Hall of Heroes
Charles James Ramsay
"Electronic Rubbing" courtesy of The VVMF--The Virtual Wall
Hall of Heroes
Charles James Ramsay
"Electronic Rubbing" courtesy of The VVMF--The Virtual Wall
RAMSAY, CHARLES JAMES
Name: Charles James Ramsay
Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps
Unit: HQ/HQ Battalion, 3rd Marine Division
Date of Birth: 08 August 1932
Home City of Record: Newark NJ
Loss Date: 21 January 1968
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 170013N 1070543E (YD230810)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: O1D
Refno: 1001
Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 1998.
Other Personnel In Incident: William A. Kimsey (missing)
REMARKS: RADIO CONTACT LOST
SYNOPSIS: On January 21, 1968, an O1D aircraft (tail #57-2930) from "Catkillers" (220th Recon Aviation Company) departed the Hue/Phu Bai airfield on a combat support mission (the Marines describe the mission as an
"NGF mission over North Vietnam") over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The crew of the aircraft consisted of U.S. Army WO1 William A. Kimsey Jr., pilot; and U.S. Marine Capt. Charles J. Ramsey, aerial observer.
The aircraft was directing Naval gunfire on an active anti-aircraft site when radio contact was lost. Just prior to radio failure, WO Kimsey reported that their aircraft had been hit. A Forward Air Controller (FAC) on station
conducted a search for several hours without locating the crash site or making contact with the crew.
Defense Department records list a slight variance in latitude and longitude location of loss for Kimsey and Ramsay, but the U.S. Army confirms that both men were last known to be at grid coordinates YD230810, and that there is no reason to suspect either of the crew bailed out.
Bill Kimsey had been 21 for two weeks when his O1D aircraft was shot down just into North Vietnam near the DMZ. Ramsey was an "old man" of 35. There has been no further word of him or of Charles Ramsay.
Although there is no substantive information on the crew of the O1D, evidence continues to mount that some Americans are still held prisoner of war. There are nearly 2500 Americans who did not return from Southeast Asia at the end of the war. Some were known to have been taken prisoner. Most can be accounted for by the communist governments of the region.
The Vietnamese have continually raised the issue of accountability in the context of aid and/or diplomatic and trade relations, but the U.S. Government has been reluctant to negotiate on this basis, preferring instead to maintain a strict "humanitarian" level of discussion, which has resulted in the return of a few remains, but no American prisoners of war.
Our American soldiers go to war prepared to be wounded, taken prisoner, even prepared to die. They do not go prepared to be abandoned. If there is even ONE American alive, we must do everything possible to bring him home.
If you've ever seen the painting "Reflections" of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, you've seen the man standing there with his hand on the wall mourning his dead father or brother who was killed. What he doesn't see is the reflection from the other side, showing that relative, with His hand on the wall, touching the hand of his survivor. That painting inspired the following story.
FROM THE OTHER SIDE
By Patrick CamunesAt first there was no place for us to go to until someone put up that Black Granite Wall. Now, everyday and night, my Brothers and Sisters wait to see the many people from places afar file in front of this Wall. Many stopping briefly and many for hours and some that come on a regular basis. It was hard at first, not that it's gotten any easier, but it seems that many of the attitudes towards that war that we were involved in have changed. I can only pray that the ones on the other side have learned something and more Walls as this one needn't be built.
Several members of my unit and many that I did not recognize have called me to the Wall by touching my name that is engraved upon it. The tears aren't necessary but are hard even for me to hold back. Don't feel guilty for not being with me, my Brothers. This was my destiny as it is yours, to be on that side of the Wall. Touch the Wall, my Brothers, so that we can share in the memories that we had. I have learned to put the bad memories aside and remember only the pleasant times that we had together. Tell our other Brothers out there to come and visit me, not to say Good Bye but to say Hello and be together again, even for a short time and to ease that pain of loss that we all share.
Today, an irresistible and loving call comes from the Wall. As I approach I can see an elderly lady and as I get closer I recognize her........its Momma! As much as I have looked forward to this day, I have also regretted it because I didn't know what reaction I would have. Next to her, I suddenly see my wife and immediately think how hard it must have been for her to come to this place and my mind floods with the pleasant memories of 30 years past. There's a young man in a military uniform standing with his arm around her......My God!..... it's.....it has to be my son. Look at him trying to be the man, without a tear in his eye. I yearn to tell him how proud I am, seeing him standing tall, straight and proud in his uniform.
Momma comes closer and touches the Wall and I feel the soft and gentle touch I had not felt in so many years. Dad has crossed to this side of the Wall and through our touch, I try to convey to her that Dad is doing fine and is no longer suffering or feeling pain. I see my wife's courage building as she sees Momma touch the Wall and she approaches and lays her hand on my waiting hand. All the emotions, feelings and memories of three decades past flash between our touch and I tell her that it's all right. Carry on with your life and don't worry about me......I can see as I look into her eyes that she hears and understands me and a big burden has been lifted from her.
I watch as they lay flowers and other memories of my past. My lucky charm that was taken from me and sent to her by my CO, a tattered and worn teddy bear that I can barely remember as I grew up as a child and several medals that I had earned and were presented to my wife. One of them is the Combat Infantry Badge that I am very proud of and I notice that my son is also wearing this medal. I had earned mine in the jungles of Vietnam and he had probably earned his in the deserts of Iraq.
I can tell that they are preparing to leave and I try to take a mental picture of them together, because I don't know when I will see them again. I wouldn't blame them if they were not to return and can only thank them that I was not forgotten. My wife and Momma near the Wall for one final touch and so many years of indecision, fear and sorrow are let go. As they turn to leave I feel my tears that had not flowed for so many years, form as if dew drops on the other side of the Wall.
They slowly move away with only a glance over their shoulder. My son suddenly stops and slowly returns. He stands straight and proud in front of me and snaps a salute. Something makes him move to the Wall and he puts his hand upon the Wall and touches my tears that had formed on the face of the Wall and I can tell that he senses my presence there and the pride and the love that I have for him. He falls to his knees and the tears flow from his eyes and I try my best to reassure him that it's all right and the tears do not make him any less of a man.
As he moves back wiping the tears from his eyes, he silently mouths, God Bless you, Dad...... God Bless, YOU, Son...... We WILL meet someday but in the meanwhile, go on your way...... There is no hurry..... There is no hurry at all. As I see them walk off in the distance, I yell out to THEM and EVERYONE there today, as loud as I can......... THANKS FOR REMEMBERING and as others on this side of the Wall join in..... I notice that the U.S. Flag, that so proudly flies in front of us everyday, is flapping and standing proudly, straight out in the wind today....
...... THANK YOU ALL FOR REMEMBERING!!!
At a loss for words? Not sure what to tell the President or your Congressman? Well, here are three examples that you can use in their entirety (just copy and paste), or use parts of them to construct your own letter.
Example #1:
"Dear Senator, what is being done to determine the fate of SFC Daniel R Phillips-USASF, who was last seen fighting his way through the perimeter during the seige of LangVei on 2/7/68? No remains were ever found although there was an intensive search of the area later on, and no one saw him fall. There is no evidence that he was killed and he is known to have been capable of surviving under harsh conditions. Please advise me of any action that is being taken by you or any other elected appointed official to determine his fate.
In the event there is nothing being done, please explain why not, and tell me how you personally plan to correct this and prevent it from ever happening again."
Example #2:
"Dear Sir, I am attaching the pertinent information on Col Harold Kahler, of Lincoln, Nebraska. Col Kahler has been missing in action since 1969!! We want to make you aware that his family, his friends, and myself, one among many to take up the Cause, find this an outrage, and completely unacceptable. I demand that you take a bit of time to look into this matter--to help us find the Col, and if not to return him safely to his family, then to put this issue to rest once and for all. It is appalling to think you have given up on a human life. An American human life! One who bravely and selflessly fought for YOUR freedom.
I shall tiredlessly continue to inquire in his behalf until my questions have been satisfied."
Example #3:
"Dear Sir, What is being done to determine the fate of Col Harold Kahler, USAF, who was last seen over Sam Neua, Laos, June 14, 1969?
This is an American pilot who has remained on the MIA list for 28 years. Doesn't his devotion to his country award him the priviledge and honor of being buried in his own homeland soil if he is in fact deceased? Should, by any miracle, Kahler remain alive, should he be left behind in a foreign country knowing his country abandoned him? Do his family and loved ones not deserve to know the fate of their son, brother, friend and loved one nor be allowed to put a closure to this after so many years?
Please advise me of any action that is being taken by you or any other elected or appointed official to determine his fate. In the event there is nothing being done, please explain why not, and tell me how you personally plan to correct this and prevent it from ever happening again."
Actions of Our Elected Officials:
April 3, 1973: Pathet Lao (Laotian Communist) forces declare they are holding more than 100 American POWs and are prepared to give a full accounting of them The U.S. government responds 9 days later declaring they are all dead -- without ever talking to the Laotians about the POWs they admit holding!
1970-1976: After the French pay an unspecified sum of money to the Vietnamese, the communists release POWs captured in 1954! The North Vietnamese had claimed all of then had died.
August 19, 1986: The Wall Street Journal reports the White House knew in 1981 Vietnam wanted to sell an unspecified number of live POWs for $4 billion. The White House decided the offer was genuine -- and ignored it!
September 30, 1986: The New York Times reports a Pentagon panel estimates up to 100 live American POWs are held in Vietnam alone.
October 7, 1986: CIA Director William Casey says: "Look, the nation knows they (the POWs)are there, everybody knows they are there, but there's no grounds well of support for getting them out. Certainly, you are not suggesting we pay for them, surely not saying we could do anything like that with no public support."
January 1988: A cable from the Joint Casualty Resolution Center states that during General Vessey's visit to Hanoi, "The Vietnamese people were prepared to turn over 7 or 8 live American POWs if Vessey told then what they wanted to hear. All the prospective returnees were allegedly held in a location on the Lao side of the border."
September 1990: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Interim Report on POW/MIA's in Southeast Asia concluded that despite public assurances in 1973 that no POWs remained in the region, the Defense Department ". . . in April 1974 concluded beyond a doubt that several hundred American POWs remained in captivity in Southeast Asia."
October 1990: Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach admits Vietnam still holds American POWs but is willing to release "as many as 10 live American POWs." His offer, like others before it, is ignored by Secretary of State James Baker III.
February 1991: Colonel Millard Peck, Chief of the Pentagon's Special Office for Prisoners of War and Missing in Action, resigns in protest of being ordered by policy makers in the POW/MIA Inter-Agency Group not to investigate live-sighting reports of American POWs!
April 25, 1991: Senator Bob Smith addresses the Senate and reveals that, of more than 1,400 eyewitness sightings of live POWs, NONE has ever received an on-site investigation!
May 23, 1991: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Examination of U.S. Policy Toward POW/MIAs concludes that the U.S. has ignored thousands of American POWs, and left them to rot in Soviet slave labor camps and North Korean and Vietnamese prisons. "Any evidence that suggested an MIA might be alive was uniformly and arbitrarily rejected."
Summer 1991: A flood of new evidence of live POWs pours from Southeast Asia: pictures, handwriting samples, hair samples, blood samples, fingerprints, foot-prints, maps and other physical proof. The Bush administration disregards the evidence and attempts to discredit it by rumor and innuendo. Some of the photos are scientifically validated -- and have never been scientifically disproven!
All these facts are a matter of public record and clearly indicate that we have some serious problems in the POW/MIA arena that our elected officials refuse to acknowledge.
Here is a copy of my letter to President Clinton, Senators, and House of Representatives:
Dear ---, I am attaching the pertinent information on Capt. Charles J. Ramsey, of Newark, New Jersey. Capt. Ramsay has been missing in action since 1968!! I want to make you aware that his family, his friends, and myself, one among many to take up the Cause, find this an outrage, and completely unacceptable. I demand that you take a bit of time to look into this matter--to help us find the Capt, and if not to return him safely to his family, then to put this issue to rest once and for all. It is appalling to think you have given up on a human life. An American human life! One who bravely and selflessly fought for YOUR freedom.
I shall tiredlessly continue to inquire in his behalf until my questions have been satisfied.
Thank You,
Timothy Jay Beeck, Sr.
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