Columnist Ruthe Deskin: POW event rekindles memories

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Sept. 21, 2000 | 10:45 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. Reach her at deskin@lasvegassun.com.

Lest we forget.

Friday was national POW/MIA Recognition Day and area veterans paid tribute to those who were prisoners of war or listed as missing in action. Special services were held at Nellis Air Force Base.

It was fitting that a group of Army Air Force veterans were holding their annual reunion at the Gold Coast in Las Vegas at the same time. They were members of the 464th Bombardment Group, who made hundreds of bombing raids to destroy oil refineries and factories in Germany, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Austria to cripple the German war machine.

Also last week, the government announced that the remains of two U.S. Navy pilots had been located off the coast of Vietnam and will be returned to their families for burial.

And remains believed to be those of nine U.S. soldiers missing from the Korean War were recovered in North Korea. There are still thousands who remain missing from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. They should not be forgotten.

Many of us can remember wearing POW/MIA bracelets during and after Vietnam. I recall anxiously scanning lists of returning POWs for the name Capt. Brad Cuthbert, but I never found it. The bracelet is carefully tucked away for a future generation to ponder.

War is a horrible thing, as any veteran will tell you.

Searching the faces of the men of the 464th Bombardment Group, it is difficult to visualize a group of gung-ho young kids who climbed into Army bombers and went off to war. So many did not return.

Age has taken its toll, but memories still remain -- memories that should be kept alive so that present and future generations can appreciate the sacrifices made.

There is no way our nation can ever repay the men and women who offered their lives to defend us.

The Olympics are disturbing my routine with late-night viewing, but they are worth it.

How inspiring it is to watch all of these young men and women chasing the gold. I did learn one thing during the opening ceremonies: Today I would flunk world geography. I never knew there were so many countries on this good Earth.

Talk about far-away places with strange-sounding names -- the Olympics have it all.

Scientists believe the time has come, with the advent of the 120-ton international space station, to study sex in space.

Just what we've all been waiting for -- as if we don't have enough on the Internet.

Watching City Council meetings on TV, I am impressed with the innate politeness and courtesy shown by Mayor Oscar Goodman toward citizens who come before the council.

A local wit offers this conclusion: Fairy tales do not begin with "once upon a time." Many of them begin with "if I'm elected."