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Muhammad Ali & Arnold L. Beizer President of
Let Freedom Ring Inc.
 
 
 


"Elephants Never Forget...Don't You Forget Our POWs/MIAs"!
 

 


Not to Be Forgotten - Video

Memorial Day is the holiday observed to honor by remembrance all of those men and women who have died in our nation's service.  But it is also their due that we realize that each of them has their own story, that they each have loved ones that grieve and mark their absence, that they deserve to remembered more than only one day of each year. 

One such story deserves telling today because it was 45 years ago on this date that Air Force jet pilot. David Louis Hrdlicka, USAF, flew his last mission for the country that he loved. 

It was on May 18th, 1965 that according to Carol Hrdlicka, David's devoted wife, her husband was shot down over Laos. David was seen to bail out and land safely. He was photographed in captivity of the Pathet Lao and was extensively documented as a Prisoner of War over a long period of time.  The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) includes him on their 'Last Known Alive' list and he is termed a discrepancy case because he has yet to be accounted for.

It was thought that he would be returned in Operation Homecoming in 1973 when 577 fellow POW's were released by their captors.  There is documentation of Henry Kissinger speaking later that summer about David's imprisonment, so why wasn't he brought home?  His whereabouts were being tracked for years, well into his second decade of imprisonment, but somehow the politics of repatriation kept getting in the way. 

To David's wife, Carol, there were admonishments by government officials from the start. She was requested to keep quiet for his sake and safety, followed by strings of half truths and even outright lies over the years.  She believes the DIA presumably hoped she would give up and go away or at least she would move on to another agency in her quest for answers, only to pass her down the line of bureaucracy. Being well beyond the argument of whether the U.S. should have been involved in the conflict of SE Asia, the lessons learned are to not allow those in power to expect Americans to blindly believe all they want us to hear. That to be true to the soldiers and their memory, as well as to ourselves, we must expect proof of what they say and to accept nothing less.

Col. David Hrdlicka chose to serve as a US Air Force fighter pilot and did so with honor.  He and his family still serve. His toddler children have grown to adulthood. They have all wondered, for every day of those 45 years, is he still alive....as they eat, sleep and breathe, they ask themselves, is he hurting, is he hungry, is he wondering where we are and if we've forgotten him? 

This family doesn't seek sympathy and certainly doesn't want public pity. This story is no more special than that of the thousands of other servicemen and women who have given their lives for America's freedom.  They each have their unique story. The circumstances are all as different as the individuals involved but the outcome is the same.  They hope they aren't forgotten.

POW/MIA Affiliation Muhammad Ali to Vietnam

Let Freedom Ring has for going on two decades promoted the cause of Freedom and "championed" the plight of America's Prisoners of War (POWs) and those Missing in Action (MIAs).

In 1992, Let Freedom Ring planned and promoted a charity benefit music concert to highlight the POW/MIA issue and to draw the world's attention to the fact that thousands of American servicemen have never returned from wars (WW II, the Korean War, Vietnam and Desert Storm).

Celebrities gathered together in Philadelphia with World Champion boxers, including World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali, former boxing champion Jake LaMotta ("The Raging Bull"), Alexis Arguello, Ernie Shavers, Tim Witherspoon and many more boxing greats to champion the cause of Freedom.

Renowned singer/songwriter, John Whitehead, famous for his inspirational message song, "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" was joined by Rita, Israel's Queen of Song, and a host of other celebrated artists, to perform for the POW/MIA families at Philadelphia's prestigious Academy of Music concert hall. Let Freedom Ring's President, Arnold L. Beizer, Esq. contributed $400,000 to bring all the celebrities together in the City of Brotherly Love and to host the charity dinner and concert. Donations of $20,000 from Let Freedom Ring benefited several POW/MIA organizations, including but not limited to the National Forget Me Not Association, the American Defense Institute, and No Greater Love.

In 1994, Let Freedom Ring sponsored a mission with Muhammad Ali to Vietnam where POW/MIA family members joined with Let Freedom Ring's President, to find answers from Vietnam government officials about American POWs last known alive. A Bridge of Friendship was established between POW families and Vietnam representatives who promised to do more to resolve the issue of America's missing servicemen from the war.

Let Freedom Ring purchased and released for publication exclusive photographs and negatives of captured American flyers obtained from Vietnamese sources in country clearly showing that the Vietnamese military had a wealth of information documenting the whereabouts of servicemen known to be captured alive but who never returned after Operation Homecoming in April, 1973.

In addition, Let Freedom Ring sponsored many media events held to generate much needed media coverage of the POW/MIA issue. One such event stands out head and shoulders above the rest. This took place when Attorney Arnold Beizer, Let Freedom Ring's determined President, rented a huge elephant named Daisy, renaming her "MIA" for a press conference held in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall at the Liberty Bell Pavilion.

At first the National Park Service police refused to permit the elephant to be downloaded at the curb in front of the Liberty Bell. But Attorney Beizer quickly came to the elephant's defense and pointed out to police there was no law prohibiting elephants from parking at the curb! "MIA" was unloaded onto the street and then promptly left a load of her own as she proudly paraded about the mall with a large yellow ribbon tied around her neck and a banner draped over her back proclaiming, "Elephants Never Forget...Don't You Forget Our POWs/MIAs"!

Television trucks beamed the big story of the elephant's walk around the Liberty Bell on Philadelphia's TV news stations throughout the day, which pricked up the ears of the public and created quite a flap.

Informing and educating Congress and the President on the unsolved POW/MIA issue is another of Let Freedom Ring's prime focus areas. But the principal mission of Let Freedom Ring is to produce and provide
MUSIC FROM THE HEART OF AMERICA bringing a message of freedom to the masses. Music is the Universal language that all can understand.
As the saying goes, "People who make music together cannot be enemies, at least while the music lasts!!".
SO LET THE MUSIC PLAY!

For more information, contact:




Attorney Arnold L. Beizer
1990 SW 22nd Avenue Circle
Boca Raton, FL. 33486
United States

Telephone: 1(561)368-1019

contact

www.letfreedomringinc.com






 


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