Circle on the Cross
In his song by this name, Keni Thomas educates us about special markings on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. A cross means the inscribed name was Missing In Action or MIA. If he or she surfaced later, a circle would be placed around the cross to signify the circle of life. There are no circles on the Vietnam Wall.
What are the chances that anyone remains to be repatriated from the Vietnam War? Probably as slim as can be imagined but of course, one is too many.
Today, John McCain is in a dog fight for a Arizona Senate seat with a “more Conservative than thou” candidate. McCain is being haunted by a ghost from his past. What has happened to the POWs the North Vietnamese supposedly were holding as ransom for war repatriations we never paid?
The core article is written by a major player, Pulitzer Prize winning author of the Killing Fields, Sydney Schanberg. http://www.amconmag.com/article/2010/jul/01/00010/
The article reads that McCain and John Kerry used their positions on the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs to bottleneck information about non-returning POW/MIAs. This article tries to expose a side of these two men they would rather hide if true.
I did find what I read to be distrubing since it shot clean to the core of my opinion of John McCain. I always believe him to be the leader for all things POW/MIA who worked diligently to bring light and closure to these issues. The article would have the reader believe the opposite.
As is my way, I went looking for supporting information – a second source as it were. My problem was that all other articles led back to Schanberg as its sole source. I gave up my search without conclusive results. Is McCain the POW/MIA advocate I had believed him to be or an evil force for blocking the light?
One fault I found with Schanberg’s article is he relied heavily on quotes by North Vietnamese officials. This group was particularly crafty at sending up false trail balloons in order to get what they wanted for little in return. The reader is left trying to prove negatives which is always troublesome.
My final shot: Schanberg also reports how prisioner McCain did break under torture and confess to war crimes allowing the enemy to use it for propaganda. McCain has admitted this happened and how much he regrets it. I don’t understand why Schanberg included these facts unless he just wants to dump on McCain.
I invite you to read more on this subject. I know I will. If I can dig up more acceptable information, I’ll blog about it later.