A symbol to never forget POW-MIAs

Joy Brinduse recalls a letter her brother Michael Lautzenheiser sent her during the Vietnam War.

“In one of his last letters shortly before his birthday, he wrote, ‘One more week and I’ll be 20. I can’t believe I won’t be a teenager anymore. I still feel that I should be 17. Only I know that I haven’t been 17 in years and years,’” Brinduse said. “I like to remember 17-year-old Michael, my little brother. He was funny, brave and a peacemaker. He loved God, his family and he wanted to do his duty for his country.”

Six weeks after turning 20, Lautzenheiser was killed in a plane crash during a resupply mission in South Vietnam. His remains have never been recovered.

Brinduse shared her story of Lautzenheiser during a special dedication of a POW-MIA Chair of Honor on May 26 at the Indiana War Memorial in Indianapolis. Indiana Rolling Thunder Chapter 1 coordinated the event, which was attended by more than 100 Rolling Thunder participants, veterans and other military supporters. The chair honors the 83,000 Americans who are still listed as prisoners of war or missing in action as well as all former POW-MIAs.

“We have not forgotten our loved one,” Brinduse said. “And it is so encouraging to know that others are alongside us and stand with us. These words – You Are Not Forgotten – were meant to help those in captivity. For those of us today who still have a family member who went to war so many years ago and never came back, it has become a symbol to the faithfulness of our memory, to their memory, and their sacrifice. And a pledge from our government to not give up on pursuing every need and determining their fate.”

Also speaking during the ceremony was former POW Joe Kernan, a Navy veteran who was shot down during a reconnaissance mission in May 1972 over Vietnam and held captive for 11 months. Kernan, a member of The American Legion and former Indiana governor, told the story of his return to Vietnam where he learned about the repatriation process.

Kernan shared the story of his friend Mike McCormick, a pilot, and Al Clark, who were tasked with an early morning mission during Vietnam.

“It was 31 years before their remains came back home,” Kernan said. “It’s a daunting task and sometimes these things take a long time. I had the good fortune to be one of those who was very lucky. You ask anyone who has been in combat or other circumstances, and we want to make sure that we are continuing to do all the things that are necessary for POW assistance.”

Education plays a major role in POW assistance. That’s part of the Indiana War Museum’s mission, said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Stewart Goodwin, executive director of the museum.

“Honoring veterans and their service is at the core of our mission statement,” Goodwin said. “Right below that is about education, especially education for young people who have no idea about the sacrifices of those who have come before them.”

The POW-MIA chair will have a special place in the museum. “We are truly honored to have the chair, and I guarantee you we will not forget about telling the story of POWs and MIAs,” Goodwin said.

The chair was designed and created by Anthony Palmiero, a woodworker and member of American Legion Post 470 in Fishers, Ind. The chair, along with another one displayed at the Indiana Statehouse, are made out of white oak with brass plaques on both sides.

“I tell others that it’s not about me,” Palmiero said. “It’s what the chair represents. It’s in memory of our servicemembers who either lost their lives or are still missing, or are still in a prison camp somewhere in the world. It’s about them.”

When visitors to the memorial pause at the chair, Palmiero said he wants them to remember that “freedom is not free. It costs somebody something, even if it’s their actual time in service, or their life.”

Linda Cope, a member of Rolling Thunder Chapter 1, knows the pain that families face when a loved one is lost in war.

Cope shared the story of her brother, Ronald E. Smith, who served in the Navy, then after returning home, re-enlisted in the Army to become a Green Beret.

"He left for Vietnam in 1970 and promised to see us in a year,” Cope recalled. “It took 43 years to retrieve Ron’s remains.”

As Cope and other Rolling Thunder and Legion Rider members take their annual ride to the nation’s capital this weekend, their message will focus on never forgetting.

“After the horrendous treatment our soldiers endured during the Vietnam era, thank God that is changing,” said Cope, who said that plans are underway for a Chair of Honor to be dedicated at the Indianapolis airport. “Our chapter is determined to never let prisoners of war be forgotten. We pray the public appreciates their tremendous sacrifice half as much as we do.”