POW Flags Don't Need To Fly at IDOT

I read with interest DownLeft's post on the missing MIA/POW flags from the Illinois Department of Transportation buildings around the state. By the way, this is, to my knowledge, at least the third scoop for DownLeft in recent weeks. Good on him and, hey, blogs can make a difference and they are here to stay Mr. and Mrs. Main Stream Media.

I do have a quibble though, which may be patriotically incorrect, but I'm going to put it out there anyway.

First, let me say there is nothing too good for former POWs. The country owes them all in a big way and I wish we would pony up. If it were up to me, I'd pass a law in a heartbeat that would make life after being a POW very comfortable indeed. My law would give former POWs a huge sum of money, make it illegal to charge them admission to ball games, forgive any parking ticket, and give them first-in-line status at the grocery store. And that's just for starters. I have nothing but the greatest respect for these men and women.

Having said that, I don't think it's all that important to have the MIA/POW flag flying at IDOT facilities. I have nothing against the flag per se. It's perfectly appropriate at war memorials, VFW halls and on anyone's flag poll at home.

The thing to remember is what the flag really is supposed to represent.

On August 10, 1990, the 101st Congress passed U.S. Public Law 101-355, which recognized the ... POW/MIA flag and designated it "as the symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation".

I'm old enough to remember the evolution of this flag. It grew out of a movement that believed North Vietnam was still holding US POWs long after the war was over. This notion was particularly popular during the early 1980s (see Rambo). Of course, this simply has been proven to be untrue despite the best efforts of conspiracy nuts. There was never any good reason for the North Vietnamese to have continued to hold Americans. What was particularly insidious about this campaign was that it gave false hope to the families of MIAs.

So, to this day, I'm not particularly fond of the way this flag was used then. Maybe it's meaning has evolved and I just never got the memo. I actually suspect it has evolved and that's fine. I just don't think it should be a requirement on government buildings and I don't think it shows disrespect of former POWs by taking it down.