Many battles have been fought, throughout the years, with the soil drinking the blood of humans on both sides of every battle. Each devoted to the cause; each given to the defense of values they believe are worthy of that defense.
Wars always begin with the appeal of the citizenry's sense of patriotism — a blinding devotion to the notion that the cause is just. The belief that it is a cause for which one's life could be worthily dispensed.
It represents a blind faith in those who govern, that they're honorable men who care only for "American principles and interests". Sadly, the leaders of the U.S. today, believe that it is in keeping with "American principles and interests" to expand the role of the U.S. military to invade, overthrow, and occupy several sovereign countries around the world — all in the name of "Democracy", a word that is foreign to the true form of American Constitutional government.
One such victim of patriotic manipulation was Steve Kiba.
Kiba served as the radio operator on an unarmed B-29 during the Korean War. He was shot down in the dead of winter and captured by the communist Chinese.
Accused of violating Chinese airspace, working with the CIA, and engaging in "germ warfare", he was subject to countless hours and endless days interrogation, re-education, confinement, starvation, sleep deprivation, and various other forms of torture.
Following a mock "trial", he was found guilty by the Chinese government of war crimes and sentenced to four years imprisonment, but was finally released after the war ended.
He reminisces of his bewilderment, anger, and sense of betrayal upon learning that he and his fellow comrades had been essentially abandoned by the government for which he so bravely fought.
"Upon capture all prisoners-of-war are told that for them the war is over; but, in reality, their war is just beginning, and it never really ends. In most cases, it is you standing alone, face to face, against the entire enemy nation against whom you were fighting. You no longer have the support of the strongest and greatest military machine on earth.
"We Americans boast that 'we never leave one of our own behind', so you just know and have confidence that your beloved government and your people will do everything humanly possible to extricate you from your terrible predicament. The thought of being left behind never enters your mind because you are sure that you have the prayers and moral support of your loved ones back home. Your faith in God and your trust in and love of your country instill in you the will to resist and continue to fight on; but, even so, there are times when you wonder if anyone knows that you are alive and if anyone even cares.
"After experiencing the horrors of internment in some filthy foreign hellhole and then learning that your own government betrayed, abandoned, and left fellow prisoners behind, you question if they really cared whether or not you were ever released. You become so angry that you determine to do whatever you can to inform the public about this dishonorable betrayal, and you pray that fellow Americans will join you in your efforts to secure the release of these unfortunate forgotten souls from their seemingly endless existence of pain and agony so that they might soon return to their beloved America."
I wonder, when they finally return to their "beloved America", will they recognize her?
To all of the Steve Kibas yet living imprisoned in Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere, my heart goes out to you. And though you may never read these words, it is my prayer that you will return home safe. I assure you that you are not forgotten by all.
And for those who have died at the hands of the captors, may we all learn from your plight. May we always remember that it is the rich man's war and the poor man's battle. That the true fight for freedom begins in times of peace, not in war. May we remember that it starts in the livingroom, not in the trenches.
The weapons of our warfare are the pen and the script. The letter to the editor or the senator. Our ammunition is the documented truth. We need not camouflage, for nothing must be hidden.
Our resolve must be steadfast. We cannot compromise. We must be committed enough to die — but only when we know for what we are truly fighting.
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