Statement by Congresswoman Jane Harman

Congresswoman Jane harman - Press Release

National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day

April 10, 2003

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in recognizing National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day.

As others have said, America's former POWs are national heroes. Their service to our country placed them in dangerous situations and led to their capture and imprisonment.

Many suffered brutally at the hands of their captives. Many died.

During this time of hostilities in Iraq, we particularly remember the service members held prisoners there and ask for their humane treatment as we seek their immediate release. We also ask for an accounting of all the missing.

We take great pride in the successful rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch. We hope for her swift recovery.

Mr. Speaker, we shall never forget the tens of thousands of Americans who endured the hardship of enemy confinement - individuals like Bob Brigham of Torrance, California.
An Army private during World War II, Mr. Brigham was captured by the Nazis July 27, 1944 at St. Lo, France.

Nine months to the day, he was liberated from the camp at Memmengin, Germany, but not after hard labor digging air raid shelters under the camps railroad tracks.

Brian Ward of San Pedro was captured by the North Vietnamese when his F-4 bomber was shot down 2 days after Christmas 1972 while on a combat mission northeast of Hanoi.

Both he and his pilot suffered broken arms and back injuries as a result of their ejection. They were immediately captured, stripped of everything but their underwear, and transported to the "Hanoi Hilton''. Two weeks later, they were transferred to a prison known as the ``Zoo'' a few miles southeast of Hanoi.

Mr. Ward was returned to the United States on March 29, 1973, as the next-to-last prisoner released from Hanoi.

There are other former POWs among the residents of my District. I salute them all. Their physical and emotional scars remain a reminder of the high price of liberty.

Mr. Speaker, I also join my colleagues in remembering those whose fate in time of war remains unknown.

While patriotic ceremonies and speeches will commemorate this day, for the families of the missing, the war is never over. Their loved ones are still unaccounted for. Their hearts have a very big hole that will never be filled.

The POW/MIA flag is posted in my federal offices and on the wall behind my desk. I am proud of the role I played in authoring legislation to require that flag to be flown at federal facilities on patriotic holidays.

POW families will not forget their loved ones. Nor will this Nation. Wherever it takes us, for as long as it takes us, we will work to bring them home.