PORT ANGELES — During the Vietnam War era, the plight of prisoners of war was well-known, and a POW bracelet was a common symbol of support for soldiers who were captured or missing.
Today, few people know that an American POW — Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — is known to be in enemy hands, said Kristen Kartak, a National Guard veteran who lives in Port Angeles.
Kartak, 22, wants to bring that awareness to more people and, she hopes, help bring Bergdahl home.
To that end, she will host a car wash and awareness event beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the 76 Gas Station at 1023 E. Front St. in Port Angeles.
The date is symbolic: It’s the anniversary of the day Bergdahl was taken in Afghanistan in 2009, Kartak said.
“If I were gone for three years, I wouldn’t want people to forget about me,” she said.
“I would hope there are people out there shouting to bring me home.”
During the car wash, Kartak will sell baked goods and POW T-shirts, and will distribute information about Bergdahl.
Kartak is working with Survivor Outreach Services of Fort Lewis, an organization that supports the families of fallen warriors.
Raise awareness
“All proceeds will go to help raise awareness for Sgt. Bergdahl,” she said.
Several local businesses — including Blackbird Coffeehouse, Cock-a-Doodle Donuts, KONP and Pixel Perfect Imaging — have contributed to the fundraiser, she said.
She also wants people to urge that more be done to bring Bergdahl home.
“Call and write your congressmen,” she said.
Several organizations, including Bring Bowe Home, advocate the government taking a more proactive stance in finding a way to bring Bergdahl home and need funding for their campaigns, she said.
Until earlier this month, Kartak was a medic based out of the Smokey Point Armed Forces Reserve Center in Marysville.
She was discharged after suffering back injuries while training with her unit.
She first learned about Bergdahl when a friend posted information on a website.
“I was appalled that, as a soldier, I didn’t know about him,” Kartak said.
Kartak asked around her unit and discovered that her fellow soldiers also had never heard of Bergdahl.
“I was appalled,” she repeated.
Bergdahl, 26, of Sun Valley, Idaho, is assigned to the First Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Prisoner of Taliban
He has been a prisoner of the Taliban since June 30, 2009, when he fell behind his unit during a patrol and was captured.
According to Army reports, his unit searched for him using everything they had.
His fate was not known until the Taliban released a video of him as a prisoner.
Bergdahl is thought to be held in Pakistan and has appeared in five Taliban videos.
The proof-of-life videos showed his physical condition, and despite bruises on his face in one video, he appeared to be relatively healthy.
In August 2011, he escaped but was recaptured before he could leave the region where he was held captive, according to The Daily Beast, a news website.
Bergdahl’s capture is not without some controversy.
Because of statements he made in letters to his family in the months preceding his capture, stories in The New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine have speculated that Bergdahl may not have been captured during the patrol — that he may have deserted or defected.
The Army’s official position remains that he is a prisoner of war.
Because of the allegations, some soldiers Kartak served with told her they didn’t care what happened to Bergdahl, but most just wanted to bring the American soldier home, she said.
“He wrote a blank check to the U.S. Army for any amount up to and including his life,” Kartak said.
A website dedicated to bring Bergdahl home is at www.supportbowe.org, where visitors can learn more of Bergdahl’s story and order brochures and bracelets, and print off fliers and posters.
Donations to the Bring Bowe Home campaign also can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank. They are not tax-deductible.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
