Six Representatives of Ex-POWs Get Medals on White House Lawn

President Reagan presented medals Friday to former prisoners of three wars and pledged to continue efforts to bring home any other Americans who may still be held.

“We write no final chapters here,” Reagan told the audience of approximately 1,000 who attended the ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

‘Not Forgotten’

“Our country has not forgotten former comrades who are still missing, those who fought in Korea or Vietnam and have not returned home or been accounted for,” the President said. “We must be faithful to them and their families and demand a full accounting of the fate of those Americans who are missing in action.

“If Americans are being held against their will, we must bring them home,” he said.

Repeating his often-expressed view of the Vietnam War, Reagan told veterans: “On the battlefield you knew only victory, only to have your victory lost by a failure of political will. Nevertheless, you did honor to America.”

Reagan presented the medals to two prisoners from World War II, two from the Korean War and two from the Vietnam War as representatives of the many who deserve national honors.

The Defense Department began awarding the medals in April. They were authorized by Congress in the defense authorization act for the 1986 fiscal year.

Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci told the crowd: “This is indeed a hard medal to earn. We hope that in the future we will not have to give out any more of these medals.”

Recipients Named

The recipients were:

--Sgt. Albert J. Bland of Joppa, Md., retired from the Air Force, who served in the Pacific theater during World War II.

--Lt. Charles M. Williams of Gaithersburg, Md., a retired Air Force officer who served in the European theater in World War II.

--Cpl. Charles A. Burton of Port Deposit, Md., who served with the Army in Korea.

--Col. Jesse Booker of Beaufort, S. C., a Marine Corps officer who Carlucci said was the first to be shot down in Korea and suffered one of the longest confinements of that war.

--Col. Floyd James Thompson of Key West, Fla., an Army officer described as the first to be shot down in Vietnam and the longest-held prisoner of that war.

--Cmdr. Everett Alvarez of Rockville, Md., a Navy aviator who Carlucci said was shot down over North Vietnam and endured the second-longest confinement of the war.