You Are Not Forgotten, Unless Paris HoneyBooBoo Lohan Sneezes

American media keep track of a lot of numbers - the number of days since the U.S. lost it’s AAA credit rating, the number of days since President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq, the number of the fallen and injured service members from the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan. But one number the media seems to have forgotten is the number of days that U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been a prisoner of war, held captive by the Taliban in a yet-to-be-discovered location in Afghanistan, or perhaps even Pakistan. We still don’t know.

In the early hours of June 30, 2009, then-Private First Class Bergdahl was captured by Taliban fighters as he wrapped up a guard shift at a remote outpost along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Despite intense initial public interest and a few follow-up appearances in the national and international media, usually when the Taliban released a new propaganda video featuring the captured soldier, the American public seems to have largely forgotten about Bergdahl.

Now a Sergeant after several time-in-service promotions from the Army, Bergdahl remains the only U.S. service member still listed as a POW from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the fourth anniversary of his disappearance approaches, less than a week before America celebrates Independence Day, hopefully our country, prompted by our media, can take some time to stop and remember that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl won’t be eating hotdogs and apple pie again this year along with the rest of us.