in memory of those who served -- you will not be forgotten

We (Blair, Ethan and I) went down to Joint Base Andrews (formerly Andrews Air Force Base) to attend their annual POW/MIA Rememberance Run. The run is something that I hadn't heard of until recently, and that I probably still would't have heard of if not for Ethan getting us involved in Stack-Up. So, as we drove down to Andrews, we really didn't know what to expect. I was told that it would be a 24-hour run. And as a vigil. Most importantly, it was an event to keep alive the memories of our country's POWs and MIA. Was I going to have to run? For 24 hours straight? Yeah, fat chance of that happening. All I knew was that Stack-Up had been invited to attend. It was an honor we could hardly pass up.

So we showed up on Thursday Morning, not quite knowing what to expect. It was, in fact, a 24-hour
run. But it was relay style. No one person was expected to run for 24 hours. This is an annual event at the base, dating back (as far as I could ascertain) to the 1980s. At a little after 10 AM, Sargent Carrie Frederickson got things started. She was followed by Colonel Sharon Bannister whose father was killed in Vietnam in 1972. My description of can't do justice to the first-hand account, so instead here is her prepared text:

Colonel Bannister, talking about growing up with a dad who was MIA

In the early morning of 7 March 1972, a 2 ship of F-4E aircraft took off from Da Nang Air Base, Republic of South Vietnam on an armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos.  The number 2 aircraft, tail number 69-7552, call sign Gunfighter 61 was cleared to attack two enemy trucks at 0655.  Unfortunately, the target wasn’t completely destroyed, so they were cleared for its second attack run.  The lead lost Gunfighter 61 in the early morning haze…enemy ground fire was heavy…and seconds later the flight lead saw a fireball over the great jungles of Laos.  Of note, both targets were destroyed.

On that hazy morning in March, First Lt Carter Howell and my dad, 1st Lt Stephen Rusch, proud Airmen assigned to the 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, disappeared.

Though visual, electronic, and photoreconnaissance searches continued for 3 days, on my 6th birthday, 10 March, the search concluded and Lt Howell and Lt Rusch had their status changed to Missing in Action.

No words can explain the years to follow.  The uncertainty was always there…what if my dad had died on impact…what if he had been captured and tortured….what if he got lost in the jungle, injured, alone…

Years of dreams and many nights of tears, fading hope, and an aching heart that never heals.  It’s what the families, friends, and brothers and sisters in arms of MIA/POW Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines feel when they are left alone to create their own stories.

In 2007, I was able to finish my story.  After an excavation years after the crash, my dad was identified through dental remains.  He had ended his short life of service on 7 March as his plane crashed into the slope of a mountainous area just outside a small village in Southern Laos, a beautiful…secluded jungle area with a small stream running at the base of the hill…a spot my sister and I were able to visit a year ago.  But there are still many who have not returned and whose stories still need an end.

As we run today in remembrance of those who are still missing, please keep their families and friends in your thoughts and hearts.  Let them never be forgotten.  Be safe, and thank you for what you do each day to serve our great nation.

Soon after that, the run began, and successive teams relayed for 24 hours, running with a large black POW/MIA flag. The next morning, which was yesterday, September 16, the flag was turned over to a group from the Green Knights (a military motorcycle club) who drove it from Andrews to the Air Force memorial at the Pentagon. There it was part of the memorial ceremony since yesterday was National POW/MIA Recognition Day. At the close of the ceremony, Lacey from the National League of POW/MIA families spoke about the importance of efforts to retrieve remains, to investigate and determine what happened to whom. And to remember loved ones lost in the line of duty. Those killed in action made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and they deserve to be remembered, as do those who were POWs. And the MIAs -- people whose fate remains unknown.

Running with the flag

And, thinking about them it's humbling to realize that all these military personnel around us are people who have pledged to sacrifice themselves for the United States if called on to do so. I was reminded of that when talking to Mike. Mike is not an airman stationed at Andrews; he came as part of Stack-Up. He's also a member of the Wounded Warrior Project, having sustained nearly-fatal injuries in Afghanistan. He told us, in vivid detail, about the day he sustained his injuries and the aftermath. I'd try to retell it, hitting the high notes, but another member of Stack-Up is already putting together plans to do a video interview, so I'll wait and try to post that when it's ready.

I got the impression, though I can't be sure, that this was the first time that an attempt was made to get outside organizations involved. My understanding is that other organizations were invited, but scheduling trouble for the others meant that Stack-Up's half dozen or so people was the extent of outsiders there. We're hoping for a better showing next year. Those who served honorably deserve it. 


 Addendum: Thanks to Colonel Bannister for allowing me to reproduce her prepared text. She did not deliver the speech verbatim as it was prepared. I assume that the prepared remarks served as a guide rather than a script.