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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Taste of Ashland starts today Talking trains in Talent Independent Media Week starts Sunday Schneider Children's Center set to close Annual Science of Wine fundraiser coming to Ashland Springs Hotel Education Schneider Children's Center set to close Ashland School District seeks volunteers for Educators' Appreciation Luncheon Planning meeting set Wednesday for farewell party Ashland Middle School to perform "Shrek Jr." musical Earth Day at Bellview Elementary School garden Environment Students at Walker Elementary School in Ashland get hands dirty for Earth Day Ashland Fire & Rescue Alarm Box: There are good fires and there are bad fires Lots to celebrate at SOU Arbor Day rites Business Ride & Drive: 2015 Nissan Frontier Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Lithia Motors reports second-best quarter ever Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Ride & Drive: 2015.5 Volvo V60 Cross Country Politics and elections Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s earthquake election Council wants changes to agreement with ODOT for I-5 welcome center Arthur I. Cyr: Afghanistan progress is uneven but undeniable State News Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics Oregon lawmakers begin minimum wage debate Runners to follow historic salmon migration path Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Tsarnaev convicted on all charges in Boston Marathon bombing Obituaries F. Jane Hooper Laurence G. (Larry) Corbin William (Bill) Huett Death Notices Death Notices Shareable Sports Latest Stories Two Raiders place seventh in CCC Multis Brick city, baby Neal, Reitman lead SOU at multi-event championships NFL draft: the great unknown Grizzlies chomp out 2-0 series lead High school Two Raiders place seventh in CCC Multis Neal, Reitman lead SOU at multi-event championships Ashland Karate Academy racks up trophies in Medford Ashland drops eight-inning pitchers' duel SOU swept, but gets help in playoff race Southern Oregon University Two Raiders place seventh in CCC Multis Neal, Reitman lead SOU at multi-event championships SOU's Maguin pockets fourth CCC honor SOU swept, but gets help in playoff race For Raiders, a homecoming Voices Latest Stories Letters to the Editor, April 25 Herb Rothschild Jr.: 'Right to rest' misguided Matthew T. Mangino: Faulty hair analysis has far-reaching implications Granlund cartoon: Paging Dr. Oz Our View: Fun with university funding formulas Editorial Our View: Fun with university funding formulas Our View: Passion vs. practicality spelled demise of Ashland theater company Our View: Raises raise eyebrows Our View: Close gun-sale loophole Our View: Help fill empty bowls in Ashland Letters Letters to the Editor, April 25 Letters to the Editor, April 23 Letter at Length, April 22 Letters to the Editor, April 20 Letters to the Editor, April 14 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: A good day to act Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Guest Opinion: Fremont cottonwood is not a hazard Guest Opinion: Ashland council vote on travelers accommodations was less than transparent Columns Herb Rothschild Jr.: 'Right to rest' misguided Guest Opinion: A good day to act Jeffrey Gillespie: Bad cops vs. smartphones My comic adventures City looking for ways to create a healthy Ashland for all ages Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Community blog: Workshop on writing and craft Ashland Middle School to perform "Shrek Jr." musical A Taste of Ashland returns Five picks for entertainment this week Rogue Valley Earth Day 2015 Theater Ticket Availability Ashland Middle School to perform "Shrek Jr." musical Ashland New Plays Festival is ready to grow, says new director Ticket Availability Free film fest celebrates OSF 'raconteur' Music The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music On TV: Your guide to the Academy of Country Music Awards The Farr Side: Intriguing time on the Hot 100 Joanne Rand at the Unitarian Fellowship The Farr Side: Is Kelly Clarkson’s weight truly news?  Visual Art More films, excitement than ever for AIFF Ashland's First Friday Art Walk Movies Movie review: ‘Ex Machina’ is the droid you’re looking for Movie review: Fairly smooth sailing for ‘The Water Diviner’ Movie review: ‘Age of Adaline’ is sweet but a little sloppy Movie review: Powerful, tense kidnapping story ‘24 Days’ delivers a strong message Movie review: Crowe’s historical drama ‘The Water Diviner’ isn’t divine, but it’s pretty darn good Food and Drink Business profile: Couple opens second Pita Pit in Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Inner Peace: Creating peaceful relationships Looking Up: Enjoying the bright Moon Costa Living: Basking in flower power Ride & Drive: 2015 Nissan Frontier Best apps for dog lovers Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: 'Right to rest' misguided ... Annual Science of Wine fundraiser coming to Ashland Springs Hotel ... Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: 'Right to rest' misguided ... Annual Science of Wine fundraiser coming to Ashland Springs Hotel ... Rick Holmes: Time to retire POW/MIA flags By Rick Holmes More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Rick Holmes More Content Now Posted Apr. 23, 2015 @ 8:12 am By Rick Holmes More Content Now Posted Apr. 23, 2015 @ 8:12 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Forty years ago this month, tanks of the army of North Vietnam rolled into downtown Saigon and the last of the Americans flew out. The flags of the defeated government of South Vietnam came down all over what had been suddenly renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Back in the USA, another flag from that war was just beginning to take its place on flagpoles, in a place of honor second only to the American flag. Those black-and-white POW/MIA flags fly there still, and that’s something we should talk about. The POW/MIA flag was born as a political banner, not a battle flag. It was commissioned in 1972 by the National League of POW/MIA Families, an organization the Nixon White House helped create to focus attention on the plight of service members held by the North Vietnamese. Nixon had a political motive for spotlighting the POWs. By the time he took office in 1969, millions of Americans were questioning the rationale for what had become a bloody quagmire. People needed a new reason to get behind the war. Nixon gave them the POWs. As recounted most recently in Rick Perlstein’s “The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan,” Nixon made the return of prisoners of war, traditionally a detail worked out after the war was over, into a central issue as the fighting continued. It was a political strategy at home, and a negotiating point with the North Vietnamese in the ongoing Paris peace talks. Nixon denounced the conditions in which American POWs were held and demanded their release. This mystified the North Vietnamese, Perlstein writes, because while a few hundred Americans were held in Hanoi, many thousands of North Vietnamese soldiers were prisoners in South Vietnam, held in conditions that were far worse. In their eyes, the American POWs were neither heroes nor victims. Almost all of them had been shot down while they were dropping bombs that killed Vietnamese men, women and children. Americans saw it Nixon’s way. Encouraged by media eager for war heroes, America embraced its POWs. Silver bracelets with POW names inscribed on them became both political and fashion statements. Winning the war became less important than bringing home the POWs. Writing in The New Yorker in 1970, Jonathan Schell said Americans were acting “as though the North Vietnamese had kidnapped 400 Americans and the United States had gone to war to retrieve them.” To build even more sympathy for the POWS, Nixon used an accounting trick that later came back to bite him. In military records, soldiers whose planes crashed in hostile territory were classified as “Killed in Action: Body Not Recovered.” Nixon’s Defense Department combined two categories — POWs known to be in enemy hands and KIA/BNRs — into one, rebranding them as POW/MIAs. Instead of talking about 500 or so POWs, the administration demanded the return of 1,600 POW/MIAs. This slight-of-hand was hard on the families. In World War II, my Uncle Bub’s plane crashed in the Balkans and he was designated a KIA/BNR. His remains were never found, but he was assumed to be dead, and his wife went on with her life, remarrying and raising a large family. Uncle Bub’s president didn’t pretend he was alive and turn him into a bargaining chip or a political prop. For the wives and families of Vietnam MIAs, it was another story. The MIA wives were lumped in with the POW wives — families who knew their men were alive. The MIA wives couldn’t move on. They had to keep hope alive, even though the Pentagon had little doubt about their husbands’ fate. In 1973, after Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords, the POWs were released at last. The Nixon administration orchestrated “Operation Homecoming” to see that they were welcomed back as conquering heroes, the embodiment of the “honor” in Nixon’s “peace with honor” promise. All the known POWs were home. The problem was there were only 587 of them. The National League of Families, which had by then slipped out of the White House’s control, demanded to know where the other 1,013 MIAs were. The Vietnam War might be over, but the home-front army of the POW/MIAs wouldn’t disband until the last man was accounted for. North Vietnam said there were no living POWs or remains to turn over, but provisions of the Paris Peace Accords were soon broken by both sides, so there was no way the U.S. could look for them. MIA stories became fodder for conspiracy theories, political ads and popular culture. In “Rambo II” (1985), Sylvester Stallone returned to Vietnam and rescued secretly-held POWs. It was a big hit. Rick Holmes, opinion editor for the MetroWest Daily News, blogs at Holmes & Co. (blogs.wickedlocal.com/holmesandco). He can be reached at [email protected]. By Rick Holmes More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Rick Holmes More Content Now Posted Apr. 23, 2015 @ 8:12 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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