Letter to the Editor: POW/MIA flag was promoted by marginal right-wingers

To the Editor:

It’s unfortunate that the Legislature was ever bamboozled into mandating display of the so-called POW/MIA flag.

The flag was promoted by marginal right-wing activists motivated by the “Rambo” fantasy that the Vietnamese government still held American POWs long after the end of the Vietnam War, and that American liberals had conspired to cover this up after causing American defeat in the war by “tying the hands” of the military. 

This urban legend has been repeatedly discredited, notably by former POW and now conservative Republican Senator John McCain. 

There are no POWs. There have been MIAs in every war this country has fought, and that’s tragic, but it’s not a conspiracy. It’s analogous to the 1920s German legend that Germany was “stabbed in the back” by Jews and liberals, causing Germany to lose World War I. Readers of history know what happened next.

I moved to Washington in 2005 and was dismayed to see the flag flown at Shoreline City Hall. I protested, and was told about the law. It should be repealed.

Chris Nielsen
Shoreline