The Honorable Benjamin Gilman
2449 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3220
29 July 2000
Representative Gilman,
Before I come to the purpose of this letter, I must say that, although you are not a representative of mine, I find it a great honour to have a distinguished person such as yourself serving in the United States House of Representatives. Now, onto why I am writing a letter to you ... last year, the POW/MIA cause became very dear to my heart, and I am doing what I can to gain an accounting for those left behind. I have adopted several missing heroes, one of them being Ronald Wayne Forrester, a 1Lt in the Marine Corps who has been MIA in Vietnam since 27 December 1972.
Forrester was co-pilot to pilot Captain Ralph Chipman on a mission over Vietnam on 27 Dec. They were flying a Grumman A6 Intruder, and for some unknown reason, the plane never returned from the mission. The last contact made with the men was over the target area, and since that day, no one (on the American side, at least) has heard from either man. Forrester was thirty-five when he went missing, and he left behind a wife and children. I know that I am not alone in saying that we, as American citizens, must do all we can to obtain an accounting for those men and women who did not tear up their draft cards, who went and fought in our most controversial war, those men and women who deserve to be back on American soil, alive or dead.
I realize that you have done so much humanitarian work, and have seen to it personally that American hostages in different countries have been released. Perhaps once again you will be willing to use your impressive reputation, your influence, your good heart, and you role as Chair of the House International Relations Committee to help me and countless others in our quest to return heroes such as Forrester back where they belong -- on American soil. Their families and friends deserve an answer, and I won't give up until they do. Thank you for reading this, and God bless.
Respectfully,
Stacey N. Jones