Jim Scanlon (deceased)
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Sept 19, 2013 1:15:00 GMT 9
Friday, 20 September 2013 is POW/MIA Recognition Day for 2013.
In some parts of the country, various organizations begin the recognition on 18 September, the day after Constitution Day.
It seems our nation has done little to honor those of our Military, who have been captured by and enemy, or have not been heard of since their final mission.
We Air Force members might know one or more of those decared to be MIA.
There are still those who we know were POWs, who have not been accounted for, and some might still be alive, from the Korean and Viet Nam Wars.
We don't hear much about POWs or MIAs from our government, maybe they are ashamed that there are still so many from our nations wars.
Please remember to pray for the families of those who have not been accounted for, and for those POWs and MIAs who may still be alive in Russia, China, North Korea, Viet Nam and other places.
Jim Too
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Post by LBer1568 on Mar 18, 2014 5:43:47 GMT 9
A very nice "welcome Home" to all of our Viet Nam Vets and friends. Lorin
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Jim Scanlon (deceased)
Senior Staff
FORUM CHAPLAIN
Commander South Texas outpost of the County Sligo Squadron
Currently: Offline
Posts: 5,075
Location:
Joined: July 2007
Retired: USAF NBA: Spurs NFL: Niners MLB: Giants NHL: Penguins
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Mar 18, 2014 5:55:20 GMT 9
A very nice "welcome Home" to all of our Viet Nam Vets and friends. Lorin Great video, Lorin.
Thanks for posting it.
Jim Too
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Post by Gene on Apr 30, 2014 3:58:27 GMT 9
Missing Vietnam War Airman's Remains Identified Defense Department forensic scientists identified the remains of Capt. Douglas D. Ferguson, 24, of Tacoma, Wash., a fighter pilot missing in action since the Vietnam War, announced the Pentagon. They have returned the remains to Ferguson's family; Ferguson's burial with full military honors is scheduled to take place on May 2 in Lakewood, Wash., according to DOD's April 25 release. On Dec. 30, 1969, Ferguson's F-4D Phantom II crashed in Houaphan Province, Laos, during an armed reconnaissance mission. Ferguson was initially listed as missing in action, but a DOD review board later presumed him to be killed in action, states the release. Between 1994 and 1997, joint US-Lao teams conducted investigations of the crash site, finding aircraft wreckage and personal effects. From October 2009 to April 2013, joint US-Lao teams excavated the site and recovered human remains. DOD scientists used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA, to help identify Ferguson's remains.
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Post by Jim on May 25, 2014 6:28:53 GMT 9
From Capt Brownshoes:
This is a man to remember on this Memorial Day!!!! Scroll down to the text.. Another Vietnam POW leaves us. May God embrace this Hero.
Thanks to AJ Jackson. Remember all who served and no longer able to stand Roll Call on Memorial Day and every day. CDR Robert J. Flynn, USN The Vietnam War is ancient history. It ended for America in 1973 when the POWs came home. One of the POWs was an A-6 bombardier-navigator, Robert J. Flynn, shot down over North Vietnam on August 21, 1967, and marched north into China, where he was held in solitary confinement for five and a half years, 2,032 days, in a prison in Beijing. He was released in Hong Kong, walked across a bridge into the British colony under his own steam, on March 15, 1973. Shot down as a Lieutenant (junior grade), Bob came out a Lieutenant Commander and stayed in the Navy, ultimately retiring as a Commander. Bob died Thursday, May 15th in Pensacola, Florida, at the age of 76. It is doubtful if any American survivor of that war paid as heavy a price as did Bob Flynn. It is also doubtful that anyone was more deserving of the Medal of Honor than Bob Flynn, recognition he didn't receive. August 21, 1967, was a bad day for Bob's A-6 Intruder squadron, VA-196, The Main Battery, which launched four bombers on a daylight strike into the heart of North Vietnam. The lead Intruder, flown by the squadron skipper, Leo Profillet, was hit and exploded in the dive on the target. The other three planes managed to drop their bombs, but on egress flew north of Haiphong into heavy build-ups. One plane broke away from the formation and proceeded out to sea alone. The remaining two were attacked by MiGs, and both were shot down. Of the six airmen shot down, only Bob Flynn survived. He was quickly captured and marched for days through the jungle into China. Once there, the Chinese Communists claimed that the two A-6s shot down by MiGs were over Chinese airspace, a claim that Flynn denied all his life. Propaganda photos were taken and released to the world's press. Flynn was taken to Beijing and imprisoned. There he was kept in solitary confinement and repeated tortured for propaganda purposes for five and a half years! The Chinese never broke him, but the physical and psychological price Flynn paid was higher than any human should ever have to endure. Any lesser man would have died or lost his grip on sanity. I met Bob that fall of 1973 when he was finally released from the hospital and came to NAS Whidbey, the home of the west coast A-6s, for the Intruder Ball as the guest of honor. I had the honor of flying him back to Colorado Springs, where his wife was living, in the right seat of an A-6. At 36,000 feet over the Rockies, I gave him the POW bracelet with his name upon it that I had worn for my two Vietnam cruises. That flight was one of the great moments of my life. Probably not so memorable for Bob, who was inundated with bracelets bearing his name as the months passed, almost two bushels of them. Bob returned to Whidbey that fall as a staff officer and instructor at VA-128, the west coast fleet replacement squadron that trained new A-6 pilots and BNs. At the commanding officer's request on several Friday all-officer's meetings Bob took the podium and tried to tell the staff and students what it had been like being in solitary in China for five and half years. What it was like to be handcuffed for up to sixty days at a time and have to eat off a plate like a dog. What it was like to be unable to drop your trousers and have to live in your own filth. What it was like to have only God and your loyalty to your country and your shipmates to sustain you. What it was like to be without hope and tortured beyond your ability to resist. And yet. and yet, with no resources except his inner strength, he never gave in. These sessions reduced Bob and most of his listeners to tears. Someone thought to videotape his lectures, but years later, when Bob tried to find the tapes, they had been lost. Another tragedy. Bob Flynn was always a rebel. He carried a trumpet in the cockpit and broadcast the notes of Charge over the radio before he crossed the beach into North Vietnam. Not once, but every time. He was his own man, then and always.
After he returned from China, Bob had psychological problems. He was in therapy for years. The wounds finally scarred over. In the early 1990s, after Bob retired from the Navy and at his request, I asked a friend of mine, former Washington Post military correspondent George C. Wilson, author of six terrific books, including Supercarrier and Mud Soldiers, to interview Bob and see if perhaps they could collaborate upon a book that would tell Bob's story. George went to visit Bob, and came away discouraged. He told me, "Bob hasn't even talked to his kids about his experiences. He has put that part of his life away in a place he refuses to visit. I could rip the scars off, but I couldn't bandage them afterwards." The book never got written. Of all the rare and honorable men I have met through the years, none impressed me as did Robert Flynn. America just lost a true son.
We who knew him will miss him deeply. Farewell, shipmate.
Stephen Coonts
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Post by Diamondback on May 25, 2014 12:03:38 GMT 9
To our fallen and missing: You will NOT be forgotten, and your sacrifices will NOT be in vain as long as us right-thinking Americans have anything to say about it.
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jeep3
F-106 Skilled
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Post by jeep3 on Jun 1, 2014 5:37:53 GMT 9
After being held for 5 years, the last POW held by Afgan Militants was relaesed today. 28 year old Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was swaped for 5 Taliban detainees who were being handed over from Guantanamo Bay. To read more go to KFGO.com
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Jim Scanlon (deceased)
Senior Staff
FORUM CHAPLAIN
Commander South Texas outpost of the County Sligo Squadron
Currently: Offline
Posts: 5,075
Location:
Joined: July 2007
Retired: USAF NBA: Spurs NFL: Niners MLB: Giants NHL: Penguins
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Post by Jim Scanlon (deceased) on Sept 18, 2014 8:01:52 GMT 9
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