Directed by Paris Barclay
Written by Craig Turk
After a box of his POW support bracelets is found, the squad reinvestigates the shooting of Vietnam War veteran Carl Burton in April 1973 - 8 months after he returned home from the prison camp.
Tropes:
- Age-Appropriate Angst: Highlighted when they finally confront the killer into a confession. Daniel was a teenager at the time, who found out that Carl renounced his father and their fellow soldiers in the Vietnam War Camp to get released early. In the present, Daniel says he understands why Carl broke under the torment he endured in the camp and gave in to the enemy to go home to his family. But the detectives see right through him, pointing out that that is the perspective of a grown man who’s had a lot of time to reflect on what he’s done—not a stubborn kid whose father just died.
- Alcoholic Parent: The victim's widow became one after he died.
- The Atoner: When Daniel is introduced as an adult, he's working in the juvenile justice system.
- Berserk Button: Do not tell Stillman you impersonated a Prisoner of War, he will not be pleased. You can pretend you are a police officer, a surgeon, a race car driver, but never a P.O.W.
- Dirty Coward: A lot of people see Carl as this because he gave into the Vietnamese soldiers’ demands to renounce the war cause and his fellow soldiers in exchange for early release. The worst part is, Carl actually agrees with them.
- Funeral Banishment: Due to the circumstances of Carl's detainment as a Prisoner of War (where he was forced to disavow his country and his fellow troops to stop his torment and go home), he is shunned when he tries to attend the funeral of his best friend, another servicemen who several of his fellow soldiers and former friends blame for his death.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: When Daniel shoots the victim, he seems shocked by what he had just done.
- Miles Gloriosus: One such friend of the victim tried to enlist in the Vietnam War, but got an anxiety attack. So, he resorted to simply telling people he's a prisoner of war. It's Deconstructed when he tries to pass himself off as the victim, a real P.O.W.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Daniel immediately regrets shooting Carl, and grows up to work in the juvenile justice system, presumably to help kids not make the same mistake.
- Phony Veteran: Guilty of Stolen Valor, Ken pretended to have been a P.O.W.. And not just any P.O.W. He specifically pretended to be Ned’s dad, while having an affair with Ned’s mom, while his dad was still in the war camp.
- Schlubby, Scummy Security Guard: One of the suspects pretended to be a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War. In the present day, he worked as a security guard.
- Sympathetic Murderer: So much so that the victim's final act before succumbing to his bullet wound was to take the gun and tell the killer to leave so it would look like suicide.
- Tranquil Fury: Stillman actually served in the Vietnam War, and thus takes the subject very seriously. When he finds out one of the suspects is a Phony Veteran who stole the victim’s identity, right down to his P.O.W. status, he’s not willing to show him any mercy, but still has a job to do. This state lets him hit two birds with one stone.
