Northeast POW/MIA Network
Past Articles of Interest
National POW/MIA Recognition Day Sept. 16, 2022
On March 12, 1967, Air Force Capt. John Clark was piloting an RF-4C Phantom II on a tactical reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. To keep under the enemy’s radar and offer less acquisition time for anti-aircraft gun crews, he was flying at an extremely low altitude ― just 100 feet off the ground.
The RF-4C was an unarmed, supersonic jet aircraft that carried a variety of film-based cameras as well as infrared and radar sensors for the purpose of intelligence gathering. The tandem two-seat plane was manned by pilots whose motto was “Alone, Unarmed, and Unafraid.”
Although Clark and the other pilot in his plane viewed this particular mission as a low risk “milk run,” their circumstances changed quickly after their jet was hit by 37mm ground fire.
“We were flying at a speed of about 600 miles per hour when the plane pitched up and began tumbling,” Clark said. “We were heading for the side of a mountain and the aircraft was out of control. At that point, we were just along for the ride, so we had to eject.”
Clark was unable to reach the primary ejection handles located above his head because of the extreme G-forces created as the plane tumbled out of control. Instead he grabbed the backup ejection handle between his legs and pulled.
“There was no time to consider other important factors, such as the position of the canopy in relationship to the ground,” Clark said. “The plane was tumbling end over end and if we ejected while the canopy was facing down, we both would have been shot into the ground and killed instantly. However, we had to get out, so I pulled the handle, and well, nothing happened.”
Onderdonk award goes to Northeast POW-MIA Network
By Henry Howard
SEP 01, 2021
First Liberty Institute President and CEO Kelly Shackleford reflected back two decades ago during his presentation at The American Legion’s national convention in Phoenix on Sept. 1.
“It was almost 20 years ago when we realized that something was happening in the country,” Shackleford said. “There were attacks on some of our monuments. First, it was the Ten Commandments. We realized that there would be attacks on our veterans memorials. This was just a sign of what’s coming.”
First Liberty reached out to Past National Judge Advocate Philip B. Onderdonk, who agreed and the two organizations have worked together to protect several high-profile veterans memorials from being torn down. Among them:
• Mount Soledad: The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial was conceived in 1952 by American Legion Post 275 of La Jolla, Calif., to honor war veterans of the Korean War. A 27-foot cross at the apex of Soledad Natural Park in La Jolla was built in honor of U.S. servicemen who had died during the two world wars and the Korean conflict. The case went through various lower court rulings but the memorial has ultimately prevailed. “That memorial is still standing,” Shackleford said. “And you can still see that memorial today.”
• Mojave Desert: The memorial was erected in 1934 by World War I veterans “who just wanted to put up something to remember those who were lost in that war.” First Liberty and The American Legion won a Supreme Court case, which allowed the memorial to continue to stand, though the ruling was on technical issues.
• Bladensburg Peace Cross: Two years ago, The American Legion and First Liberty returned to the nation’s highest court in a case involving the 40-foot Bladensburg Veterans Memorial Peace Cross. The memorial was erected in 1925 by Gold Star mothers and The American Legion to honor 49 sons who made the ultimate sacrifice during the first world war. Justices ruled for The American Legion, 7-2. “That was not only a win for the Bladensburg cross,” Shackleford said. “It set a precedent. It was really a landmark victory that all memorials and monuments across our land are presumptively constitutional and these attacks are over. That’s a huge change.”
However, there are other cases pending, Shackleford pointed out.
One of those relates to a POW-MIA missing man table that was set up at a VA hospital by the Northeast POW-MIA Network. Included on the table is a Bible. The lawsuit calls for the removal of the Bible from the display.
“The man who donated the Bible was in a German prisoner of war camp for almost a year,” Shackleford said. “He said the Bible is what got him through that experience. He wanted to donate this Bible for this display.”
To honor the POW-MIA Network’s fight, Shackleford presented David Haskell, the organization’s president, with the Philip B. Onderdonk Jr. Religious Liberty Award on the national convention stage. The award is a gold-plated Henry Repeating rifle engraved with images of a bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell.
The award is presented annually to someone who has done the most for religious freedom in the United States.
Haskell thanked North Conway Post 95 in New Hampshire for its help in setting up the table at the VA in Manchester, N.H. He credited Bob Jones with starting the network from American Legion Post 49 in Vermont 34 years ago.
“The table at the Manchester VA is a symbol of what we will stand for forever, until all our POWs and MIAs are returned home safely,” Haskell said.
Shackleford reminded attendees that the legal battle will continue.
“We are so proud to be with The American Legion,” he said. “We’re going to keep fighting until we win. These are the battles coming.”
First Liberty Institute President and CEO Kelly Shackelford presents the 2021 Philip Onderdonk Religious Liberty Award during Day 2 of The American Legion 102nd National Convention at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Photo by Jeric Wilhelmsen/The American Legion
POW/MIA flag flies again at White House, thanks to boost from Hassan, other senators
By Shawne K. Wickham New Hampshire Sunday News Apr 9, 2021
After nearly a year’s absence, the POW/MIA flag is back atop the White House.
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., announced the return of the black and white flag to “its rightful place” on Friday, which is National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day.
In a statement, Hassan, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, thanked President Joe Biden for restoring the flag to its previous location.
“It is a powerful way to continually remember and pay tribute to the tremendous sacrifice of prisoners of war and missing service members,” she said. “I am thinking of their families and loved ones today and always as we honor their brave service to keep our country safe, secure, and free.”
A 2019 law requires that the flag, which honors American service members held prisoner or missing in action, be flown in designated locations, including the U.S. Capitol, the White House and national cemeteries.
Last May, the POW/MIA flag was moved from atop the White House and placed in a new memorial garden on the White House grounds. The move, which was revealed when the Trump administration posted a 21-second YouTube video on June 18, prompted outrage from some veterans groups.
Earlier this year, Hassan and her Senate colleagues, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to Biden, asking him to restore the flag “to its place of honor” atop the White House. All three were sponsors of the 2019 law.
In a news release, Hassan singled out New Hampshire veteran Bob Jones for his “tireless advocacy” in returning the flag to the White House.
Jones got the word in a call Thursday night from Hassan’s office. “I didn’t sleep all night thinking about it,” he said. “I was so happy.”
“This is really a big deal for all the veterans who care about this issue,” Jones said.
Jones is president of the Northeast POW/MIA Network, an organization that for decades has kept the issue of American service members who were taken prisoner or missing in action in the public eye both in New Hampshire and nationally.
The group has held a weekly POW/MIA vigil in Meredith’s Hesky Park for 34 years, and organizes an annual vigil and memorial motorcycle ride at the same location. The ride was canceled last year because of the health crisis, but it returns this year on June 17.
Jones said he reached out to Hassan’s office for help after the flag was removed from atop the White House because when Hassan served as governor, “she was with us at the vigil.”
He admitted he wasn’t very hopeful the flag would be restored to its more prominent location. “And that’s why we’re so happy and so thankful to this senator for her continuing the battle ...,” he said.
At a Friday press briefing, Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, credited Hassan and the other two senators for their “true display of bipartisanship” in bringing the request to Biden’s attention.
“In keeping with the president and the first lady’s commitment to honor the sacrifices of all those who serve, including veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors, the president and first lady have restored the POW-MIA flag to its original location on top of the White House residence,” Psaki said.
On Friday, Biden issued a proclamation for National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, “to honor all who have borne the hardships of captivity in service to our Nation, remember the brave men and women who were held as prisoners in foreign lands during our Nation’s past conflicts, and recognize those at home who anxiously awaited their loved ones’ return.”