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	Vol.7, No 13, September 21, 1999
	CSULB remembers fallen soldiers By Tom Harshbarger Daily Forty-Niner The overcast sky was like a backdrop to the somber mood. In front of 50 people, Vietnam veterans shared their experiences and expressed their sadness about U.S. soldiers still missing as Cal State Long Beach faculty, staff and students hosted a flag raising ceremony Friday to commemorate POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action) Day in California. Gov. Gray Davis declared POW/MIA Day to remember those who never made it back from war. Among the speakers at the ceremony was CSULB student Doug Richardson. He was taken prisoner by the Viet Cong and held for six months. Richardson escaped while being transferred from one camp to another.  "I feel that this day is more about the more than 2,000 men still missing in action in Vietnam," Richardson said. "It's also for all the veterans in VA hospitals." Wounded three times in the war, Richardson now walks with a cane and has limited mobility in his right arm.  The Marine Corps gave him a medical discharge in 1972. But Richardson prefers to talk about the missing soldiers rather than his own experiences. "It's high time the government found out where those men are," he said, "or got some kind of confirmation."  When he came to the podium, Richardson, a 50-something senior majoring in both religious studies and American Indian studies, was choked with emotion and virtually inaudible.  He was dressed in his Marine Corps dress blue uniform, a chest full of ribbons, and a long pony tail descending from under his white hat.  After Richardsonís speech, a group of American-Indian tribal singers chanted a song for the fallen soldiers.  The hymn, accompanied by rhythmic drum beats, contributed to the dark atmosphere. Richardson has earned every top medal in the military short of the Medal of Honor, which is the nationís highest combat medal.  His decorations include the Navy Cross, Silver and Bronze stars and three Purple Hearts. The former reconnaissance Marine served three tours in Vietnam. CSULB President Robert Maxson began the morning with a short speech and then handed U.S. and California flags to an Army ROTC cadet in green dress uniform.  The cadet marched back to the flagpoles and, along with two other cadets in uniform, raised each flag up its respective mast.  Troy Johnson, professor of history and American-Indian studies, was the first featured speaker. He was a Vietnam veteran and retired from the Navy after 23 years of service. Johnson introduced his friend Richardson to the crowd. The last detail of the ceremony was the raising of the POW/MIA flag, with its famous picture of a man surrounded in barbed wire on a black background. The banner was as large as the 5-by-8-foot U.S. and state flags. "We have a lot of freedom here at the university," Johnson said. "And we all know that freedom comes at a very high price."		CSULB ROTC members, Staff Sgt. Eileen Raquipiso, right and Cadet Capt. Ricardo Fregoso raise the POW/MIA commerative flag in front of Brotman Hall in a special ceremony Friday.                                                                                                                                       CSULB remembers fallen soldiers Beach lovers storm local shores CSULB student struck by car CSU cuts energy charges Dope doesn't discredit Jambalaya heats up crowd Basement Jaxx grabs house fans Rack and Roll Game win streak comes to hault LBSU washed out by competition One goal equals win Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.