This article was written by Ernie Audino and appeared in Frontlines of Freedom. POW MIA RECOGNITION DAY – A GREAT DAY TO COME TOGETHER AS AMERICANS.
The 3rd week of every Sept, we Americans commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day. This year the White House set it on the 18th. To me, like Memorial Day, it’s two things. One, a day to recognize the tremendous, REAL sacrifice that many brave Americans have made for the rest of us. And two, a day for every one of us back here, enjoying the great blessings of this nation to pause and give thanks.
Our Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) (which I’ve had some personal experience with during my career) is tracking approximately 82,000 soldiers, airmen, marines, sailors who have not returned home. Think of the absolute horror they and their families have endured because of that. And for that matter, right now, I sit here enjoying a coffee in an air-conditioned office….and no one is shooting at me anymore…but yet, at some level, I feel some guilt. I can’t explain it. But this I know: the next time I gripe about paying $4.50 for a gallon of gas, how about I just give thanks that I don’t have to pay with my life or my freedom?
I strongly recommend doing an online search for Army Colonel Hal Kushner, or pull up the first two episodes of the Frontlines Report, where we interviewed Hal. He is a close friend and the most inspiring man I’ve ever met. Hal spent almost 6 years as POW in Vietnam…nearly 4 in the squalor and inhumanity of VietCong prison camps, and then another 2 years at the Hanoi Hilton. Listen to Hal speak. It will bring tears to your eyes. Consider this: after 4 years POW of the Viet Cong, after a forced marched, barefoot, 57 days to Hanoi, Hal says, “And then life got a little better in the Hanoi Hilton.” Life got better in the Hanoi Hilton?!!! And here we are complaining about gas prices.
Certainly, fellow Americans of all stripes can be jointly humbled and grateful for such bravery and sacrifice.
Our guest on the show this week is a 39-year Army veteran of infantry, Special Forces, PSYOPS and Civil Affairs. Chuck Fowler, LTC US Army (retired), achieved great commercial success after the Army and founded 1Nation, his worthy effort to help Americans regain unity and pursue common good. We covered all of the above PLUS his military experience and how lessons/skills from that helped him achieve entrepreneurial success and a commitment to give back to veterans and all Americans. Click on the link to hear the discussion: https://frontlinesoffreedom.com/show-978/
