Prisoner of war

Latest news on prisoner of war

'I heard a tap-tap of gunfire. But I didn't realise my legs had gone'

As the man and woman walked slowly towards the war memorial in Chicago last week, the figure of Barack Obama was instantly recognisable. But as the pair hugged after laying a wreath in the ceremony, it was the young woman who caught the attention of the media and whose photograph flashed around the world.It was difficult not to notice her. As the President-in-waiting embraced her, it was clear that she was a double amputee. Rarely has the human cost of America's war in Iraq been so painfully and poignantly illustrated.The woman was Tammy Duckworth, one of the most remarkable figures to emerge from the conflict. Horribly wounded by an insurgent attack, the former helicopter pilot is now part of a wave of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are returning home and reshaping US politics. They are running for office, heading government departments and campaigning on issues they care about.Duckworth is now one of the most visible and high-profile among them. There are even whispers that she might replace Obama in the Senate, taking the seat left vacant when he moves to the White House, or that he might appoint her to his cabinet as head of the Department of Veterans' Affairs. But on that cold Chicago morning last week, as Duckworth and Obama paid tribute to America's war dead, it was not politics that were on Duckworth's mind. It was her former comrades-in-arms, recently redeployed back to the country where she lost her legs. 'I was actually thinking about my crew,' she told The Observer.Last week marked a doubly poignant anniversary for Duckworth, a petite and pretty half-Asian woman with a homely Midwestern accent. Veterans of all wars were remembering their fallen comrades on 11 November, but the day after was Duckworth's 'Alive Day', the fourth anniversary of her close brush with death.The Alive Day is a tradition that sprang up in Vietnam as wounded American soldiers struggled to cope with the physical and emotional scars left by the injuries of war. Now Duckworth is part of a new generation treading the same path and marking a fresh wave of Alive Days. For Duckworth, 40, commemorating the day that left her so horribly wounded was a bitter-sweet moment.'It could be a horrible day, but I choose to celebrate it. Every year we kind of have a big party. I know it's the day I lost my legs, but it is also the day that I survived and got my life back,' she said.On 12 November 2004, Duckworth was a helicopter pilot in the Illinois Army National Guard. She had persuaded her superiors to send her to Iraq when her unit was shipped out, just as she was about to be transferred elsewhere. On that fateful date she had piloted her 'bird' over Baghdad from landing zone to landing zone.Her final stop had been in the green zone, where she had picked up milkshakes, stir-fry food and Christmas decorations. Once back in the air, she heard the sound of bullets hitting the chopper. 'I remember hearing the tap-tap of small-arms fire. I was reaching over for the GPS to record the location and then there was a giant fireball,' she said.The chopper had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by an insurgent. Unaware of the extent of her injuries, Duckworth tried to help her fellow pilot, Dan Milberg, guide the stricken craft down. But as she struggled she wondered why the pedals were not responding to her commands. It never occurred to her that she no longer had any feet with which to press them. 'I did not realise my legs were already gone,' she said, with a lightness of tone that belied the full horror of what she was describing. 'I mean, how many times a day do you ever look down to check if you still have your legs?'The helicopter hit the Iraqi dirt and Milberg dragged her to a second aircraft for evacuation. Her injuries were so bad that Milberg mistakenly assumed she was dead. Instead she woke up eight days later at the famed Walter Reed military hospital back in the US. Her husband, Bryan Bowlsbey, had been at her side for days, repeating a mantra-like chant to her as she lay unconscious: 'You were injured. You are at Walter Reed. You are safe.'So began Duckworth's new life. Like thousands of injured Iraq veterans before and after her, she faced months of painful physical therapy and the mental anguish of coping with her loss. But for Duckworth, her energies gradually began to focus around veterans' rights and their health issues.Walter Reed is a regular stop on many politicians' rounds as they make trips both private and public to visit the wards. Soon Duckworth found herself making contacts with politicians such as Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Obama and Congressman Rahm Emanuel.It was Durbin in particular who persuaded the feisty and outspoken veteran to consider entering public life. It was a long process. By March 2005 she was taking her first steps on her artificial limbs. Learning to walk again was her priority. But by that summer Durbin wanted her to run for office as a Democrat in a local congressional seat in 2006.'I did not know if I wanted to put up with entering public life. It is not an easy thing to do,' she said. 'But then I realised that I spent all this time complaining about things not being done right for the troops. Why not change the laws yourself? I like challenges and I thought, "it's easy to complain, but it's not so easy to change things".' She made the decision to get involved. It could yet end with her as a high-profile face in the new Obama administration.Changing things is now Duckworth's focus. She ran for Congress in Illinois, eventually losing a nail-bitingly close race in a previously solid Republican seat. Then she became director of Illinois's Department of Veterans' Affairs, where she has raised the profile of veterans' needs, especially the problems they face getting jobs when they return from duty. She has testified before Congress regarding medical care and employment for returning veterans and spoke at this August's Democratic party convention.In 2006 she delivered an official Democratic response to one of President Bush's weekly radio addresses to the nation. In it she lambasted his policies on Iraq and the path the White House took in going to war. 'Instead of a plan or a strategy, we get shallow slogans like "mission accomplished" and "stay the course",' she said in the broadcast. Now political office in Washington may be beckoning her.Duckworth said she was flattered that her name was being bandied about, but insisted that she has had no talks with anyone about either a Senate seat or cabinet post. However, she does say she is willing to serve if asked.'I have been in the army for 18 years and when my commander-in-chief asks me to do something, I just grab my helmet,' she said. 'If I was willing to go to Iraq for Bush, I would be willing to serve in any capacity for Obama that he asked me to.'That sort of military attitude has defined Duckworth's life. Perhaps it also gave her the strength to overcome her injuries. She was born in Thailand, the daughter of an American father and a Thai-Chinese mother. She joined the army reserves at college and chose to train as a helicopter pilot because it was one of the few military jobs that could place a woman directly in combat. She later joined the National Guard as she took a day job as a manager with Rotary International.Amazingly, she displays no bitterness towards the war in Iraq. 'Anger is such a waste of emotion. It is not worth it. I am moving on ... I am not going to pick at that scab. I learned in hospital not to pick at scabs,' she said.Duckworth believes firmly that the war was based on false intelligence and that the American public was sold lies. But it still does not make her regret serving there. 'That does not diminish the honour and service of my buddies and me. I would go back to Iraq if I could,' she said.In her dreams, she still does. Duckworth has a recurring dream that is becoming less frequent now, but is often triggered by news reports from Iraq on television. In it she has her legs back and is flying her chopper again. 'I go to sleep and in my dream I wake up in Iraq. I get up and fly my missions. I live an entire day. At the end I am exhausted and I go to sleep. When I wake up I am in Illinois,' she said.The dream carries with it a mixed bag of emotions. 'I am happy because I am flying again and I have my legs and I am doing my job,' she said.But for Duckworth, her experiences on the battlefield have changed that job for ever. She now has a fresh mission, one that has already taken her into the heart of American political power, carried on new legs of steel.Presidents and presidential contenders whose military records helped propel them to the political front lineJohn McCainMcCain was a navy pilot from a distinguished American military family. He was shot down over Vietnam and spent five years as a prisoner of war. He was beaten and tortured and emerged a hero. His war record led him into politics and was enough to win him a Senate seat and this year the Republican nomination for president. John KerryThe Senator from Massachusetts was picked as the Democratic nominee for president in 2004. His record as a Vietnam veteran, on the dangerous Swift boat missions, should have shored up his credentials but instead came under fire and 'Swift Boating' entered the political dictionary as a description for dirty tactics.George BushThe elder Bush was a veteran of World War Two who flew dangerous bombing missions against the Japanese in the Pacific. On one mission his plane was hit by enemy fire and set ablaze. Bush guided the stricken craft to complete his bombing run and then bailed out. He was rescued by a submarine. Theodore RooseveltThe dashing two-term president of the early 20th century was an action hero come to life. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he rode to the White House on a wave of public support after his heroics in the Spanish-American war of 1898. Roosevelt is the only president to have been awarded the Medal of Honour, America's highest military honour.Abraham LincolnPerhaps America's most loved, famous and respected president, Lincoln is known for his civilian leadership and victory in the Civil War, though he did serve three short tours in the Black Hawk War of 1832 in Illinois, one of many conflicts with Indians as the country expanded westwards. He later wrote he had not had '... any such success in life which gave him so much satisfaction'.George WashingtonAmerica's founding president also led the country's military victory against the mighty British Empire. He led the colonists' Continental Army to victory in a war that lasted from 1775 to 1783. He was an inspiring leader and master tactician who also fought in the French and Indian War in the 1750s. He remains the only president to have been elected with 100 per cent of the electoral college votes.United StatesUS foreign policyBarack Obamaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

AJC report on McCain appearance at Chambliss rally ignored his criticism of Chambliss' "disgraceful" 2002 ad

In a November 14 article, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Sen. John McCain appeared at a rally the previous day in support of the re-election of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). But unlike articles about the event by The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and USA Today, the Journal-Constitution article did not note that McCain previously reportedly criticized as "disgraceful" and "reprehensible" a campaign ad Chambliss used during his 2002 race against then-Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA). The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee highlighted McCain's comments in a web ad released November 11. Chambliss' 2002 ad featured images of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and asserted that Cleland -- a decorated Vietnam War veteran and triple amputee -- "says he has the courage to lead. But the record proves... Max Cleland is just misleading." In a July 3, 2003, article (accessed from the Nexis database), The Washington Post reported that McCain "denounced" the ad "[i]mmediately," and quoted his assertion: "I've never seen anything like that ad. ... Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to a picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield -- it's worse than disgraceful, it's reprehensible." From the November 13 AP article: Democrats greeted McCain's arrival in Georgia with an Internet spot reviving remarks the Arizona senator made in condemning a tough ad Chambliss used in his 2002 campaign against Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, a triple amputee wounded in Vietnam. The ad questioned Cleland's national security credentials and flashed a picture of Osama bin Laden. "I've never seen anything like that ad," McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war, said in 2003. "Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to a picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield, it's worse than disgraceful, it's reprehensible." From the November 14 LA Times article: In a video released this week, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee reminded voters that McCain once criticized as "disgraceful" and "reprehensible" a 2002 Chambliss campaign ad that questioned the courage of then-opponent Max Cleland, a veteran who lost three limbs in Vietnam. From the November 13 NY Times article: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is spending its money reminding voters of Mr. Chambliss's attack on former Senator Max Cleland, the Democratic incumbent he defeated in 2002. The advertisement, still bitterly remembered in Democratic circles, showed pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, and criticized Mr. Cleland, who lost three limbs in Vietnam, for voting against homeland security measures. At the time, Mr. McCain was among those who defended Mr. Cleland, as the Democratic campaign committee's advertisement points out: ''I've never seen anything like that ad,'' Mr. McCain said. ''It's worse than disgraceful. It's reprehensible.'' From the November 14 USA Today article: The Martin campaign is trying to remind Georgia voters of McCain's condemnation of a television ad Chambliss aired in his successful 2002 race against then-senator Max Cleland, D-Ga. The ad questioned the national security expertise of Cleland, a triple-amputee Vietnam War veteran, and used images of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. At the time, McCain called the ad "worse than disgraceful. It's reprehensible."

German POW sketches for an English friend found in drawer

A collection of seven sketches drawn by a German prisoner of war for a British veteran who befriended him have been discovered in a bedroom cupboard.

For McCain, father's error holds lesson

WASHINGTON - On May 19, 1972, while John McCain was spending his fourth year as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, President Richard Nixon lashed out about McCain's father, Admiral John McCain.

Why is the NY Times continuing to ignore McCain's "own Bill Ayers"?

On October 4, The New York Times published a 2,140-word front-page article about Sen. Barack Obama's association with former Weather Underground member William Ayers -- at least the 18th Times article this year mentioning that association. But the Times has yet to mention, let alone devote an entire article to, Sen. John McCain's relationship with radio host and convicted Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy. Indeed, in its October 4 article, the Times quoted Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman denouncing Obama's association with Ayers but did not note that Chapman has described Liddy as McCain's "own Bill Ayers" and has written that "[i]f Obama needs to answer questions about Ayers, McCain has the same obligation regarding Liddy." The Times, moreover, quoted McCain criticizing Obama for his association with Ayers without noting that Chapman has faulted McCain for what Chapman described as McCain's "howling hypocrisy on the subject." As Media Matters for America has noted, Liddy served four and a half years in prison in connection with his conviction for his role in the Watergate break-in and the break-in at the office of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers. Liddy has acknowledged preparing to kill someone during the Ellsberg break-in "if necessary"; plotting to murder journalist Jack Anderson; plotting with a "gangland figure" to murder Howard Hunt to stop him from cooperating with investigators; plotting to firebomb the Brookings Institution; and plotting to kidnap "leftist guerillas" at the 1972 Republican National Convention -- a plan he outlined to the Nixon administration using terminology borrowed from the Nazis. (The murder, firebombing, and kidnapping plots were never carried out; the break-ins were.) During the 1990s, Liddy reportedly instructed his radio audience on multiple occasions on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents and also reportedly said he had named his shooting targets after Bill and Hillary Clinton. Liddy has donated $5,000 to McCain's campaigns since 1998, including $1,000 in February 2008. In addition, McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show during the presidential campaign, including as recently as May. An online video labeled "John McCain On The G. Gordon Liddy Show 11/8/07" includes a discussion between Liddy and McCain, whom Liddy described as an "old friend." During the segment, McCain praised Liddy's "adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great," said he was "proud" of Liddy, and said that "it's always a pleasure for me to come on your program." Additionally, in 1998, Liddy reportedly held a fundraiser at his home for McCain. Liddy was reportedly scheduled to speak at another fundraiser for McCain in 2000. The Charlotte Observer reported on January 23, 2000, that McCain's campaign vouched for Liddy's "character": His [McCain's] campaign officials said Liddy's character will appeal to many voters because he was following orders from President Nixon and kept silent afterward. "His (Liddy's) judgment might be in question, but I don't think his character is," said Ed Walker, the York County chairman of McCain's campaign. "He was following orders just like any good soldier, and he didn't tell on anybody. He felt like he was on a mission and kept his silence." Liddy's 2000 speech was reportedly canceled due to bad weather. Media Matters has documented that as of September 19, the Times had published 15 news articles and four opinion pieces referencing Obama's ties to Ayers. Since then, in addition to the October 4 article, the Times has published two more articles mentioning the association. But despite having apparently judged Chapman's opinions on the candidates' controversial associations as being newsworthy, the Times has ignored entirely McCain's relationship with Liddy, according to a search of the Nexis database from January 1 through October 4*. In his May 4 Tribune column, Chapman wrote: What McCain didn't mention is that he has his own Bill Ayers -- in the form of G. Gordon Liddy. Now a conservative radio talk-show host, Liddy spent more than 4 years in prison for his role in the 1972 Watergate burglary. That was just one element of what Liddy did, and proposed to do, in a secret White House effort to subvert the Constitution. Far from repudiating him, McCain has embraced him. How close are McCain and Liddy? At least as close as Obama and Ayers appear to be. In 1998, Liddy's home was the site of a McCain fundraiser. Over the years, he has made at least four contributions totaling $5,000 to the senator's campaigns -- including $1,000 this year. Last November, McCain went on his radio show. Liddy greeted him as "an old friend," and McCain sounded like one. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family," he gushed. "It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great." Which principles would those be? The ones that told Liddy it was fine to break into the office of the Democratic National Committee to plant bugs and photograph documents? The ones that made him propose to kidnap anti-war activists so they couldn't disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention? The ones that inspired him to plan the murder (never carried out) of an unfriendly newspaper columnist? Liddy was in the thick of the biggest political scandal in American history -- and one of the greatest threats to the rule of law. He has said he has no regrets about what he did, insisting that he went to jail as "a prisoner of war." All this may sound like ancient history. But it's from the same era as the bombings Ayers helped carry out as a member of the Weather Underground. And Liddy's penchant for extreme solutions has not abated. [...] Given Liddy's record, it's hard to see why McCain would touch him with a 10-foot pole. On the contrary, he should be returning his donations and shunning his show. Yet the senator shows no qualms about associating with Liddy -- or celebrating his service to their common cause. How does McCain explain his howling hypocrisy on the subject? He doesn't. I made repeated inquiries to his campaign aides, which they refused to acknowledge, much less answer. On this topic, the pilot of the Straight Talk Express would rather stay parked in the garage. That's an odd policy for someone who is so forthright about his rival's responsibility. McCain thinks Obama should apologize for associating with a criminal extremist. To which Obama might reply: After you. And in an August 22 blog post about an anti-Obama ad highlighting Obama's association with Ayers, Chapman wrote: But conservatives may not want to draw attention to the issue of ties to violent radicals -- since John McCain is longtime pals with convicted Watergate burglar Gordon Liddy, who once plotted a journalist's murder (which was never carried out) and has advocated the shooting of federal law enforcement agents. If Obama needs to answer questions about Ayers, McCain has the same obligation regarding Liddy. How about they both get started? From The New York Times' October 4 article "Obama and '60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths": Their relationship has become a touchstone for opponents of Mr. Obama, the Democratic senator, in his bid for the presidency. Video clips on YouTube, including a new advertisement that was broadcast on Friday, juxtapose Mr. Obama's face with the young Mr. Ayers or grainy shots of the bombings. In a televised interview last spring, Senator John McCain, Mr. Obama's Republican rival, asked, "How can you countenance someone who was engaged in bombings that could have or did kill innocent people?" [...] Since earning a doctorate in education at Columbia in 1987, Mr. Ayers has been a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the author or editor of 15 books, and an advocate of school reform. "He's done a lot of good in this city and nationally," Mayor Richard M. Daley said in an interview this week, explaining that he has long consulted Mr. Ayers on school issues. Mr. Daley, whose father was Chicago's mayor during the street violence accompanying the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the so-called Days of Rage the following year, said he saw the bombings of that time in the context of a polarized and turbulent era. "This is 2008," Mr. Daley said. "People make mistakes. You judge a person by his whole life." That attitude is widely shared in Chicago, but it is not universal. Steve Chapman, a columnist for The Chicago Tribune, defended Mr. Obama's relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., his longtime pastor, whose black liberation theology and "God damn America" sermon became notorious last spring. But he denounced Mr. Obama for associating with Mr. Ayers, whom he said the University of Illinois should never have hired. "I don't think there's a statute of limitations on terrorist bombings," Mr. Chapman said in an interview, speaking not of the law but of political and moral implications. "If you're in public life, you ought to say, 'I don't want to be associated with this guy,' " Mr. Chapman said. "If John McCain had a long association with a guy who'd bombed abortion clinics, I don't think people would say, 'That's ancient history.' "