POW/MIAs and Their Families
The other night Andrea Shea King had Carol Jose on her radio program to talk about Carol’s new book written with Evelyn Grubb, You Are Not Forgotten.
When Air Force Pilot Captain Wilmer Newlin “Newk” Grubb, 33, is shot down over North Vietnam in January, 1966, he is captured, alive and well, by the North Vietnamese military. What actually happened to Newk Grubb after he reached the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison as a P.O.W. remains a mystery to this day.
This true story of enduring love and tragic loss, set in a deep and moving time of war and extreme socio-political upheaval, is an inspiring account of remarkable individuals, citizens, celebrities and politicians. Together they would create history. Each of them is a true American hero and they will never be forgotten.
You can listen to the show here. It was wonderful - I highly recommend it.
CAROL JOSE, a military widow, who tells how a powerful network of women founded the National League of Families—a group that worked with McCain’s brother to bring him home—and put up with brutal treatment from the media (who wanted Americans to forget Vietnam and the men there). Carol Jose reveals what real leaders look like—and how they give hope in truly hard times.
You can purchase the book here.
The League originated on the west coast in the late 1960s. The wife of a ranking POW, believing that the U.S. Government’s policy of keeping a low profile on the POW/MIA issue and encouraging the families to refrain from publicly discussing the problem was unjustified, initiated a loosely organized movement which evolved into the National League of POW/MIA Families. In October 1968, the first POW/MIA story was published. As a result of that publicity, the families began communicating with each other, and the group grew in strength from 50 to 100, to 300, and kept growing. Small POW/MIA family groups flooded the North Vietnamese delegation in Paris with telegraphic inquiries regarding the prisoners and missing, the first major activity in which hundreds of families participated.
Eventually, the necessity for formal incorporation was recognized. In May 1970, a special ADHOC meeting of the families met at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., at which time the League’s charter and by-laws were adopted.
Unfortunately, the League is in financial trouble:
October 16, 2008
This letter is to alert you to an alarming reality – without your immediate help, the National League of POW/MIA Families, our small non-profit organization that has effected such great change in our country, may soon be forced to close its doors.
This organization, founded by wives of POW/MIAs, has done so much to make sure our POW/MIAs are not forgotten and every reasonable effort is made to bring them home. The families deserve to have this. Imagine having to fight your own government to have your family member be found and brought home after they had given their all for their country.
So if you can make a donation, they would so appreciate it.
There are 1,750 US personnel still listed by the Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
Read more here.
I belong to the local Rolling Thunder chapter here in N.VA. Vietnam was my war, though I never served. These are my guys.
Rolling Thunder members are old and young, men and women, veterans and non-veterans. All are united in the cause to bring full accountability for POWs and MIAs of all wars, reminding the government, the media and the public by our watchwords: “We Will Not Forget.” The name Rolling Thunder is derived from the constant bombing of North Vietnam in 1965 and was given the name, “Operation Rolling Thunder.”
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In 2005, Rolling Thunder, Inc. united with the National Alliance of POW/MIA Families to petition the U.S. Government to use the designation “Prisoner of War/Missing in Action” (POW/MIA) – a designation recognized by the Geneva Conventions - not “Missing/Captured”. This will ensure that prisoners’ rights and protections remain consistent under the Geneva Conventions.
And you don’t have to own a motorcycle to join. (Which is a good thing because we have to pay off the tractor first…)
For more information on the POW/MIAs, go to:
Read the opening statements at the hearing of the House Military Personnel Subcommittee that met to “hear testimony on oversight and status of POW-MIA activities.”
Committee Chairperson Susan Davis
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense — Charles Ray
Commander Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command — Admiral Donna Crisp
Here’s the list of House members on the committee:
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Democrats |
Republicans |
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Chairwoman, Susan A. Davis, California Totally against the Iraq War and Surge |
Ranking Member John M. McHugh, New York Supports Vets funding. Not a strong supporter of Iraq War, Against cutting military budget
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Vietnam Vet - works for Vets healthcare |
Former Marine, Vietnam Vet, Blue Star parent of Iraq vet, Supporter of Vets issues, against cutting military budget
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Supporter for Vets healthcare and education |
Supports Vets issues, against cutting military budget Supports war on terror
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Couldn’t get page to come up
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Walter B. Jones, North Carolina Supports vets and troops, and their families |
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Iraq War vet. Supported redeployment of troops from Iraq. Legislation for Vets funding.
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Veteran of Nat’l Guard, Sons in military, Iffy on Iraq War but works for Vets issues |
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Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire Supported troops leave Iraq, Impeachment of Bush for “lying”
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Couldn’t get page to come up |
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The last subcommittee oversight hearing on POW-MIA activities was back in October 1998.
10 YEARS ago!
Of course, with the elections looming ahead and neither candidate being trustworthy on the issue of POW/MIAs, we need to keep very active on this issue.
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