That was the slogan on a button I got on the day I recieved my POW/MIA bracelet - way back in the day. The day when people who believed the war was wrong were told we didn't care about our troops. Unlike some people I did not have to worry about what my next deferment would be (I was a young female) nor was I concerned about drug testing whilst a memeber of the champaign unit of the Texas Air National Guard. My body was drug free then.
James K. Patterson was the son of my aunt's neighbor and her son was missing. She lived in California which gave an air of mystic to my bracelet in Iowa's farm country.
At some point in my still so young life, I knew Vietnam was wrong. I don't know how or why it happened. Maybe I was worried about my brother, or my sisters' husband's, at some point I just felt it. Maybe it was the nightly onslaught from the national newscasts - body counts, villages on fire, screaming children, pictures of body bags full of soliders on their way home. News that truly conveyed what war was. It was that feeling you can not explain, the voice you hear, the turning in your gut, that uncomfortalbe feeling. I just remember it was there, every day, every night, all the time. And I wanted to help.
James K Patterson MIA May 19, 1967. I looked at that name daily, it created a welt around my wrist, and my heart. Who was James Patterson, what had happened to him, was he still alive, was there hope? I so depesperatly wanted to make a difference to him by wearing his bracelet. I guess I wanted to make a differnce to myself as well because otherwise I felt so powerless. I never knew him, yet, I wanted him to come home. But the war ended, and no one could answer the important questions. Where was Lt. James Patterson, what happened to him?
Years went by, the bracelet broke in half, I put it away and Lt. James K. Patterson was forgotten by me.
Recently, I found my POW/MIA button. James K. Patterson came back to the surface of my conciousness. So what does one do? Google of course.
I now know more about Lt. James K. Patterson. He graduated from the US Naval Academy when I was only six years old. He did not go by James or even Jim, he went by his middle name, Kelly . He was awared the Distinguished Flying Crossfor actions taken in the month before his death.
One May 19, 1967, he was the bombidier navigator on a Grumman A 6A piloted by Red McDaniel that took off from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise on a mission to strike targets near Hanoi. Six aircraft were shot down, nine men classified as POW and one KIA. Six of the POW's were eventually released. McDaniel, Kelly's pilot was released in 1974. Kelly was not one of them. Three of the missing soliders remains were repatriated, two in 1974, one in 2000. Lt. Patterson's true fate is still unknown.
It is know that he was able to eject from his Grumman, which was disabled due to a missle strike. He made radio contact after hitting the ground. He was with his pilot for awhile, and spoke to others downed in the same are. In 1990 our government declared Lt. James K. Patterosn DIA.
Many, including his brother, believed Kelly survived and due to his technical knowledge was taken to Russia, or as they said he was Moscow Bound, where he lived for many years after the war. They still look for him today. Another account had Lt. Patterson living in the jungles of Vietnam until his death in 1985. The site that was suppose to be his grave unearthed no remains. Kelly's brother has tried many times to find out what happend to Kelly. To this day, no one knows what really happened to Lt. Patterson.
Over the last forty plus years, what happened in Vietnam has shaped my world view and my political views. What I saw, what I heard, what I read and what I lived during that time, more than any other thing, has helped shape me into who I am. Be it for better or for worse.
Forty years later, on the anniversary of his last mission, it is truly agonizing to realize out nation is repeating its past, too soon. Those who chose not to serve the nation have disreguarded the lessons of those who did, and continue to disregard those who are currently serving our country. The arrogance and the hubris of our national leaders is beyond reproach.
Forty years later I would like to publically thank Lt. Patterson, and all those that served with him.
Forty years from now, I hope our nation can look back on these last six years as dark days in our country that finally ended when bush was removed from office.
I pray for our soliders and warriors who have served, who are serving and who will serve in the future. We are a great nation, occassionally our leaders are not.
In honor of Lt. Patterson, if you know a vet or if you see a vet, please thank them.