HomeMy WebLinkAboutRolling Thunder Resignation and Newt Heisley Print - 2.28.2024 • fillw*MI, 10WA4
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ROLLING THUNDER ® INC.
OL4PeNoTFORG0<� IOWA CHAPTER # 1
P.O. BOX 0164
WATERLOO, IOWA 50704-0164
WWI 3,343; WWII 72,254; COLD WAR 126; KOREA 7,514; VIETNAM 1,581
When one American is not worth the effort to be found,we as Americans have lost.
In Memory of the Prisoners Of War and Missing in Action from all wars
Veterans Memorial Hall Feb. 28, 2024
Waterloo, Iowa 50701
Greetings, today I am addressing the Newt Heisley Print that
is currently on display. This is a poster that depicts the POW-MIA
Logo as it was designed and authorized by the National league of
families and an act of United States congress. This design was
authorized to be placed upon a National Flag, that is Second
only to the National Ensign. This poster is Hand signed by the
man who designed that logo Newt Heisley.
Rolling Thunder® Inc. Iowa 1 is now giving you permission to keep,
display and maintain this poster for future generations. It is our hope
that it will remain in the archives at Veterans Memorial Hall.
Thank you for allowing us usage of Veterans Memorial Hall,
For the past sum of 24 years. We are resigning our positions effective
todays date and are entrusting this item to you.
Sincerely Tom (Robby) Robinson
President Rolling Thunder ® Inc.
Iowa Chapter 1
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ROLLING THUNDER ® INC.
4g6-NOTrOPG IOWA CHAPTER # 1
P.O. BOX 0164
WATERLOO, IOWA 50704-0164
WWI 3,344; WWII 78,526; COLD WAR 120; KOREA 8,093; VIETNAM 1,687; AFGHANISTAN 1
When one American is not worth the effort to be found,we as Americans have lost.
In Memory of the Prisoners Of War and Missing in Action from all wars
Mary K. Jasso-Little June 1, 2013
Mary Just wanted to thank you for the POW-MIA Print that is signed.
Newt Heisley's signature on it will be a great addition to a museum. As you stated Newt worked
closely with Mrs. Grubb and other members of the National League of Families when The POW-
MIA Logo was created.
Please consider this a receipt for the document, The Iowa chapter can take possession of the
document and hold it, until such time as arrangements can be made to place it in memoriam.
Please consider that we the Iowa chapter would like to display it as well while it is in our
possession.
Therefore I receive from Mary K. Jasso (1) One POW-MIA Print bearing an original
authenticated signature of the Newt Heisley; The Print is Mounted and Framed.
SIGNED Thomas L. Robinson COUNTER SIGNED Mary K. Jasso-Little
President Rolling Thunder ® Inc. PRINT HOLDER
Iowa Chapter 1
P.O. Box 164
Waterloo, la. 50704-0164
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=�°"G° IOWA CHAPTER # 1
P.O. BOX 0164
WATERLOO, IOWA 50704-0164
WWI 3,344;WWII 78,526; COLD WAR 120; KOREA 8,093; VIETNAM 1,687;AFGHANISTAN 1
When one American is not worth the effort to be found,we as Americans have lost.
In Memory of the Prisoners Of War and Missing in Action from all wars
Newt Heisley _
Newt Heisley was a pilot during World War II, a dangerous role that
accounts for many war-time POWs and MIAs. Years after the war he ,0
had come to New York looking for work. "It took me four days to find g
a bad job at low pay," he later said of his introduction to "Big Apple" �/jjt
advertising agencies. But, by working hard, by 1971 he had gradually /f"�//J �
moved upward in the industry, eventually working for an agency with
many national accounts.
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As a veteran, the call for a flag designed to raise awareness of our ' ' '+, „�
Nation's POW/MIAs was a personal challenge. It was even more .00
challenging when he considered that his oldest son Jeffrey was, during
these Vietnam War years, training for combat with the United States
Marines at Quantico, Virginia. As he pondered this new challenge a 411
series of events set in motion the ideas that would create a flag unlike
anything since the days of Betsy Ross. First, Jeffery became very ill
while training for combat. The illness, diagnosed as hepatitis, ravaged his body emaciating his face and
structure. When he returned home, medically discharged and unable to continue further, his father looked
in horror at what had once been a strong, young man. Then, as Newt Heisley looked closer at his son's
gaunt features, he began to imagine what life must be like for those behind barbed wire fences on foreign
shores. Slowly he began to sketch the profile of his son, working in pencil to create a black and white
silhouette, as the new flag's design was created in his mind. Barbed wire, a tower, and most prominently
the visage of a gaunt young man became the initial proposal.
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ROLLING THUNDER ® INC.
444E NOT FOOP IOWA CHAPTER # 1
P.O. BOX 0164
WATERLOO, IOWA 50704-0164
WWI 3,344;WWII 78,526; COLD WAR 120; KOREA 8,093; VIETNAM 1,687;AFGHANISTAN 1
When one American is not worth the effort to be found,we as Americans have lost.
In Memory of the Prisoners Of War and Missing in Action from all wars
Newt Heisley's black and white pencil sketch was one of several designs considered for the new POW/MIA
flag. Newt planned, should his design be accepted, to add color at a later date...perhaps a deep purple and
white. "In the advertising industry, you do everything in black and white first, then add the color," he
says. Mr. Heisley's proposal for the new flag was unique. Rarely does a flag prominently display the
likeness of a person. None-the-less, it was the design featuring the gaunt silhouette of his son Jeffrey that
was accepted and, before Mr. Heisly could return to refine his proposal and add the colors he had planned,
the black and white flags were already being printed in quantity by Annin & Company. (Though the
POW/MIA flag has been produced in other colors, often in red and white, the black and white design
became the most commonly used version.)
The design for the MIA/POW flag was never copyrighted. It became a flag that belongs to everyone, a
design that hauntingly reminds us of those we dare not ever forget. Behind the black and white silhouette
is a face we can't see...the face of a husband, a father, or a son who has paid with their freedom, for our
freedom. Beneath the image are the words....
You Are Not Forgotten
Jeffrey Heisley
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yob _ "'. �„ ROLLING THUNDER ® INC.
4A£r'O7F0,0° IOWA CHAPTER # 1
P.O. BOX 0164
WATERLOO, IOWA 50704-0164
WWI 3,344;WWII 78,526; COLD WAR 120; KOREA 8,093;VIETNAM 1,687;AFGHANISTAN 1
When one American is not worth the effort to be found,we as Americans have lost.
In Memory of the Prisoners Of War and Missing in Action from all wars
Today Newt Heisley and his family, including Jeffrey, live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Few
people know the story behind the flag he designed, which is well enough for Newt. What is
important for Mr. Heisley is not that he had the rare opportunity to create something powerful
and timeless....that in his own sense he is a modern "Betsy Ross". What is important to Newt
is that the image he created years ago as the result of the tragedy that befell his own son,
continue to remind us of the real tragedy faced daily by those who have served, been left
behind, but are not forgotten.
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