WEBVTT

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The music for today's ceremony is

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provided by the MauA brass quintet 25

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th Infantry division band under the

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direction of Sergeant Trevor Linquist .

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Ladies and gentlemen , welcome to the

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defense P O W M I A accounting agency

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into the 50 th anniversary ceremony for

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operation homecoming . I am Sergeant

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Neil Master of ceremonies for today's

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event . I would like to welcome our

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former prisoners of war as well as all

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family members of missing in action .

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Service members . These families

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represent supreme loyalty and continue

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to be an inspiration to our country and

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service members . Today , we would also

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like to welcome our distinguished

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guests flying the commemorative flight

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from Vietnam to Hickham Air Force Base ,

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Hawaii and then to Travis Air Force

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Base in California . From the 60 th Air

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Mobility Wing . Welcome , Vice

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Commander , Colonel Ryan Garlow and

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crew and each distinguished guest ,

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visitor , veteran guest joining us

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today . Today we join

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together in remembering and honoring

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former American prisoners of war who

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suffered the hardships of enemy

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captivity during the Vietnam war and

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their successful return home to their

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families . And also to remember those

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who are still missing in action , the

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sacrifices these Americans made will

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never be forgotten . And as a nation ,

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we will continue to recover ,

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repatriate . Identify those who never

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returned . Ladies and gentlemen ,

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please rise and remain standing for the

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playing of the national anthem , Hawaii

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Pinoy . And the invocation by Colonel

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chaplain Kim .

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Please join me in prayer according to

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your own belief . Oh my God , we come

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before you with a humble attitude ,

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recognizing your greatness , how shall

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we speak to the creator from our

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inadequacy and simpleness ? We remember

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and honor our fellow comrade on this

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50th anniversary ceremony for

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operation homecoming God today offer

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our gratitude for all the men and women

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who have served their country in

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defense of freedom , for their

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sacrifice of time , talent and life .

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We pay them homage . Gracious God help

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all who have gather here to remember

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those whose sense of dedication and

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patriotism led them to preserve and

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democratic way of life we enjoy . Oh

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God , enable us to follow their land

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lead and do all what we can do for the

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cause of peace in the world to this

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and we seek your blessing . Oh God ,

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for us , this wonderful ceremony and

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all our armed force in our country . In

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your most holy name . We pray . Amen .

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Ladies and gentlemen , please be seated

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after the signing of the Paris peace

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accords . The plan to bring home

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American prisoners was developed and

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named appropriately operation

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homecoming . Arriving at Glam airport

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in Hanoi A US Air Force C 141 alpha

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starlifter brought them to Clark Air

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Force Base in the Philippines for

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examination before landing here at

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Hickham Air Force Base . The first US

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soil , the P W S touched on as free men

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then moving on to Travis Air Force Base

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in California and eventually to their

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families . The P O W s who were not

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freed in Hanoi were those held by the

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Viet Cong and left from lone after

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North Vietnam , South Vietnam prisoner

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exchange operation . Homecoming brought

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home 591 POWs to include

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325 airmen, 77 soldiers, 138 sailors, 26

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marines and 25 civilians . A total of

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660 American prisoners of war survived

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imprisonment during the war . Ladies

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and gentlemen , I would now like to

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introduce Colonel Matthew Brennan ,

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Deputy Director for Operations for the

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Defense of PM Accounting agency to

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offer welcoming remarks .

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All right , good morning . So hopefully

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the rain holds off . I know we got a

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little shower and all of us are sitting

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under a tent . So you guys are probably

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like those bastards . But hey , first

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of all , I'd just like to welcome

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Lieutenant Jacobson , deputy commander

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for Pacific Air Forces . Colonel Ryland

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Garlow , Colonel Garrett Fisher . I

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think mister Colonel Captain Hickerson

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hasn't made it but one of our former

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pows that lives here on the island and

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his wife , Miss Carol Haren , Miss

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Natalie Rauch . Thank you for being

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here , ma'am . Mr Christopher mcnair

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representing the Honolulu Office of the

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Veterans Benefits Administration and

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the Department of Veterans Affairs and

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are many supporting veterans service

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organizations , the veterans of foreign

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wars , the American Legion American

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veterans , the disabled American

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veterans , the Military Order of the

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Purple Heart , the Vietnam Veterans

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Association , the Special Forces

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Association and the Scottish American

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Military Society .

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It's really a great honor for me to be

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standing here in this billet , serving

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as a Deputy Director for Operations and

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greatly because my father was a Vietnam

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war veteran , he served in 68 70 . So I

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know he's looking down on us proud that

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we are honoring the service , the

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sacrifice , the indominable spirit and

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the courage that our POWs faced and

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the action of this agency that

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continues to search for a missing in

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action from the Vietnam War , the

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Cold War , Korean War and World War II .

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So this commemoration of the 50 th

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anniversary of operation homecoming is

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really an opportunity to recognize the

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extraordinary courage and resilience of

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our veteran pows . And I just want to

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point out our flag , the flag which

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flies over our agency every day . Our

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agency is intertwined with that mission

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of that operation , homecoming and

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bringing those Americans home . And we

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continue to search day in and day out .

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And I can tell you in 20, almost 26

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years , I think it is of service . I

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have not been a part of an agency or an

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organization that is as passionate

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about what they do as dedicated to

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their mission and to work every day to

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keep the promise that we will never

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leave a service member behind . The

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impact of operation homecoming went

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beyond the release of the pows . It

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symbolized resilience of the American

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spirit and our commitment to never

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leave anyone behind . It highlighted

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the importance of supporting and

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honoring our veterans who continue to

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serve our country with unwavering

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dedication and sacrifice . So , as we

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reflect on this 50 th anniversary ,

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let's renew our commitment to honoring

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our Vietnam veterans and all those who

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have served and continue to serve in

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defense of our nation . Let us remember

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the sacrifice of those who gave the

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last full measure in service of their

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country .

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Our job , as I said is to fill the

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nation's promise . And for over 35

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years , we've been in partnership with

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Vietnam Laos Cambodia as we work . The

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Vietnam War is our operational priority

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to bring people home . And I really got

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to say over the years and I'll

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highlight during COVID , we weren't

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able to deploy teams in the field , but

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our partners in Vietnam conducted

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missions on our behalf . And we

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actually made two identifications of

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missing Vietnam war veterans from the

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efforts of our host nation teams that

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went out and recovered the remains of

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our missing service members . Our

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commitment to the fullest possible

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accounting of the 1,581 Americans still

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missing from the Vietnam war remains

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undaunted . We have 490 air force

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personnel and each year the agency

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plans multiple investigations and

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recovery missions in each country . The

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humanitarian nature of D P S mission is

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what makes us able to have access to

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these countries and really supports the

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positive relationship that we've

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developed over the years with Vietnam

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Laos and Cambodia to include other

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countries . We operate in our ongoing

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efforts to bring the last missing piece

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of the puzzle home and to provide those

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answers for families who have been

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waiting decades , really is just why we

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exist and what we're here for and we

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are committed . I can promise you to

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keep keeping the promise and to commit

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to that promise to never leave anyone

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behind . And I'll

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highlight real quick , Hickham Air

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Force Base , the MC already kind of

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covered this , but this was the first

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place our pows touched American soil

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and coming home from Vietnam and we're

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really honored to host this event here .

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Although this isn't the location where

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it happened . I think this building

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that you're looking at to your left is

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a representation of that spirit and

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that continued commitment to keeping

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the promise as we commemorate this

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historic moment . Let us remember the

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thousands who never made it home and

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honor their sacrifice . The legacy of

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those who fought and served the Vietnam

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War lives on through their bravery ,

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their commitment to duty and we must

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never forget their contribution to our

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country's values .

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Garlow . Thanks so much for being here .

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He is commanding the flight that is

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retracing the steps back to Travis Air

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Force Base . And I look forward to

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seeing you there later this week . Now ,

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I'd like to for a lot of you out here .

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This guy needs no introduction . Mr

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Johnny Webb has been sort of a staple

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of the agency . He was actually the

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first commander of S high and moved the

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central identification laboratory from

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Thailand to Vietnam . We're honored to

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welcome him his 40 years of his life

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that he's dedicated to this mission ,

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including its origin to Vietnam . He's

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also a Vietnam veteran . His service to

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our country is unparalleled . He played

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a critical role in moving the central .

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Well , I said that right , never mind .

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Additionally , he was a key part of the

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design and build of this building that

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you're looking at now . And this

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building was purpose built for our

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mission . Literally , you walk into our

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halls and you get into the atrium and

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you look up there is a family viewing

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room suspended over that atrium . That

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is kind of the last touch point our

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personnel have with the families as we

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make an identification and their loved

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one back to them and provide the

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answers they've been looking for for so

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long . It is really an amazing sight to

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witness and I am humbled and honored to

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have the opportunity to work here and

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to be in this building and to meet

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these family members as we keep the

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promise , Mr Webb's expertise and

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experience in the POW mission . We're

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really grateful he's passed the torch

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to us and we're taking it . We would

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like to say that we now stand on the

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watch . But I don't think Johnny is

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ever going to quit working this mission .

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I don't think he can . Although I do

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know his wife has a long list of Honey

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Des that he needs to catch up on and

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take care of that . He's been ignoring

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because he's been so focused on the

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mission . So I told him to get to work ,

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ma'am just so you know , and I know

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he's been spending a lot of time with

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his grandkids and really enjoying that .

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So without further ado , please welcome

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me in joining Mr Johnny Webb to the

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podium and we look forward to hearing

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his insights , his perspectives on the

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mission . Thank you very much .

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I think so .

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Well , it is truly a privilege and

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honor to be here . So I want to say

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good morning to all of you , ladies and

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gentlemen and to our distinguished

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guests . I'm probably not the best

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person to stand here and talk about the

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P O W s , but I have had the

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opportunity to speak with many of them

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over the years . And let me just start

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by saying I really

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started to focus on the pows when I

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was in Vietnam as a soldier

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In 1969 and really

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became focused on the P O W S is

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because at that time , I was a young

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lieutenant and my company commander

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by the name of David Galante ,

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great guy . And as we talked over the

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years , and he never said much about

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his brother when I found out that his

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brother Galante

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was a long time . Pow .

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And I asked David , I said , well ,

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David with your brother as a P O W ,

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why are you here in Vietnam ?

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He said , well , Johnny , it's one

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simple answer and I'm going to quote

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him . He said , I knew if I didn't come

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before my duties , Paul would have

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kicked my when I got back home and

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I'll never forget that because

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watching these men , uh I've always

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been enamored by these gentlemen . They

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were P O W s and as I said , I'm

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honored to be here with you today , the

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50 th anniversary of the return of the

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American POWs from the Vietnam War some

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50 years ago . Just a short distance

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from here . The first c 1 41 touchdown

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with the first group of pows to be

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returned . That was a great day for

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their families and our nation . That

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aircraft that C- 141 that brought them

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here was named , became known as the

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Hanoi Taxi . And it's set in the Air

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Force Museum now and it's a great

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honor . I was able to fly on that

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aircraft a few times and so to see it

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there in all this glory is wonderful .

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And in all from 12 February to four

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April , there were 54 such flights from

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Hanoi to bring the P O W S back home .

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The 500 91 POWs that will

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return as we have

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learned , these were some extraordinary

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men . When you hear the stories of

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their torture , of their isolation ,

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of uncertainty as to when they would be

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released . It's amazing many of

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these men when they were captured

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were injured , some of them seriously

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injured , brought back , placed in a

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P O W camp . Many of them into the now

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famous infamous Hanoi Hilton

18:08.250 --> 18:10.209
received little medical attention

18:11.239 --> 18:13.170
except from their fellow pows

18:15.520 --> 18:19.479
and those P O W s knew they were

18:19.489 --> 18:21.656
in for a tough time . They just didn't

18:21.656 --> 18:24.569
realize how long it was going to be and

18:24.579 --> 18:28.280
given the conditions that they were

18:28.290 --> 18:31.560
subjected to , of the torture

18:32.199 --> 18:35.660
of the isolation . They

18:35.670 --> 18:38.760
realize that the code of conduct

18:39.969 --> 18:42.619
that we had learned as we were going

18:42.630 --> 18:44.949
through our training , they probably

18:44.959 --> 18:48.339
needed to amend it because as we were

18:48.349 --> 18:50.579
going through our training , we were

18:50.589 --> 18:53.459
taught . If you were captured , give

18:53.469 --> 18:56.650
nothing more , then your name ,

18:57.380 --> 19:01.109
rank , service number and date of birth ,

19:03.589 --> 19:05.811
the conditions that they were subjected

19:05.811 --> 19:09.550
to , they realized they were not going

19:09.560 --> 19:11.616
to be able to live up to that code .

19:13.140 --> 19:16.750
And so the senior leadership

19:17.719 --> 19:21.000
needed to come up with a code that all

19:21.010 --> 19:24.709
the pows could live by . And Air

19:24.719 --> 19:27.400
Force . Lieutenant Colonel James Robbie

19:27.410 --> 19:30.359
Reisner was tasked to draft a code to

19:30.369 --> 19:34.010
meet their conditions . And here is the

19:34.020 --> 19:36.619
code that they live by . If you've

19:36.630 --> 19:38.630
never heard these , I think they're

19:38.630 --> 19:42.199
pretty amazing . The code is as

19:42.209 --> 19:45.880
follows . Be a good American

19:47.920 --> 19:49.969
resist up to the point of permanent

19:49.979 --> 19:53.349
physical or mental damage and then no

19:53.359 --> 19:56.619
more . Give as little as

19:56.630 --> 20:00.280
possible then bounce back

20:00.479 --> 20:04.170
and resist again . Stay

20:04.180 --> 20:06.680
united through communications ,

20:07.589 --> 20:09.839
pray every day ,

20:11.750 --> 20:15.189
go home , proud , return

20:15.359 --> 20:16.290
with honor .

20:19.209 --> 20:21.819
And that is the code that these P O W s

20:21.829 --> 20:25.060
live by for the many years ,

20:25.339 --> 20:27.410
several of the men , more than six

20:27.420 --> 20:29.349
years as a pow ,

20:32.319 --> 20:36.180
think about that six years time , not

20:36.189 --> 20:37.967
knowing when you're going to be

20:37.967 --> 20:41.060
released . And so it became as they

20:41.069 --> 20:44.050
were going through their torture , when

20:44.060 --> 20:47.140
they would come out , we would be told

20:47.540 --> 20:51.500
one more day and John mccain

20:51.510 --> 20:53.880
wrote in a report after his release ,

20:54.640 --> 20:57.780
it has been amply proven that every man

20:57.790 --> 21:00.540
has a breaking point , which is why

21:00.550 --> 21:03.359
they had to rewrite the code . They

21:03.369 --> 21:06.010
knew that they could not resist , they

21:06.020 --> 21:08.420
could not withstand the torture at some

21:08.430 --> 21:11.040
point . Every one of them was going to

21:11.050 --> 21:14.300
break . It was a matter of what they

21:14.310 --> 21:16.680
were going to share as little as

21:16.689 --> 21:20.060
possible . Often things that were made

21:20.069 --> 21:23.060
up that they knew were not true and

21:23.069 --> 21:25.839
that's how they survive day to day

21:26.979 --> 21:29.035
when one of the men had gone through

21:29.035 --> 21:32.579
the torture and was broken . His fellow

21:32.589 --> 21:36.510
P O W s rallied around him to

21:36.520 --> 21:39.670
lift him up , encourage him to continue

21:41.310 --> 21:45.189
for one more day . And that's how

21:45.199 --> 21:48.569
they got through surviving one day at a

21:48.579 --> 21:49.199
time .

21:52.630 --> 21:56.430
And even though often isolated , they

21:56.439 --> 21:59.109
developed a way they could communicate

21:59.119 --> 22:02.390
with one another . And I spent a lot of

22:02.400 --> 22:05.400
time talking with Captain Jim Hickerson

22:06.300 --> 22:09.469
about this . How important being able

22:09.479 --> 22:12.189
to communicate with one another was

22:13.069 --> 22:15.920
knowing one of your fellow pows was in

22:15.930 --> 22:19.319
a cell by himself in isolation . If you

22:19.329 --> 22:23.209
will in solitaire , they

22:23.219 --> 22:25.709
realize the importance of having that

22:25.719 --> 22:29.560
communication . And they developed what

22:29.569 --> 22:32.280
we all now know it as the tap code that

22:32.290 --> 22:34.709
they could communicate between cells

22:34.719 --> 22:38.280
with one another to lift the spirits up

22:38.290 --> 22:40.709
to encourage that individual who had

22:40.719 --> 22:43.349
been tortured and realized he had been

22:43.359 --> 22:46.989
broken . It was their fellow pows

22:47.640 --> 22:51.280
that kept each one going . This was

22:51.290 --> 22:53.512
critical to lift their spirits of those

22:53.512 --> 22:55.734
who had been tortured and were isolated

22:55.734 --> 22:58.068
in separate cells to lift their spirits .

23:00.400 --> 23:02.511
And often taught how they got through

23:03.089 --> 23:07.020
every day as they said one more day .

23:08.459 --> 23:10.626
And in talking to the former P O W s ,

23:10.626 --> 23:13.150
those who returned , I always had to

23:13.160 --> 23:16.989
ask a question . The question I ask

23:17.000 --> 23:19.222
all of them is how were you able to get

23:19.222 --> 23:22.180
through all of those difficult years

23:22.510 --> 23:25.359
with the uncertainty with a torture

23:26.770 --> 23:29.079
and they all had told me they got

23:29.089 --> 23:32.810
through it the same way . They got

23:32.819 --> 23:34.770
through it by fight .

23:36.569 --> 23:37.847
What is that ? Faith ?

23:40.449 --> 23:41.660
Faith in God ,

23:44.160 --> 23:46.839
faith in your country , for them ,

23:46.849 --> 23:47.989
faith in America ,

23:50.319 --> 23:54.310
faith in their family and faith in

23:54.319 --> 23:55.486
their fellow P O W S

23:58.339 --> 24:00.283
America would probably be a better

24:00.283 --> 24:03.020
place today if we all had the faith of

24:03.030 --> 24:04.252
those returned pows .

24:07.739 --> 24:10.180
Think about that for a minute . If we

24:10.189 --> 24:12.078
had the same faith today as those

24:12.078 --> 24:14.500
returned , POWs would America be a

24:14.510 --> 24:18.459
different place ? I think we

24:18.469 --> 24:20.380
can say with certainty

24:22.250 --> 24:25.530
these men returned with honor .

24:27.310 --> 24:30.270
And I've always been amazed at these

24:30.280 --> 24:33.489
men and just how

24:34.280 --> 24:36.224
great they were , they came back .

24:38.540 --> 24:41.380
I never heard any of them complain

24:41.390 --> 24:44.699
about how bad it was . They don't like

24:44.709 --> 24:46.931
to talk about it . You have to ask them

24:46.931 --> 24:48.931
questions and they often won't talk

24:48.931 --> 24:51.153
about it , but they returned with honor

24:51.369 --> 24:54.459
and many of them went on to be great

24:55.300 --> 24:58.199
in their military service and served

24:58.209 --> 25:00.880
out with successful military careers .

25:02.829 --> 25:06.579
Now , no doubt it was a great day for

25:06.589 --> 25:09.050
this country when all the P O W s had

25:09.060 --> 25:12.709
been returned when there was 591 ,

25:13.469 --> 25:17.390
we're back on American soil . But

25:17.400 --> 25:21.319
unfortunately , there are still

25:21.329 --> 25:24.719
families that had no answers .

25:25.839 --> 25:28.117
There were men that were still missing .

25:29.780 --> 25:33.640
Ma K A unaccounted for

25:33.650 --> 25:34.928
from the Vietnam war .

25:38.599 --> 25:42.050
And so more work had to be done ,

25:45.369 --> 25:49.219
still work to be done . To bring them

25:49.229 --> 25:51.451
home to get them back to their homeland

25:51.550 --> 25:54.750
and back to their families . No , it's

25:55.670 --> 25:57.910
while the P O W s were in captivity ,

25:57.920 --> 26:01.780
they were a group of wives that

26:02.420 --> 26:05.680
were strong advocates for their

26:05.689 --> 26:09.020
husbands . Many of the wives of those

26:09.030 --> 26:11.839
who had been lost in Laos , we're told

26:11.849 --> 26:14.219
never to say anything . Don't talk ,

26:15.010 --> 26:17.343
don't talk to anyone about your husband ,

26:17.343 --> 26:19.989
about his status . Many of them , I

26:20.000 --> 26:22.111
would say many but some had been lied

26:22.111 --> 26:24.333
to about what their husband was doing ,

26:25.439 --> 26:29.069
but they were strong in their

26:29.079 --> 26:32.000
fight to get their husbands back home .

26:33.839 --> 26:37.099
The P O W s came back but I said they

26:37.109 --> 26:39.459
were those that were still missing

26:41.060 --> 26:43.300
and these wives again played a major

26:43.310 --> 26:46.229
role and pressuring the government to

26:46.239 --> 26:49.500
take action to account for them and all

26:49.510 --> 26:51.939
those who are still unaccounted for .

26:54.589 --> 26:57.099
And unfortunately , the hicks are not

26:57.109 --> 27:00.689
Hickerson are not here , but

27:01.660 --> 27:04.760
Carol Hickerson is one of those brave

27:04.770 --> 27:08.310
ladies that stood up to the

27:08.319 --> 27:10.619
government demanding answers

27:12.400 --> 27:14.650
was vital and forming

27:16.689 --> 27:19.010
the national league of families . As a

27:19.020 --> 27:22.219
matter of fact , this flag that you see

27:22.229 --> 27:24.170
flying the P O W MA flag .

27:27.150 --> 27:29.849
That profile is a profile of her first

27:29.859 --> 27:33.619
husband . one that

27:33.939 --> 27:37.109
lost his life in Vietnam .

27:37.699 --> 27:38.949
That's his profile .

27:41.410 --> 27:44.459
She actually had that on letterhead and

27:44.469 --> 27:47.060
then it was adopted , they put on the P

27:47.069 --> 27:50.939
O W M I A flag . She is just one

27:50.949 --> 27:54.869
of many great women that took up the

27:54.880 --> 27:58.800
fight and they took up

27:58.810 --> 28:01.239
the fight and it took years to gain

28:01.250 --> 28:04.050
access to Vietnam to search for those

28:04.060 --> 28:07.640
still missing from their families . But

28:07.650 --> 28:09.706
those families and their wives never

28:09.706 --> 28:11.817
gave up . They kept up the pressure .

28:14.369 --> 28:16.459
And so it was not until

28:17.500 --> 28:21.410
1982 years after the war had

28:21.420 --> 28:23.880
ended that we finally had the

28:23.890 --> 28:26.420
opportunity to start meeting with the

28:26.430 --> 28:30.189
Vietnamese to try to negotiate , share

28:30.199 --> 28:32.255
information with those men that were

28:32.255 --> 28:35.859
still missing . Try to gain access into

28:35.869 --> 28:39.869
Vietnam . I was fortunate enough to

28:39.880 --> 28:42.400
be a part of that team . They traveled

28:42.410 --> 28:45.589
to Vietnam in December of 1982

28:46.439 --> 28:48.839
for the first such negotiations with

28:48.849 --> 28:52.589
the Vietnamese . And we did that

28:52.770 --> 28:54.937
routinely . There was a period of time

28:54.937 --> 28:57.380
when we were going back and forth every ,

28:57.930 --> 29:00.040
every two months to meet with the

29:00.050 --> 29:03.209
Vietnamese and try to hammer out some

29:03.219 --> 29:04.219
type of agreement

29:08.250 --> 29:11.250
wasn't until a few years later .

29:12.609 --> 29:13.569
Finally ,

29:15.569 --> 29:16.880
In 1985 ,

29:20.040 --> 29:23.020
the Vietnamese agreed that we could

29:23.030 --> 29:26.630
bring a team in . There had been a B

29:26.640 --> 29:30.099
52 shot down . Only about 10 miles

29:30.109 --> 29:33.949
outside of Hanoi . Crew had gone

29:33.959 --> 29:36.520
down with the aircraft . I think they

29:36.530 --> 29:38.641
were using it as a test case , it was

29:38.641 --> 29:40.863
close to Hanoi . They could keep an eye

29:40.869 --> 29:43.790
on us . And so I was fortunate enough

29:43.800 --> 29:46.670
to be on that first excavation to

29:46.680 --> 29:48.180
recover the crew from that

29:48.180 --> 29:50.219
B- 52 in 1985 ,

29:53.420 --> 29:57.390
we only recovered two of the

29:57.400 --> 29:59.800
crew that was shot down on that B- 52 .

30:01.229 --> 30:04.079
But I think that set the stage for

30:04.089 --> 30:06.589
continued operations to obtain the

30:06.599 --> 30:08.155
fullest possible counting .

30:11.229 --> 30:13.760
And there was a lot of tension

30:16.160 --> 30:17.827
among the Americans among the

30:17.827 --> 30:19.938
Vietnamese . It's why we were there ,

30:19.938 --> 30:22.160
why we were doing this . It was an easy

30:22.160 --> 30:24.271
answer . It's the right thing to do .

30:24.271 --> 30:26.160
But this opened the door to begin

30:26.160 --> 30:28.382
regularized missions to Vietnam , which

30:28.382 --> 30:31.770
started in 1988 . In 1988 , we started

30:31.780 --> 30:34.113
regularized missions going into Vietnam ,

30:35.489 --> 30:38.369
going into crash sites , going into

30:38.380 --> 30:40.436
isolated burial sites to try to find

30:40.436 --> 30:43.800
Americans . We also had gained access

30:43.810 --> 30:46.032
into Laos and Cambodia to recover those

30:46.032 --> 30:48.239
who had not returned home from those

30:48.250 --> 30:52.010
countries and for my

30:53.800 --> 30:57.010
friends within the D P A ,

30:58.250 --> 31:01.469
I want to say much credit goes to the

31:01.479 --> 31:03.535
men and women of the defense P O W M

31:03.535 --> 31:06.250
accounting agency and its predecessor

31:06.260 --> 31:10.199
organizations for the great work that

31:10.209 --> 31:12.265
they have done to provide answers to

31:12.265 --> 31:14.376
the families of the missing and bring

31:14.376 --> 31:16.598
so many of the missing back home , back

31:16.598 --> 31:20.520
home to their families . But

31:20.530 --> 31:23.819
they all know there is more work to be

31:23.829 --> 31:26.719
done , more work to be done

31:27.800 --> 31:31.000
to try to account for the 1581 who are

31:31.010 --> 31:33.177
still unaccounted for from the Vietnam

31:33.177 --> 31:36.829
war . But

31:36.839 --> 31:40.150
this effort will continue because our

31:40.160 --> 31:44.050
nation knows that our

31:44.069 --> 31:46.013
military creed , just leave no one

31:46.013 --> 31:48.430
behind . So we're going to do

31:48.439 --> 31:50.495
everything we can to live up to that

31:50.495 --> 31:52.589
creed to leave none of our service

31:52.599 --> 31:55.109
members behind to bring them back home .

31:56.689 --> 31:58.633
And I know this work will continue

31:58.869 --> 32:00.813
until we have the fullest possible

32:00.813 --> 32:04.089
counting . Unfortunately , we know that

32:04.099 --> 32:07.560
we cannot bring everyone home , but

32:07.569 --> 32:09.680
hopefully we can provide some answers

32:09.680 --> 32:12.790
to their families again .

32:13.839 --> 32:16.061
Thank you for allowing me to speak with

32:16.061 --> 32:19.000
you today and to you , God bless each

32:19.010 --> 32:21.439
and every one of you . God blesses the

32:21.449 --> 32:24.420
families of those still missing and God

32:24.430 --> 32:26.609
bless our military personnel . Thank

32:26.619 --> 32:27.619
you very much .

32:55.680 --> 32:57.513
Thank you , Mister Webb for your

32:57.513 --> 32:59.624
remarks . Your dedication and passion

32:59.624 --> 33:01.847
for over 40 years to our pows and their

33:01.847 --> 33:03.791
loved ones demonstrates incredible

33:03.791 --> 33:06.013
efforts and dedication . And now ladies

33:06.013 --> 33:08.124
and gentlemen , please rise and sloop

33:08.124 --> 33:10.180
or raise your hand to your heart for

33:10.180 --> 33:12.013
the playing of taps to honor the

33:12.013 --> 33:13.958
sacrifices . All our P S and M and

33:13.958 --> 33:15.736
their loved ones have endured .

34:08.370 --> 34:10.703
Ladies and gentlemen , please be seated .

34:14.729 --> 34:16.785
I would like to thank chaplain Kim ,

34:16.785 --> 34:18.618
the 25 th Infantry Division Band

34:18.618 --> 34:20.729
Defense Media Attachment . 15 th Wing

34:20.729 --> 34:22.951
PAC A joint base , Pearl Harbor Hickham

34:22.951 --> 34:24.673
community outreach and the DPA

34:24.673 --> 34:26.785
volunteers for making this ceremony a

34:26.785 --> 34:28.840
success . I would also like to thank

34:28.840 --> 34:30.951
Mister Webb for his inspiring address

34:30.951 --> 34:32.785
and a final thank you to all our

34:32.785 --> 34:34.896
Vietnam veterans and their families .

34:34.896 --> 34:37.062
This concludes today's ceremony Mahala

34:37.062 --> 34:36.979
for attending