member on this site. The letter was in response to one that Estabrook wrote to Francis J. Harvey, Secretary of The Army, in regard to HR 2369, the Honor Our Fallen Prisoners of War Act.

In this letter (from one Lt. Colonel Johnson of the Military Awards Branch, on behalf of Secretary Harvey) facts were contorted, rhetoric was misinterpreted, and logic was led down the garden path, at least in my opinion. Thank God that this misinformed individual is not the final word on the issue!

First, had this honorable Colonel read HR 2369, he would have realized that, contrary to his claim, this Bill would honor ?ALL? POWs who died in captivity from causes such as starvation, disease, beatings, lack of medical treatment, freezing to death and prolonged exposure, etc., and not just the veterans of World War II! In fact, the Bill (if enacted into law) would cover the period between 7 December 1941 to the present, and indeed, even on into future conflicts!

The Colonel then added that: ?To be eligible for Purple Heart Recognition, a wounded man (or woman) must be treated by a medical officer and be part of the official record.? So what happens when men are wounded and then captured - men who are often left to the mercy of a brutal enemy? Or the men who are wounded, starved to death, or die of disease in some enemy hell hole?

Did these troopers too, not give their all? Death at the enemy?s hands is still death, is it not? And as far as the Colonel?s claim that documentation must be provided, the enemy rarely keeps or even compiles such documentation!!

The honorable Colonel then said, and I quote: ?Soldiers who are classified as MIA are not automatically qualified for the Purple Heart Medal?, an yet, some 8100 of our military who were classified as Missing In Action during the Korean War have been presumed to be dead, even though their fate is actually unknown? These brave men, however, were awarded the Purple Heart Medal, and so they should have been in my opinion!

The Colonel, in closing, then added that: ?The Army recognizes the unique hardships experienced by former captives under extraordinary circumstances with an award of the Prisoner of War Medal.? However, and this must be duly noted, the POW Medal did not come into existence until 1989, some 47 years after the first shot was fired in WWII, and some 39 years after vast numbers of our men were captured at the onset of the Korean War!! And for the record, ?ALL? who were captured and served as Prisoners of War are eligible for this Medal, however, those who died in captivity at the hands of our enemies, be it from starvation, beatings (torture), medical neglect, diseases, etc., were not always awarded a posthumous Purple Heart!

And yet, these men were no less brave, made no less of a sacrifice, suffered no less pain, and in most cases, still lie buried in some long overlooked grave on alien shores, forgotten not only by the enemy, but apparently, even by a few within our own government! ?This is not right, it is not just, and it certainly sends a sad message to all of the American people, especially our military and our veterans!

?This can and must be rectified, and HR 2369 would do just that!!? If not to honor these fallen heroes alone, then certainly for our national honor - ?WE MUST NEVER FORGET!!?

VERITAS (Truth)