From the November 2005 Idaho Observer:

Whereabouts known and left to rot

Family’s 50-year search for POW brother reveals secret that should put an end to civilian government’s use, abuse of America’s sons and daughters to fight its dirty corporate wars

By The Idaho Observer

Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) have a lot in common: Both were born into privileged families, both served with controversial distinction in Vietnam (McCain an alleged prisoner of war), both entered politics in the 70s, both became senators, both have run for president and both of them have played every dirty trick in the political bag to make sure American POWs DO NOT come home. While we cannot lay all the blame for U.S. POW policy at these two politicians’ feet (every president since FDR has been fully aware of the situation), they have been the modern-day point men to continue the 60-year betrayal of our men and women in uniform and their families. It should also be noted that the only president since FDR sympathetic to the POW situation was President Kennedy, but he was assassinated before he could extricate them from the tangled web of U.S. foreign policy. Missing,

Presumed Dead On October 28, 2005, with the endorsement of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), "Missing, Presumed Dead: The Search for America’s POWs" was shown by invitation to members of congress and the media in Washington, D.C. About 50 staffers and reporters from South Korean and Japanese (no American) media attended the showing. Rep. Paul also saw to it that copies of this documentary DVD were delivered to every member of Congress and the Senate. The capital to finance this undertaking was derived from private donations from veterans’ groups and sales of the DVD.

Missing, Presumed Dead is the story of Bob Dumas’ 50-year search for his youngest brother Roger who was taken prisoner by North Korea in 1950. Dumas volunteered for two extra tours of duty in Korea to keep looking for his brother and two other Dumas brothers also served during the Korean War. Since returning home, Dumas has kept the promise her made to his mother that he would find Roger. In the process of looking under every rock, evidence that Roger was alive would surface every now and then.

By the 70s it was painfully apparent that it was the U.S. government—not the North Korean government—that was preventing Roger’s rescue and return. Further investigations have revealed a political conspiracy that caused the U.S. government to abandon 386 Korean POWs.

Furthermore, it has been proven over and over again, through experiences and documents, that the U.S. government has been abandoning our sons and daughters as a matter of political policy since WWII. The federally-coined phrase, "We leave no man left behind," is just one more punch line in a long list of cruel jokes in the land of government "of the people, by the people and for the people."

Produced by Bob’s nephew Bill Dumas, this excellently scripted and directed 65-minute documentary is narrated by Edward Asner. It does not matter how gung ho you are about government or military service, you cannot escape the feeling that we have all been betrayed in a huge, deeply personal and national way. An additional 155 minutes of interviews is also available if you want to gain a deeper understanding of the depths to which pointmen in D.C. have been sinking to protect this horrible top secret.

In the 90s, Reps. Bob Dohrnan (R-CA) and Bob Smith (D-NH) tried to bring the POW issue to light. Both of their political careers met with sudden death. Senators John Kerry and John McCain have had very successful political careers and, as Missing, Presumed Dead will prove, both have used their influence to keep the POW issue in the dark.

Senator McCain was a POW. His prisoner status is highly suspect, complete with special treatment as an admiral’s son and making numerous propaganda statements for the Viet Cong. According to Dumas, McCain had his POW records sealed—forever.

I have a dream

According to recent polls, President Bush’s approval rating fell below 40 percent—and continues to fall and; about 72 percent of Americans are not happy about the direction our country has taken. Will we, as a nation, follow an increasingly unpopular president down the road that promises war without end or will we finally tell him and his administration to fight the Muslims (or the Koreans, or the Latinos or the Africans, or the Russians or the Chinese) by themselves?

I have a dream that Americans are about to wise up to the fact that, to the fascists in power, we are merely resources to be poked, prodded, exploited and discarded at their pleasure and convenience. I have a dream that thousands of us, armed with Missing, Presumed Dead and Beyond Treason will go out to military recruiters all across the land to show them why they should not trick our children into military service. I have a dream that thousands more, equally armed, will go out there and show this material to 16-20-year-olds so that they no longer view volunteering to fight and die for these ungrateful monsters as an option and; to resist being drafted is a patriotic duty.

What happens when no one will follow Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice into hell? Will the Joint Chiefs mutiny? Will Congress call the armed forces home and pass a bill to make sure none of our people are left behind?

HRes 123

House Resolution 123, endorsed by Rep. Paul, would create a select committee that would investigate all unresolved POW issues from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War and the Gulf War(s).

Every member of Congress and the Senate, especially Kerry and McCain, are aware of this issue. Now, we need to show America exactly what Capital Hill has seen and let every one of our representatives in government know that millions of us are aware and awaiting positive and compassionate public moves from them.

It appears time and circumstance are lining up for an opportunity for the people to put aside their differences long enough to realize that, in the eyes of government, we are all equal—equally expendable.