In memory of a man who stopped to remember

Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ, USA

In memory of a man who stopped to remember
Jul. 27, 2008 12:00 AM

A few weeks back, I considered taking the time to pause and remember a local man who tried to get the rest of us to pause and remember.

But something must have come up.

Something always seems to come up.

It's the times. Technology has made us impatient. We no longer enjoy pausing. Or remembering. We log on, tune in, dial up and speed off like drag racers, leaving in our wake a swirling cloud of historical dust, memory, perspective and people.

One of them is retired U.S. Army Col. Earl Hopper Sr., who died this month at the age of 86.

Hopper was a highly decorated World War II veteran whom I met in the early 1990s. We spoke several times over the years. In May 1992, I contacted him after having attended a campaign stop by the first President Bush at a local American Legion post. Sen. John McCain was with the president. I called Hopper because this post had a photograph of Hopper's son, Earl Jr., on a wall.

The military jet piloted by Earl Jr. was shot down over Hanoi in 1967. The young pilot ejected safely, and signals from his manually operated radio supposedly were picked up three days later, but he was never found.

His father came to believe that the government had abandoned his son and other prisoners of war and those missing in action from the Vietnam War. Back in 1992, I asked Hopper why he hadn't attended the Bush event.

"I wouldn't cross the street to see Bush or McCain," he told me. "Neither one has done a thing to help solve the problem of our POWs and MIAs. In fact, they've hurt things. It started with Reagan and has continued on with Bush. As for McCain, well, he just tailed along."

He adds, "There simply is overwhelming evidence that (POWs and MIAs still in captivity) exist. The Pentagon, State Department and National Security Council know it. High-level government officials have admitted it. We simply must not forget these men."

For a long time, people like Hopper were written off and marginalized as zealots or conspiracy freaks. But they also were our conscience, and because of them we didn't forget.

"No one ever accused Earl of being shy," said his widow, Patty. "He'd tell you exactly what was on his mind and that's just about all he asked of other people. A lot of politicians don't speak that way."

Hopper knew that the act of "remembering" comes with a question: "Why?" Which leads to history. Which prompts memory. Which provides perspective. Which can keep us from making the same mistakes over and over again.

Hopper's son was listed as missing in action until 1982, when he was officially declared dead. As the years passed, Hopper kept trying to remind us of America's lost and (in his mind) forgotten soldiers and fliers. And through organizations like the National League of POW/MIA Families and Task Force Omega, of which he was a founder, he eventually got to make the argument in person.

At the end of the Persian Gulf War, Gen. Colin Powell, who was then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went out of his way to say, "For those American families who still anxiously await word of a loved one missing in action or held prisoner, I make this pledge: In this war, it won't be over until we get a full and immediate accounting of all our POWs and MIAs."

That same policy is evident in the current war. It might be worth remembering that we have folks like the late Earl Hopper Sr. to thank for it. If only we had the time.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8978.