For PFC Maupin

When I was in college in the late 80s, one of my acquaintances was an Air Force ROTC candidate who wore an MIA bracelet for an airman in Vietnam. I thought it was an extremely noble cause, and for years, I researched specific Vietnam POW/MIA soldiers, sailors and airmen. None of their stories resonated. I wanted to have some kind of personal affinity for the serviceman on my wrist. I would drop the search for several months and then renew it with the same results. I simply wasn’t connecting with anyone. But I recently read the story of Keith Maupin, and his bravery, along with his parents’ anguish, hit home.

Until recently, PFC Maupin was the only POW of this conflict. But now there’s another. And somehow our Commander in Chief has allowed the Prime Minister of a puppet government to dictate that we end our search for him. It’s incomprehensible. My thoughts are now with both of the POWs of OIF.

Thank you for the bracelet

Cliff