I look around this dark dank cell,
How did I end up here in this living hell?
How long have I been here? Six months or a year?
That I'll never get home is my greatest fear.
Do they care if I'm gone? Do they care if I live?
This ceiling's so crumbly, it leaks like a sieve.
How long is it now? Is it five years or ten?
Fifteen or twenty? I don't know when,
I've ever felt worse or felt so alone,
Please let me die soon so I can go home.
My body is tired, my mind all but gone,
I know in this country that I'm just a pawn.
I'm left with my memories which are all fading fast,
Like my hopes and my dreams, they just didn't last.
I know that my family I never shall see,
My God! It is true! They did forget me.
If you would like to use this poem, please email me. I will be glad to share. I put my heart into my poetry and all I ask that it not be altered or taken without my knowledge.
I can only imagine the feelings and the stark fear and lonliness that these men feel. I hope to never experience the loss that the families of these people have experienced.
These people are more than just a statistic. They are real, living, caring, loving people with families. They are people like you and me.
What if it were you? Or what if it were a loved one of yours? Could you sit idly by and let them vanish without a care? I can't. But what I can do is to try to keep alive the memory of the man below who fought for our country and never had the chance to come home.
Please read the information below. It describes the man I will try to keep alive. The man with loved ones and family. If you want to do something, click on the bracelet below and find out how you, too, can help.
If you do not have a webpage and even if you do, you can email The President, Your Senator, Your Representatives, or The First Lady. If they respond with a form letter, please send another. Please do what you can to resolve this issue and bring these guys home.
MY ADOPTED MIA
Name: Donald William Downing
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron
Date of Birth: 17 March 1934
Home City of Record: Janesville WI
Date of Loss: 05 September 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 171100N 1065400E (YE021007)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4C
Thomas P. Hanson; Carl D. Miller (all missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Copyright 1991 Homecoming II Project.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: The Phantom, used by Air Force, Marine and Navy air wings, served a multitude of functions including fighter-bomber and interceptor, photo and electronic surveillance. The two man aircraft was extremely fast(Mach2), and had a long range (900 - 2300 miles, depending on stores and mission type). The F4 was also extremely maneuverable and handled well at low and highaltitudes. Most pilots considered it one of the "hottest" planes around.
1Lt. Paul D. Raymond and Maj. Carl D. Miller were F4 pilots who were sent on a combat mission over Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam on September 5,1967.
Raymond's bombardier/navigator on the flight was Capt. Donald W. Downing, while Miller's was 1Lt. Thomas P. Hanson.
Both aircraft crashed on their missions near the coast ofVietnam.
Raymond and Downing went down about 10 miles north of the city of
Vinh Linh, while Miller and Hanson went down about 20 miles north of
Vinh Linh.
All four were classified Missing in Action, and it is believed the
Vietnamese could account for them, alive or dead.
591 American Prisoners of War were released in 1973, but nearly 2500 were not.
Thousands of reports have been received by the U.S. Government that indicate hundreds of Americans are still alive and held captive in Southeast Asia, yet the government seems unable or unwilling to successfully achieve their release.
Policy statements indicate that "conclusive proof" is not available, but when it is, the government will act. Detractors state that proof is in hand, but the will to act does not exist.
Whether the four airmen missing on September 5, 1967 survived to be captured is not known. Whether they are among those believed to be still alive today is uncertain. What cannot be questioned, however, is that America has a moral and legal obligation to secure the freedom of those who may still be illegally held by the communist governments of Southeast Asia. It's time we brought our men home.
During the period they were maintained missing, Miller was promoted to the rank of Colonel, Downing to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Hanson to the rank of Major and Raymond to the rank of Captain.
This Operation Just Cause Web Ring site is owned by Sharon [Prev] [Random] [Next] [Skip Next] [Next 5] [Members] [Join] |
If anyone would like to do a page for an MIA and needs help with the HTML, you may contact me by email atshad744@hotmail.com or you may contact me by ICQ. My username is wildfire/f and my UIN is 1831681. On the request for authorization just say "OJC" or "HELP" and I will authorize you.*S*
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