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 Link Exchange account established as part of "Operation Black Flag" for POW/MIA awareness. Click HERE to find out more. |
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Link Exchange account established as part of "Operation Black Flag" for POW/MIA awareness. Click HERE to find out more. |
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Synopsis: The fate of James C. Thomas has always been a mystery. He was on a 45 man patrol when his fellow Marines discovered he was missing. The patrol had stopped to rest before reaching their destination. As they rested, they noted two Vietnamese boys along the road, begging.
The patrol moved on, and when they reached their destination, a head count showed Thomas missing. Returning to the spot where they had rested, Thomas' helmet, pack and canteen were found, but Thomas was nowhere to be seen. No solid information has surfaced on him since. His last known location was in Quang nam Province near An Hoa.
American involvement in Vietnam ended in 1975. Since then, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, prisoner, or otherwise unaccounted for in Indochina have been received by the U.S. Government. Many officials, having examined this largely classified information, have reluctantly concluded that many Americans are still alive today, held captive by our long-ago enemy.
It is not known if James Calven Thomas is among those thought to be still alive today. What is certain, however, is that as long as even one American remains alive, held against his will, we owe him our very best efforts to bring him to freedom.
When the last American troops left Southeast Asia in 1975, some 2500 Americans were unaccounted for. Reports received by the U.S. Government since that time build a strong case for belief that hundreds of these "unaccounted for" Americans were still alive and in captivity.
"Unaccounted for" is a term that should apply to numbers, not men. We, as a nation, owe these men our best effort to find them and bring them home. Until the fates of the men like James Calven Thomas are known, their families will wonder if they are dead or alive ... and why they were deserted.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance it is to keep pushing this issue inside the Beltway... The need to get specific answers is more important now than ever before. If still alive, some MIAs are now in their 70s...They don't have much time left. We have to demand the answers from the bureaucrats and keep standing on their necks (figuratively speaking) until they get they message that THEY work for US and that we are serious about getting these long overdue responses.
We can no longer allow questionable protocols established by pseudo-aristocratic armchair strategists, to determine or influence the fate of the men who were in the trenches while the diplomats were sharing sherry and canapes and talking about "their plans" for the future of SE Asia.
Worse, imagine yourself as an MIA in Vietnam. Then imagine 25 years of
wondering about your loved ones, wondering if your country abandoned you,
wondering if your country knew you were alive, or even if your country cared
whether or not you were alive.
....I can't imagine. Can you?
Since it's creation on April 20, 1997, this page has been bestowed the
following awards. I thank each person who gave them to me. Did I ask for
them? No! Am I honored. Very much so! I accept these awards not for
myself but for those who are still missing. I am only too happy to be able
to use my limited skills to serve their cause.
Alvin Rivera, USMC (Ret.)
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