Can some please explain the issues about POWs and MIAs?

Question

My neighbor has a ribbon on her car that says " POWs and MIAs will still remember you. I know that there are prisoners of War like John Mcain that have been and deserve honor. However, does such a "ribbon" refer to MIAs and POWs from Vietnam thru the Iraq war? Are there still POWs and MIAs in Vietnam? I mean that was 30 yrs ago. Is the point in this that people think there are still soldiers from Vietnam to the latest war?
Also, why are these veterans being honored seperately from other vets.
Please give me some help in understanding this.

Answer 1

A prisoner of war (POW, PoW, or PW) is a combatant who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict.

Missing In Action (abbreviated MIA), is a term (dating from 1946) referring to a member of the armed services who is reported missing following a combat mission and whose status as to injury, capture, or death is unknown.

During combat it's not uncommon for a team of men to go out on a mission and are then never heard from again. Maybe they were all killed by the enemy, maybe they all fell off a cliff in the dark, or maybe they were taken prisoner, etc. People have just vanished in every war since time began. It may not be any different than the mountain climbers that recently disappeared in Colorado. The ribbons are to remind people to remind our government not to forget about them and keep looking. Even if they are now dead, families need closure.

It's interesting that when an entire Navy boat disappears like this, it's listed as "still on patrol." There are many Navy ships that have been on patrol since WW-II and Vietnam.

Thanks for asking.

Answer 2

The POW & MIA stickers and flags we see in the US largely stem from efforts to recover our remaining soldiers from Vietnam. Over time that has transcended from just Vietnam to include other conflicsts to include the current war in Iraq.

Yes, many people believe that some taken prisoner in Vietnam are still being held. It is probably hard for many of us to understand that without also recognizing that Vietnam was in some respects a proxy war and that American prisoners were taken to other places such as China or the Soviet Union. I'm sure the idea of still captive Vietnam POWs is fueled by those looking to make a buck by duping a POWs family or by selling a book.

POWs and MIAs represent soldiers that did not make it home. For us in the military that is something we don't want for ourselves, our buddies, or our families. That is why there is a separate distinction for them. When a soldier is killed we have a funeral service and can come to some closure. When a soldier is missing no closure can be had.

Answer 3

I believe there are actually a handful of servicemen listed as MIA from the Korean war, which was even earlier than Vietnam!

We honor these veterans separately than vets who made it home (either alive or their bodies) because we as a country do not want to leave any of our men behind. We should keep looking for them until every one has been returned to the US. For the MIA's from Korea and Vietnam, even if we could not bring them home alive, they deserve a proper burial on US soil.

Not abandonning your troops is a matter of pride.

Answer 4

As of 1986 it was estimated about 100 American servicemen were still POWs in Vietnam. To date I think theres almost 2,000 still unaccounted for. It does include the recent was in Iraq that has several still listed as "missing". It all started thought with the veterans from Vietnam.

Answer 5

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is still recovering remains of servicemen not only from Vietnam, but World War II & Korea. Here is a recent example of one & how it transpired:

"The remains of Air Force Major Burke H. Morgan, who was carried as MIA since August 1967, have been identified and interred at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.
Morgan, from Manitou Springs, CO, was lost on a reconnaissance mission over Laos. He and another airman were flying an A-26A Invader from Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand, when contact with their aircraft was lost. Searches of their last known position found nothing.
In 2002, Laotian officials reported that the remains had been turned over to a government official in the late 1980's but that the official had died. His driver, however, had possession of the remains and had been holding them in safekeeping awaiting directions from authorities.
Scientists from the JPAC were able to identify the remains as Morgan's using forensic methods. He was buried September 7 beside his wife, Mary. His burial service coincided with the 45th reunion of his AF Academy class."

Remains of servicemen turn up in farmer's fields, or in one case this year, were unearthed during construction of a new building in France. Thanks to modern technology (DNA) we are now able to identify most of the remains & return them to the families for burial, usually with full military honors. They deserve nothing less for having given the ultimate sacrifice for us.

As far as whether we still have POW's in VIetnam, there is much debate on that topic, but to put it simply: Until they are ALL brought home, how do we know for sure?

Answer 6

Great answers - just adding a book I just bought on Amazon "POGIE 105 Missing In Action" about an MIA who was shot down in Vietnam.

Answer 7

it refers to all pows and MIA from all wars. there could be some left. it is a statement saying we never forgot them. we remember the lose