POW-MIA Cover-Up

Schanberg submits a dilemma that would plague anyone’s conscience. The possibility that U.S. servicemen--were there any women?--may have been left behind in Vietnam is strong.

Did a cover-up occur? Many citizens believe, like Schanberg, that the answer is yes. If true, can leaders who were in a position to take action rationalize why they ignored a moral responsibility for lives, not only of those left behind but families waiting with uncertainty?

Why would our leaders not be willing to negotiate a release? Why would POWs-MIAs be treated as dispensable pawns? Why would those with the power to obtain their returns turn their backs on and willingly wish the situation to self-destruct, fade into nothingness, cease to be?

What if POWs-MIAs are still alive? If so, where are they? What is their condition? Were they brainwashed so that memories of home are distorted or suppressed or completely lost?

Whether fiction or reality, the issue is an open one. Let it be closed. Maybe the Clinton Administration will address this perplexing matter. Not doing so will cause the wound it has created to further fester. No apologies, however, can erase the emotional pain caused. No compensation can counter the lives disrupted. What must be done to end concern should be done.

JOAN FAITH FORMAN

Redondo Beach