[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 142 (Wednesday, September 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    TRIBUTE TO THE MIDDLETOWN, NJ, POST 2179, VFW & LADIES AUXILIARY

                                 ______


                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 13, 1995
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, September 15, 1995, the 
Middletown, NJ, Post 2179 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Ladies 
Auxiliary will hold its 13th annual candlelight service in memory of 
America's prisoners of wars and missing in action.
  Mr. Speaker, the vast majority of the American people believe that we 
must never forget our servicemen and women whose whereabouts remain 
unknown or unaccounted for. While our hearts go out to families whose 
loved ones have died in the service of our country, the families of 
POW's and MIA's do not even have the consolation of having said goodbye 
to their loved ones. These families live in anxiety and dread. We 
cannot even imagine what horrors the POW's and MIA's have endured--and, 
in some cases, may still be enduring.
  Our Nation has now reopened diplomatic and economic relations with 
Vietnam. This decision caused pain for many veterans of the Vietnam war 
and their families. I disagreed with this decision, but now it is time 
for us to use our new relationship with Vietnam to force a resolution 
of the POW/MIA question. Our diplomats must never let up or let their 
Vietnamese counterparts off the hook until we get a full accounting of 
the fate of those Americans who served in Vietnam and whose fate 
remains unresolved. There is compelling evidence that at least 80, and 
possibly many more Americans could have been left behind in 1973 when 
their comrades in arms--supposedly all of our prisoners--came home.
  The same holds true for Russia and other nations with which we now 
have expanded relations since the end of the cold war. There are 
indications that American prisoners from Vietnam and Korea were kept in 
the Soviet Union. Some of these cases have finally been resolved, but 
there is a great deal more work to do. Since Russia clearly needs our 
help and support, we should insist on getting something back from them. 
We also need to keep the pressure on our own Government to make sure 
that all relevant documentation is made available to families and 
others concerned with the fate of the prisoners and the missing.
  Mr. Speaker, the members of the Middletown VFW and Ladies Auxiliary, 
like their counterparts across the country, provide a great public 
service by fighting to keep alive the memory of their missing comrades. 
Their loyalty to the prisoners and the missing provides an example for 
all of us to remember. Every Memorial Day, the Nation pauses to 
remember those who paid the ultimate price in the service of their 
country. We should do the same for the POW's and MIA's until we have a 
full accounting for their fate.


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