Veterans Conclude 37-Day Vigil for MIAs

A Medal of Honor winner said “the fight’s not over” as he and other veterans and supporters Friday ended a 37-day vigil in a bamboo cage for American soldiers missing in action.

About 39 people, including veterans of three wars, their family members and friends, spent time in the cage in the last 37 days.

The vigils, which began Aug. 13, ended on national POW-MIA Recognition Day.

In a lakefront ceremony, veterans in uniform and friends and families lighted candles and released 37 balloons, one for every Wisconsin native unaccounted for in the Vietnam War.

‘Can’t Give Up Hope’

“My son has been missing for 20 years, but I can’t quite give up hope,” said William Arnold of West Allis. His son, William Tamm Arnold, was last seen on Nov. 18, 1967.

“What if, by some remote chance, he did come back, and I had said, ‘You are dead,’ ” Arnold asked. “I just can’t give up hope until we know more.”

The cage is said to be a copy of the ones used to hold up to four prisoners.

Gary Wetzel, the last person to enter the cage, called on President Reagan and members of Congress to continue the fight to bring home those who died and any who may still be held in Southeast Asia.

“The fight’s not over,” Wetzel said. “We’ve got to keep looking forward, keep asking questions, keep getting answers.

Ribbons Around Trees

“Sometime, somewhere, somehow, some day, someone will emerge and ask the question ‘Why?’ ” said Wetzel, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. “That’s why we cannot forget.”

In Kearney, Neb., meanwhile, residents tied ribbons around trees and demonstrated on the steps of the Buffalo County Courthouse to remember POWs and MIAs.

And in Washington, a black flag commemorating prisoners of war and those missing in action flew over the White House, State Department, the Pentagon, the Veterans Administration building and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.