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They Are Not Forgotten

January 24, 2008

Like everyone else who has worn the uniform, the title of this post has a particular resonance for me. It is more than just a catchy slogan. It is my blood oath to my brothers who never came home. It is my honor bound obligation to remember the sacrifice our POW/MIAs have made, and to remember them with love, honor and respect. Obviously, I am preaching to the choir here, and you are probably wondering why.

 

I am relating this because for some months now we have been fighting the good fight here in Philadelphia. During the baseball playoffs we noticed that some teams fly the POW/MIA flag, while most do not. An entity that made over $6,000,000,000 last year has told me personally that it is a team by team decision. The Philadelphia Phillies have told me that they have done enough.

 

Until a few years ago the Phillies shared a field with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL. The stadium they shared was named Veterans Stadium, and the POW/MIA flag flew every day. When Vets Stadium was imploded and each team got their own park, the Eagles decided to continue to fly the flag, while the Phillies opted to build a small memorial down the street, in front of a parking lot. There, the five service flags fly with the POW/MIA flag. This is what the Phillies think is enough.

 

Well, forgive me, but it is not enough. If a franchise that shared in a $6,000,000,000 windfall, primarily due to the freedoms granted by successive generations of veterans, thinks it is enough to honor groups through College, Italian Heritage, Irish Heritage, Asian Pacific Celebration, and 70’s Retro Nights, they can damn sure fly the flag that honors the men who gave them that right. Finally, someone has heard us. A local reporter from one of the newspapers contacted some of us involved, and he got it right. This is a no-brainer and should not have even reached the point where someone would complain. We are at war as a country; no matter what the media may say, and these men deserve their due. For the record, I am certain the men below would love a hot dog and a beer. Apparently the Phillies and most of Major League Baseball simply just don’t care. Manchu.

 

SGT Keith M. (Matt) Maupin

SPC Ahmed K. Altaie

SPC Alex R. Jimenez

PVT Byron W. Fouty

 

(read the article in The Bulletin)

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Written by Kit Lange · Filed Under Briefings 

Comments

3 Responses to “They Are Not Forgotten”

  1. sapny66 on January 24th, 2008 3:46 pm

    In May of 2006 there were two op-ed pieces, one in the Boston Globe and another in the Marine Corps Times, of all places, stating that it was time to put the POW/MIA Flag to rest. I was able to find one link, here,

    Yet the link for the Marine Corps Times in not available. Yet, here is a snipit of a wonderful Letter to the Editor that was published in response to the op-ed piece in the MC TImes.
    [begin quote]
    “I must strongly disagree with the statement that this flag has served its purpose and should be retired. Thankfully, it is not the author’s decision but that of the family of the missing as to when this flag is retired. Until every last clue is uncovered, until every last document is made public, until every last possible American is brought home to be buried in the soil he so selflessly gave his life for, only then shall we consider retiring this flag. Until that glorious day when they have all come home, this flag will fly and it will have meaning for those of us willing to look outside ourselves and see that doing justice for the fallen is more than doing “good” it is doing what it right. I would like to leave you all with a quote that is seen on the wall in many schools around our nation; “What is popular isn’t always right and what is right isn’t always popular.” We in the POW/MIA Community, thankfully, belong in the latter.” [end quote]

    The Phillies need to have a POW/MIA Family Member standing in front of them and then see if they can tell them that “The Phillies think they have done enough”.

    -SAPNY66

  2. RED08 on January 25th, 2008 10:46 am

    I totaly agree. I have been trying to get the local USPS to fly the POW/MIA Flag for over a year. It’s a LAW passed many years ago that it need only be flown on special days, but some PO fly it evryday, as it should be.

    Wm.D.Davidson Jr.
    USN 59-65

  3. They Are Not Forgotten on January 27th, 2008 6:58 am

    [...] They Are Not Forgotten Until a few years ago the Phillies shared a field with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL. The stadium they shared was named Veterans Stadium, and the POW/MIA flag flew every day. When Vets Stadium was imploded and each team got their … [...]

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