National League of Families in danger of closing

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Nearly 40 years ago, Ann Mills Griffiths joined the National League of POW/MIA Families because her brother, James, was listed as missing in action while fighting in the Vietnam War. He was a lieutenant commander and pilot in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

For the last 30 years, Griffiths has been serving as executive director of the organization. Its mission: to obtain the release of all prisoners, the fullest possible accounting for the missing, and repatriation of all recoverable remains of those who died serving the United States during the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia.

Unfortunately, the League may be facing extinction. Dependent on donations, the not-for-profit organization's funds are dwindling. Sustaining an office in the Washington, D.C., area costs the league about $12,000 per month, an amount that doesn't include creating public awareness brochures, sending delegations to Southeast Asia, and sending speakers where needed across the United States.

"Right now, we don't have enough money to survive," Griffiths said. "Without a national office, we can't be effective in our nation's capital. And our board has voted that if we don't have enough funds by the end of December to sustain our office for six months, we'll have to close."

Formed in 1970, the League of Families has worked with The American Legion, and U.S. and foreign officials to help account for 837 Americans since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The League also sought the help of a flag manufacturer to design the POW/MIA flag seen all over the country.

"We developed the flag, and it has been recognized by Congress and successive presidents as originated by the League, but because we wanted it distributed as widely as possible to signal Hanoi and improve the treatment of our POWs, we never trademarked it," Griffiths said. "It didn't occur to us that we'd be seeking answers for 40 years." [my emphasis]

The league, with a voting membership of about 1,000, and many more veteran and public supporters, doesn't want to leave the fate of America's POW/MIAs solely in the hands of the U.S. and foreign governments. It is seeking donations in order to stay afloat, continue to monitor accounting efforts, and provide the same service - and results - that it has provided over four decades. Only 10 percent of the donations it receives go toward administrative and fund-raising costs.

"We've been doing this not only for our missing loved ones, but as a service to our country for many years, trying to get our unreturned veterans home," Griffiths said. "Without us as a constant reminder and steady presence, they could fall through the cracks, and we can't let that happen. We need help, and we're trying everything we can think of to help us continue."

As recently as the 2008 National Convention, The American Legion reaffirmed its support for the fullest accounting of POW/MIAs from the Vietnam War. Resolution No. 20 calls on "the U.S. Government to encourage the SRV (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other Vietnamese leaders to immediately authorize subordinates in all ministries to locate and make available records related to Americans still missing and unaccounted for from the war between our countries, including case-specific records on U.S. personnel lost in areas of Laos and Cambodia controlled during wartime by Vietnamese forces."