Stories of POW wannabes are all tiringly similar

Regarding the recent article concerning Graig E. Sultana of Colfax who claims to have been a POW held in Laos for two years. The stories of POW Wannabes are so tiringly similar, "I was on a secret mission..." "Even now I can't talk about it..." How about, "I'm sworn to secrecy..." Usually claimants say they were in super secret Special Forces or SEAL units. Did you know there are more wannabes out there than real returned prisoners? In today's world of the Internet and Freedom of Information, even a modest investigation will reveal the falsity of these claims. I invite you to run our individual names through a search engine like Google. The only error I see in your article is referencing Mike McGrath's Wannabe list as covering just Vietnam. His list includes those of us captured in Laos and Cambodia as well. NAMPOW keeps excellent records as do the SEALS and Special Forces. Claims such as Mr. Sultana are meticulously scrutinized. These groups are intensely proud of our service and jealously guard against wannabes. I wish these folks would show some imagination and spare us the "secret mission" stories. If truly a secret mission, Mr. Sultana has violated this supposed oath by stating he was on one. If he was indeed on a secret mission, the details of his captivity were not classified, so let us hear details. His command of details-or lack thereof-will certainly reveal the truth. There are thousands of mundane questions, what was the diet? When did it vary and in what way? Describe clothing, blankets, shoes. Describe daily life. Describe torture. (I love "First Blood," but Sly had it all wrong.) Was he held by Pathet Lao or North Vietnamese? How was he released? Unless you have been a captive for years, spent years in solitary, your answers simply will not ring true to one who has been there. Claiming it is a secret or "too painful" to discuss are the hallmarks of falsehood. My group-sometimes called the Enlisted Camp because most were enlisted-was held in "Portholes," then "Farnsworth" prior to the unsuccessful Son Tay raid, at which time we were hurriedly moved into "Plantation Gardens" in Hanoi. This is where the prisoners taken in Laos were consolidated and held separately. Two years later, two civilian missionaries, swept up in the days following the Paris Accords, were added to what we called the LULUs, the Legendary Union of Laotian Unfortunates, bringing our total to 10. Sultana claims he was a POW held in Laos. Let him prove it. It has been over 30 years since our release. There are no longer missions still classified as secret. I believe he owes us all, especially those who did not come back, an apology. The LULUs were returned to U.S. military control on March 27 (U.S. time), 1973. Sultana was not one of us. Edward W. Leonard POW - Laos 1968 - 1973 Ilwaco, Wash.