Not Forgotten Get involved

A documentary film

Not Forgotten

The woman who drew the image that became the POW/MIA flag, in her own words.

Narrated by Cody Jinks

Support the film Read the story

Working title Final title TK

Illustration: a woman seen from behind on a farmhouse porch at sunset, looking out over an empty field toward a distant flagpole flying the American and POW/MIA flags.
Illustration

The silhouette on the POW/MIA flag began on the League of Families letterhead. Carole Hanson Hickerson drew it. The profile is her first husband, Marine Capt. Stephen “Steve” Hanson, shot down on June 3, 1967. This film records her account while she can still tell it.

Why now

One of the last firsthand witnesses.

Archives keep documents. They don’t keep a voice. Every year we wait, the chance to record Carole’s account on camera gets smaller. This film exists to get it on the record now.

Who

At the center of the story.

Portrait of Carole Hanson Hickerson, smiling.

The artist

Carole Hanson Hickerson

Drew the League of Families letterhead image that became the POW/MIA flag.

Black-and-white portrait of Steve Hanson, smiling, in a flight jacket.

The silhouette

Capt. Stephen “Steve” Hanson

U.S. Marine Corps. Carole’s first husband. Shot down June 3, 1967.

Portrait of Jim Hickerson, smiling, in Navy dress whites with a bow tie and medals.

The prisoner of war

Jim Hickerson

U.S. Navy. Carole’s husband. Shot down over North Vietnam December 22, 1967, and held 1,909 days before his release on March 14, 1973.

Jim and Carole Hickerson seated side by side at an outdoor ceremony, holding hands, with flags behind them.
Jim and Carole Hickerson at the National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Honolulu, Sept. 18, 2020. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jacqueline A. Clifford

When

From 1967 to today.

  1. 1967

    Steve Hanson is shot down.

    Capt. Stephen P. Hanson, USMC.

  2. Year TK

    Carole draws the letterhead image.

    For the League of Families.

  3. Year TK

    It becomes the POW/MIA flag.

    Detail from sources TK

  4. Today

    Her account, on the record.

    Filmed firsthand, in her own words.

The film

What we’re making, and why.

What

A feature documentary built around Carole’s firsthand account of drawing the League of Families letterhead image, and of the man whose profile it holds.

Format and running time TK

Voice & music

Narrated by Cody Jinks.

Featuring an original song about Carole’s life, written by Carole with Cody Jinks and Ward Davis.

Where

Interviews with Carole Location TK

Archival research Archives TK

Why

The most widely told account of how the POW/MIA flag came to be centers on Mary Hoff and Newt Heisley. Carole’s account differs, and it hasn’t been recorded in her own words.

This film puts her account on the record, with sources, alongside the version people know. It isn’t here to diminish anyone’s part in the story.

How

Our approach.

01

Record Carole first.

Extended on-camera interviews with Carole come before anything else on the schedule.

02

Source every fact.

Every factual claim in the film and on this site traces to an entry in the source list.

03

Respect every account.

We present Carole’s account alongside the widely known version, not against it.

04

Spend in the open.

Budget lines, funders and every expense are published, and anyone with the link can see them.

Funding & accountability

Every dollar, in the open.

Anyone with the link can see what’s been raised, what’s been spent, and what it paid for. The figures below are live.

Total budget
$000K
Raised
$000K
Spent
$000K
0.0% of budget spentLoading…
See the full budget

Help put her account on the record.

For partners, funders, and anyone who knew the League of Families in those years.

Director Stephen Rees
Producer Patricia Espinosa
Email TK

In partnership with Operation Song