Published: July 23, 2008 09:25 am         

Speaking out on POWs

I know. I know. With all the uncertainty in the world, why would anyone be worrying about what I am worrying and praying about. Read on.

Sure, this is a presidential election year, and we have choices to make. Americans everywhere are concerned about the war in Iraq, our economy, the prices of everything we need to survive and the high price we have to pay for those necessities. We are also very concerned about the state healthcare in this country and no one is happy about Mississippi being No. 1 on the obesity list again.

I feel, as an American citizen and a proud Mississippian, that there are some things we must become pro-active about and some things we must speak out about.

One of the things I am most passionate about are our prisoners of war/missing in action from Iraq, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Korean Conflict and yes, World War II.

There is evidence that when the United States withdrew from Vietnam, it knowingly left behind hundreds of POWs.

Further investigation is warranted. Eighteen months ago, U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-NY, introduced H. Res. 111 to establish a House Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. This committee would conduct a full investigation of all unresolved matters relating to any U.S. personnel unaccounted for from the Vietnam era, the Korean Conflict, World War II, Cold War missions or Gulf War, including MIAs and POWs.

As of June 2007, this resolution had just over 60 co-sponsors. By June 2008, after several organizations aggressively pursued sponsorship by other congressmen, there were 279 co-sponsors. This would move the resolution out of the House Rules Committee and onto the floor of the House for debate and vote.

However, this resolution is stalled in the rules committee because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reluctant to allow my additional select committees!

Ms. Pelosi has ignored the obvious will of more than 60 percent of her peers in Congress. It is unheard of for a message to have this many co-sponsors and still be stuck in the rules committee.

If House Resolution 111 is not enacted within two years after its initiation (March 2009) it will die.

Please, I ask you, stand up and voice your concerns with the issue and with our Congress. Our POWs/MIAs and the families left behind deserve nothing less.

My heartfelt thanks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, Ex Prisoners of War, Military Order of the Purple Heart, other veteran organizations and Rolling Thunder, Inc., for their support and pro-active stance on this issue.

Rita Watson Smith

Kosciusko