Unresolved Mysteries: The Myth of the Missing Warrior and the Government Deceit Theme in the Popular Captivity Culture of the Vietnam War

The impoverished life-world of outsiders

“…A summarization of this body of work falls into three broad categories: Research dealing with sexual abuse of children (Mikkelsen, Guthiel, & Emens, 1992), victims of wife assault (Dutton and Hemphill, 1992), and information deception as discussed under manipulation theory. The works include the self in everyday reality ( Rosie, 1993;Jacobs, 1992 ), governmental deception ( Doyle, 1992;Bordua, 199 1)) and professions and ethics (Nolan, 199 1; Solovey & Duncan, 1992;Friedman, 1992).…”

Adult Children of Fathers Missing in Action (MIA): An Examination of Emotional Distress, Grief, and Family Hardiness*

“…When the Vietnam War ended militarily in 1973, there were 2,453 men listed as missing in action (MIA) (Doyle, 1992). “A military service member is in a missing (missing in action) status if not at his duty location due to apparent involuntary reasons as a result of hostile action and his location is not known” (Department of Defense POW/MIA Newsletter, 1996, p. 5).…”

Commemorating a suspended death: Missing soldiers and national solidarity in Israel

“…A “subculture with near religious overtones” has evolved whose members view any attempt to foreclose the issue as an act of betrayal (Keating 1994:245). Magnified by fiction and movies that center on MIAs as icons of veterans' victimization (Sturken 1997:88), this mythic ambience has helped to sustain public support for their cause (Doyle 1992; Franklin 1991). Similarly, Keren Tenenboim‐Weinblatt (2008) analyzes how techniques of nonclosure practiced by Israeli journalists in their continuing coverage of the Arad case have contributed to the consolidation and retention of the cultural myth that Arad is still alive.…”

“…Some studies of missing soldiers in other militaries, most noteworthy, the U.S. military following the Vietnam War, present a conflictual relationship between the soldiers' families and the government. U.S. families, supported by various veterans' lobbies and localized segments of the wider public, have become increasingly confrontational, insisting that soldiers remain alive in Indochina, some still in captivity, and that the government has not taken the necessary measures to retrieve them (Doyle 1992; Franklin 1991). At the time of writing, 812 soldiers still missing from the Vietnam War have been given “Presumptive Finding of Death” status (Defense Prisoner of War–Missing Personnel Office [DPMO] 2006), but the U.S. government and the majority of the public seem to have abandoned the belief that any have survived.…”