Sure everyone wore them in the 60's and 70's. To remember our Heroes, that were missing or held captive in South East Asia. What has happened to the bracelet you once wore? did it break from continued use and you never got another one? Did that Hero come home? Is it in your jewelry box, forgotten about? Did you through it away? or is it just not in fashion any more?
Here are some things to think about. Each name on these bracelets
is just not a man that was serving his country. The name on the Bracelet
was a Father, a Son, a husband, a Brother, a Friend, a buddy, a boy Friend.
Otherwise it belongs to a person and this person has a family and friends
and people that care about him. Why did you forget him, don't be look the
US government and give up on these men. Sure there might only be a little
over 2,000 Heroes still not accounted for. Sure the US Government says
there are no live POW's but these are the same people that spend $200 on
a toilet seat. Since the end of the War in Vietnam there have been live
sightings but the US Government has decided to close all these cases now.
they decided that these men are expendable even if they were living, which
some still might be, the US Government has decided that they need to put
this Issue to rest once and for all and there are no live Men being held
captive in Vietnam.
Well in my opinion there is, these men MUST get back to their families
as soon as possible, they are not the young warriors anymore. Yes they
are still Warriors, they still battle everyday. things we take for granted
are only dreams for these men.
It is time to press the government on these Warriors and for our
Missing, because of my pressing and the pressing of my friends and fellow
activists, yes I said activist. Some people fight for the trees,
others for the whales or the white seals, they are cute. but I fight for
Americans Past Present and future. how do I fight for the Present and the
future, if it wasn't for people like me and my "friends". do you really
think that Scott O'Grady would have gotten out that fast, no it was lessons
learned from vietnam that got him out so fast. How about those 3 POW's
in Kosovo, the Activists were not going to let that happen, so it was someone
else that got the headlines, but we fought to have them released.
Because of this pressing my Father Captain richard rich is coming
Home. Yes you read it right he is coming home. It was a long hard
battle but we Won. This is a major victory in the POW/MIA Community
as look at the press coverage on this now. Besides his local paper
being interested, CNN, the Washington Post, AP, Stars and Stripes, CBS,
many local Newspaper and television stations have asked to interview me
or ran the story.
Let me tell you a story.
On 19May67 my Father was the Squadron commander of a flight of 4 F4 Phantoms that were flying Mig suppression for the A4's that were attacking deep in to North vietnam. This was part of Rolling thunder III. My Dad evaded 2 SAM (Missile) Launches which both exploded to the rear and to the left of the aircraft. My Dads Back seater was involuntary ejected from the aircraft and captured, taken to the Hanoi Hilton to spend the rest of the war along with 595 other POW's that came home. What about the other 150 POW's that were never accounted for? What happened to them? the Vietnamese or the US government was and still is not able to account for these other 150 Heroes but we still give Vietnam most favored trade status. and say that they are doing all they can to help us.
why was it than until Sept. 1999, while the Excavation team was there in the village that my dads place was supposed to have crashed, was the suspected rice paddy still "Restricted". If the rice paddy was unusable, as we were told for so many years, than there should have been no problem with digging it up.
To this date they have recovered 2 pieces of bone fragments and 5 bags of aircraft fragments.
this has been a long and hard fight but it is one that could not have been won alone, as so many of our Mothers had tried to do. Because we were told as children not to talk about your father as it might hurt his chances of coming home. Not to take about it later as it might hurt his chances of coming home. Never to mention this to anyone because it might hurt his chances of coming home. Well than now lets look at it. Don't take get no results.
Most of you that know me, know that I am very voiceful and active
in this issue. I will trill anyone the truth if they will listen.
Over the past 10 yrs I have been loud and not very diplomatic and look
at the results.
there are still families that are doing the same thing they did
30+ yrs ago because they are afraid it will hurt their chances of bringing
their loved one home.
We must write, call fax our Congress people, President our "leaders" and tell them that we want all the POW/MIA's home, were they belong, on American soil.
We must get one other person involved in this issue and they must get one person and so on. I have heard the US Government and the media say that we are just some whining family members or we are just some loud activists but there aren't any real numbers behind us. For the US government to hear us we must have AT LEAST 10% of the registered voters on our side otherwise it isn't an issue.
If you do nothing else do just 3 things.
Put that peice of Jewlery back on and never take it off.
Adopted a POW or MIA
fianlly Never Forget
Me and my family want to thank each and everyone of you that has supported me in my quest to learn the turht about my father. hopefully he will becoming home soon.
sincerly
chris rich
Proud son of Capt. richard rich
Now Do you Remember this kind of bracelet?