MAJOR STEVEN RAY ARMISTEAD USMC CAPTAIN CHARLES FINNEY USMCMIA:LAOS~MARCH
17,1969
Name: Steven Ray Armitstead Rank/Branch: 02/US Marine Corps Unit:
VMA 533, Marine Air Group 12 Date of Birth: 15 June 1944 Home City of Record: Los Angeles CA Date of Loss: 17 March
1969 Country of Loss: Laos Loss Coordinates: 161900N 1063300E (XD530190) Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category:
2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A
Other Personnel in Incident: Charles E. Finney .. Finneys
remains were finally recovered by a search team..There was no sign of Major Armistead..On 17 March 2000, 31 years after his
death, Major Charles E. Finney, United States Marine Corps, was laid to rest in the Arlington National Cemetery.
We Were Not There
Laos..We were not there But what about them The
Six-Hundred who still are
Refo:1409 1LT Steven Ray Armistead Disapearing
from sight Long ago in Sixty nine Is he alive or is he dead Thirty three years Of his familie`s tears Near
the city of Muong Nong [We were not there] On March seventeeth at night In a Grummen A6 Intruder With Charles
Finney [He had been a West Point cadet] His bombardier/navigator Supporting an airstrike Conducted bythe 7th Air
Force Completing their target strike before being hit by enemy fire They went down southwest of the Dmz In Savannakhet
Provience [We were not there,you see] Pathet Lao said they had prisoners Dozens,this communist faction reported Laos
was not in the Paris Peace agreement At least that is what they retorted So we did not negotiate These men were left...just
left with no care Oh yes,They did promote Steven to Major And Charles was promoted to Captain When will they go to
tell them that Perhaps they will take also the news, if they dare That we were not there ,I repeat,not there...
Do they know that we care
Those soldiers still imprisoned today
A lifetime and war torn a world away
How terrible must be their rage
To be left somewhere in a prisoner`s cage
As if they are forgotten from history`s page
They have no way to possibly know
How much they are still missed so
They must be cursing this country
A country they were so proud of
That they fought to keep free
Please let them know somehow
Do not let their spirits bow
Give them a sign,please, God above
Let them know we are still searching
Still remembering them with love
Faye Sizemore May2002
To: Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien Vietnamese Ambassador to the US 1233 - 20th Street NW, Suite 400 Washington,
DC 20036
Home In My Heart
I close my eyes
and in memory I am shown
Scenes from the places
where I belong
Night has come and
in the time before sleeping
I can see the light
behind yonder trees gleaming
It comes every night
from the window at home
If I could just make it
those few short feet
I know all my loved ones
would run for me to greet
It`s just over there
can`t you see it shine
It appears there
every night at about this time
If I listen I know
I can hear the sounds of family
Pretending this to be
is what saves my sanity
with me here all alone
For I`m thousands of miles
not just a few feet from home
I`m a prisoner of war
they still hold me here
For years they have kept me
from all that is dear
If I ever get home
from there I will never part
For now the only way
I can go home is in my heart
Faye Sizemore May2002
Living In A Locked Room
Outside the birds begin their warning
The first amber shades of morning
Stream across the tiny locked room
Slowly displacing the nights gloom
The start of just another day in hell
And making it this day only God can tell
Living ain`t living behind a locked door
It`s a nightmare if you`re a prisoner of war
Years ago they were all young and strong
Believing they`d get back to where they belong
It was just a matter of time before help came
They believed they could beat their captor`s game
Help did not come and on the years have run
Prisonors they still remain under the gun
Till the hopelessness of it all has overcome them
And freedom no longer sparkles as a precious gem
Just living another day takes all their time
There are no comforts in the midst of grime
Wondering the foremost thing that`s in their mind
How could we have left them to treatment of this kind
.........I am so ashamed........
Faye Sizemore June2002
Glitter In The Sun
The Vietnamese boy Was playing in the sun,
trying to pass some time until his day was done
Playing where his ancestors had waged an old war Not one
went there anymore
The jungle had now hidden Where once death was bidden
In the old jungle places of battle Near his foot something
that did rattle
Something that is shining in the light Still after many years
so bright
Oblong metal tag on a neck chain This found, a new toy he
does obtain
Picking up his new found treasure Toward home his steps do
measure
And... in the jungle silent behind Around an old warplane, The
jungle vines do twine
Gathering of Eagles is an act of love by thousands of veterans who choose to honor the sacrifice of the fallen by guarding
the memorials from those who would desecrate them on March 17th in a "peaceful" anti-war rally in Washington D.C.
It is also an act of war, a call to action for every American who chooses to stand and say "No more!" to those
who would spit on our veterans and ridicule their service to our nation.
We invite you to join us March 17th, as we stand together as one to ensure that the sacrifices of our fallen and the memorials
that remember them are not tarnished by the ungrateful.
http://gatheringofeagles.org/
There are two petitions now up online. One for people to sign only if
they WILL be at the Gathering of Eagles on March 17th:
