EX-POW BULLETIN · Periodical postage paid at Arlington, TX and additional mailing ... ers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas liberated more than 500 from ... 4. . Ex-POW Bulletin,

EX-POW BULLETINthe official voice of the

American Ex-Prisoners of War Volume 68 Number 1/2www.axpow.org

January/February 2011

We exist to help those who cannot help themselves

February, 1973. Then LCDR Ed Davis aboard theHanoi Taxi with Ma-Co, the Ho Lo (Hanoi

Hilton) camp commander’s puppy.

EX-POW Bulletin (ISSN 0161-7451) is published bi-monthly (six times annually) by the American Ex-Prisoners of War, 3201 E. Pioneer Pkway,Arlington, TX 76010. Periodical postage paid at Arlington, TX and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to EX-POW Bulletin,AXPOW Headquarters, 3201 E. Pioneer Pkwy. Suite 40, Arlington, TX 76010-5396. Founded April 14, 1942, in Albuquerque, NM, then known as BataanRelief Organization, Washington State nonprofit corporation, “American Ex-Prisoners of War”, October 11, 1949, recorded as Document No. 133762,Roll 1, Page 386-392. NONPROFIT CORPORATION. Nationally Chartered August 10, 1982. Appearance in this publication does not constitute endorsementby the American Ex-Prisoners of War of the product or service advertised. The publisher reserves the right to decline or discontinue any such advertisement.

© 2011 American Ex-Prisoners of War

PublisherPNC Maurice Sharp

9716 54th Street CT WestUniversity Place, WA 98467-1118

(253) [email protected]

EditorCheryl Cerbone

23 Cove View DriveSouth Yarmouth, MA 02664

(508) 394-5250(508) 760-2008 fax

[email protected]

Deadline for the Mar/April 2011issue is Feb 1, 2010.

Please send all materials to theeditor at the above address.

officers/directors 4commander/HQ 5outreach/success 7medsearch 9andersonville 13namPOW 14pow-mia 15civilian editorial 16events, info, looking for 18news 18convention 21stories 23voluntary funding 27new members 29members forum 30applications 31contributions 32taps 33raffle/Ads 39quartermaster 41

January/February 2011table of contents

Ex-POW BulletinJan/Feb 2011

3

Freedom!The release of U.S. POWs began in Hanoi on February 12, 1973 as part ofthe Paris peace settlement. The return of U.S. POWs began when NorthVietnam released 142 of 591 U.S. prisoners at Hanoi’s Gia Lam Airport.Part of what was called Operation Homecoming. The first 20 POWs ar-rived to a hero’s welcome at Travis Air Force Base in California on Feb-ruary 14. Operation Homecoming was completed on March 29, 1973,when the last of 591 U.S. prisoners were released and returned to theUnited States.

After the surrender of tens of thousands of American troops during theBattle of Bataan, many were sent to Cabanatuan prison camp followingthe Bataan Death March. The Japanese transferred most of the prison-ers to other areas, leaving just over 500 American and other Allied POWsand civilians in the prison. On Jan. 30, 1945, United States Army Rang-ers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas liberated more than 500 fromthe POW camp.

On January 9, 1945, the U.S. Sixth Army waded ashore at Lingayen Gulfand began moving south. Three weeks later the Eighth Army landed atNasugbu and began moving north. Within a month, the advancing U.S.forces were on the doorstep of Manila. For the occupants of the LosBaños camp, rescue appeared imminent. As the advancing U.S. forcesdrew nearer and nearer to Manila, General MacArthur became concernedthat the Japanese might decide to slaughter the American POWs andother Allied civilians under their control. During the Sixth Army’s move-ment south, troops liberated American and other Allied POWs in sev-eral camps. One of the most spectacular liberation efforts was that con-ducted by the 6th Ranger Battalion at Cabanatuan. A Ranger task force,assisted by Filipino guerrillas, penetrated deep into Japanese territoryand, after crawling more than a mile on their bellies, attacked Cabanatuanprison and freed some 500 POWs, bringing them 20 miles to safety.Nearer Manila, elements of the 1st Cavalry assaulted the campus ofSanto Tomas University and freed more than 3,500 civilian internees.

At Bilibid Prison, on February 4, 1945, Commandant Ebiko presentedthe camp’s chairman with a document freeing the internees. The Japa-nese were not seen after that. A patrol of the 37th Infantry broke intothe prison thinking it was a Japanese ammunition dump; they found700 military prisoners and 500 civilian prisoners.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

axpow officers & directors 2010-2011National Headquarters - Clydie J. Morgan, Adjutant/Treasurer

3201 E. Pioneer Pkwy, #40, Arlington, TX 76010(817) 649-2979 (817) 649-0109 fax [email protected]

North East RegionFranklin R. Koehler243 Torrey Pines Dr.Toms River, NJ 08757(732) 244-4629; (732) 505-8702 [email protected]

Laura McIntyrePO Box 475Hardwick, MA 01037(413) 477-8260 (413) 477-0172 [email protected]

East Central RegionJudy LeePO Box 248Madisonville, TN 37354(423) 442-3223; (423) 442-4702 [email protected]

Paul E. Galanti21 Maxwell RoadRichmond, VA 23226(804)[email protected]

Southeast RegionWm “Bill” Jeffers3522 Millbrook way CrGreenacres, FL 33463(561) [email protected]

North Central RegionJohn W Clark1201 S Johnmeyer LnColumbia MO 65203(573) [email protected]

David ClaypoolPO Box 38Hampton MN 55031(612) [email protected]

National CommanderMorris Barker710 Chapel ViewWaco, TX 76712(254) [email protected]

National Sr Vice CommanderCarroll Bogard, Ph.D726 N. Carolina PlaceMason City, IA 50401(641) 424-4870

National Judge AdvocateDavid Drummond1 Crane CourtManalapan, NJ 07726(732) [email protected]

National ChaplainPNC Gerald Harvey709 Baptist Home LaneChillocothe MO 64601660-646-4301

Jr. Vice CommandersCharles Susino -Eastern Zone136 Jefferson StreetMetuchen, NJ 08840(732) 549-5775 phone & fax

James L. Lollar -Central Zone292 VZ CR 3727Wills Point, TX 75169(903) 560-1734; (903) 560-1705 [email protected]

Milton “Skip” Moore -Western Zone2965 Sierra BermejaSierra Vista, AZ 85650(520) 459-7295; (520) 533-3757 [email protected]

Mid-Central RegionCordine McMurray18940 HamburgDetroit MI 48205(313) 371-0592; (313) 506-6680 [email protected]

Deanie Schmidt1001 Parkview Blvd. #316Columbus, OH 43219(614) [email protected]

South Central RegionPNC Jim Clark214 OakdaleBastrop, LA 71220-2330(318) 281-5505 phone & [email protected]

Pam Warner EslingerPO Box 117Hammon, OK 73650(580) [email protected]

Northwest RegionBonnie Sharp9716 54th Street CT WestUniversity Place, WA 98467-1118(253) [email protected]

Southwest RegionAlice Gollin3650 Savanna WayPalm Springs CA 92262(760) 202-1329 – [email protected]

Lewis “Lew” Sleeper6636 E Villa DoradoTucson, AZ 85715(520) 751-9628 Voice(520) 490-1082 [email protected]

DirectorsOfficers

Committee addresses appearwith their columns

Senior DirectorPNC Kenny H Hanson9401 Lyndale Ave S #228Bloomington MN 55420(952) 888-2703 – [email protected]


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National CommanderMorris Barker

First, let me say we are saddened bythe loss of a good friend and mem-ber of the AXPOW organization,Sidney Hecker, who passed away Oc-tober 9, 2010. Sid was an activemember of his local chapter, Magno-lia Chapter, in Mississippi for manyyears, and a valuable member of theNational Board of Directors, South-east Division since March 2008. Hewas a member of the Strategic Plan-ning Committee, always vigilant inthe interest of POWs and dependents.Sid served in the Army during WW IIand was captured during the Battleof the Bulge. He will be missed bythe organization, family and friends.We also want to remember all thePOW families, especially during thisseason, who have lost family mem-bers.

On Novem-ber 11,2010, I wasprivilegedto attendthe Veter-ans Day Ac-tivities atthe WhiteH o u s e ,along with several others represent-ing the various veteran organiza-tions. Vice President Biden (pictured)was host at the White House meet-ing and later participated in thewreath-laying ceremony at the Tombof the Unknown Soldier, which wasvery impressive. He was also theprincipal speaker at the ceremony atArlington National Cemetery. It wasalso an honor to meet and talk withSecretary of the VA Erick Shinsekiand several members of the Chief of

Staff of thev a r i o u sbranches ofthe military(shown hereG e n .S c h w a r t z ,Chief ofStaff Air Force).

For those who may have missed theannouncement by Ruth Powell, NSODirector, the President signed intolaw H.R. 3219/S 728, The Veterans’Benefits Act of 2010, which is of par-ticular interest to surviving spouseof the POW. This Bill removes theeligibility date and makes all survi-vors of former POWs eligible for DICif the veteran died from non-serviceconnected causes but was totally dis-abled due to a service-connected con-dition for a period of one (1) or moreyears immediately prior to death,regardless of date of death. Thischange is effective October 1, 2011.It is recommended that this new in-formation be a topic of discussionat your Chapter or State Departmentmeetings. Also, encourage the sur-viving spouse previously denied DICbenefits because of the eligibilitydate restriction to reapply.

As previously discussed, the Boardof Directors with the approval of themembership at the 2010 NationalConvention directed that the AXPOWWashington office be closed. Severalquestions have been asked recentlyabout the closing. In answering thequestions, you are requested to re-fer to the November/December 2010issue of the Bulletin (paragraph 3-4),which list the events leading to thisaction by the Board. The sum of theseevents resulted in the decision by theBoard and membership to close theoffice. I want to point out that thisaction was given considerable discus-sion and thought by the board priorto the decision. The possibility ofclosing the office has been a matterof discussion by AXPOW Boards andmembership over the past severalyears because of the continued de-crease in operating funds. However,through budget adjustments and re-duction of funds in other areas, theoffice was permitted to continueoperations because of its importance

to the organization and membership.Regretfully at this point, operatingfunds of the organization have con-tinued to decrease requiring severaldifficult decisions by the board inaddition to closing of the Washing-ton office. Some programs were dis-continued while others were reduceddrastically or combined in order thatthe organization could continue tobe of service to POWs and depen-dents. If you have further questions,please contact me. I want to com-mend the various staff members ofthe Washington office for their faith-ful and valuable service to the Ameri-can EX-Prisoners of War organizationover the past 24 years. A specialthanks to the most recent staff mem-bers, Les Jackson, Mary Rolen, Dr.Charles Stenger , and JohnnieRobinson.

In another cost saving move for theorganization, the duties of the Trea-surer will be combined with that ofthe National Adjutant effective Janu-ary 1, 2011. This action was takenin accordance with a resolution byPNC Jim Cooper and approval by theNational Board and membership atthe national convention in Septem-ber in Albany GA. Any correspon-dences and other transactions afterthe effective date should be directedto the headquarters office in Arling-ton, TX. Our thanks to SonnieMottern, past treasurer, for his dedi-cated service to the AXPOW organi-zation.

The Advisory Committee on FormerPrisoners of War, Department of Vet-eran Affairs, met in Waco, TX, Octo-ber 25-27 of which I was privilegedto attend. The meeting was underthe direction of Dr. Tom McNish,Chairman. Dr. McNish in his open-ing remarks, made the statementthat the purpose of the Committeeis to advise the Secretary of VeteranAffairs on the administration ofbenefits for former prisoners ofwar, and more importantly to makerecommendations concerning theneeds for compensation, health

commander continued...


6

newsfromhq

care, and rehabilitation of such vet-erans. The Commission is a respon-sible organization with special in-terest in former POWs and depen-dents. Areas of special concernsand discussion were related toqualifications of examining physi-cians in determining disability rat-ings of the POW. This was a matterof concern since most VA physi-cians were not familiar with condi-tions under which POWs faced dur-ing captivity. To assure adequateresults, it was recommended thatVA physicians be given specialtraining to certify their expertise inperforming exams. It was also rec-ommended that VA revisit certainlimitations on DIC ratings and timerequired in processing claims ofFPOW widows. Several other rec-ommendations were discussedwhich were important to POWs anddependents for which the commit-tee is to be commended.

Progress has been made in obtain-ing tax-exempt status for the orga-nization. Under the IRS Code theAXPOW organization is currentlyclassified as 501(c)4 which limitsactivities in soliciting funds outsideour membership. The AXPOWBoard approved researching ex-empt status under 501(c)3 whichwould remove this limitation andallow a wider range for solicitingfunds through individuals and cor-porations. At one time the organi-zation was classified as 501(c)19under the tax code which is tanta-mount to (c)3 regulations but, widerin scope, and justified further re-search. Research through AXPOWHQ with IRS leads us to believe thatreapplying for 501(c)19 statuswould be advantageous time-wiseand allow the same privileges. Con-sidering this, I have directed the Ad-jutant to follow through with ap-plying for (c)19 status.

The procedures for increasingrevenue and cost cutting items asdirected by the Board at the lastNational Convention are being ad-dressed, and will be announced inthe Bulletin or by other means whencompleted. Thanks to the Waysand Means Committee, and otherswho are working on these projectsfor their efforts.

The AXPOW organization has com-pleted approximately six decades ofservice to our POWs and depen-dents however, there is still workto do. We have the opportunity toimprove our chapter, state depart-ment, and National organizationand contribute to our national goalby sharing our message and giveassurance to those in need.

The loss of 7 POWs each day cre-ates an urgent need for processingDIC claims in a timely manner byNational Service Officers. The re-turn of processing POW DIC claimsto the Regional Offices rather thanto three central offices will helpspeed the process. In many casesPOW DIC claims processed in localRegional Office can be completedin less than 3 days where in manycases 50-60 days were previouslyrequired if processed through thecentral offices.

Again, I want to encourage thosemembers not currently active, whowere once the stronghold of the or-ganization and enjoyed the com-radeship of other POWs, to step for-ward and assist in reaching ourgoals, and know that there is a placefor them in our leadership.

I will attend the Texas DepartmentMid-Winter conference January 14-16 in Bastrop, TX and the Depart-ment of Texas Convention June 10-12, 2011 in Abilene, TX. I havebeen asked to be the guest speakerat the Department of Texas Con-vention in June.

Morris

Happy New Year to all from Na-tional Headquarters. Here’s to ahealthy and prosperous new year.

The National Mid-Year meetingwill be in Arlington, Texas at theHilton on March 19, 2011. If youwish to be on the agenda orwould just like to attend, pleasecontact Clydie at HQ for moreinformation. The number for theHilton is 817-640-3322. Just tellthem you are with the AXPOWmeeting. The meeting is open toall.

This is your last magazine if youhaven’t renewed your annualmembership. Please get yourdues in now.

We will be sending out the delin-quent listing along with bad ad-dresses to all the chapters thismonth. Please let us know of anyupdates you find on the print-outs.

The National convention is inDayton, Ohio this year September13-18 at the Marriott Dayton.Please mark your calendars.

Clydie, Marsha, Sally & Donna

National Salute toVeteransThe National Salute to VeteranPatients Week is an official VAprogram that is celebrated at De-partment of Veterans Affairsmedical centers across the coun-try. This annual weeklong cel-ebration, formerly called “NoGreater Love Week” and “NationalSalute to Hospitalized VeteransWeek”, began in 1978 and is timedto coincide with Valentine’s Day.

VA OutreachS*O*O*NBefore it’s too late

NSO Fred Campbell, Chairman 3312 Chatterton Dr.San Angelo, TX 76904325-944-4002; [email protected]


7

You Too Can Help!Like Mary...

Mary Boyett with husband John inAmarillo, TX went to the 463rd

Bomb Group reunion recently nRapid City, SD. Mary says: “When Ifind a former POW at these re-unions, I’m always asking if theyhave the VA 100% disability rating.When I asked Hut from Naples, FLif he had 100%, he said no. He onlyhad 10% and had been a prisonerfor only ten days.”

Mary told me about Hut and I calledhim. He had never had a POW pro-tocol physical, and several of ourPOW presumptives apply even withno minimum time as a POW. Theseinclude anxiety sates (PTSD, etc.),cold injury, traumatic arthritis,stroke and heart disease. Hut suf-fered from heart disease, PTSD,cold injury and traumatic arthritis,most likely. Now Doris Jenks in NewPort Richey, FL is helping him withhis VA claim. Thanks to Mary forher persistent OUTREACH!

Sept. 30, 1999: Before that date,when a POW died, he had to have100% VA disability rating for atleast 10 years for his widow to au-tomatically qualify for the VAwidow’s benefit, DIC. After thatdate, he had to have had the 100%

for only one year when he died. Nowthat ten-year rule has been re-scinded and the one-year rule ap-plies to all. IF YOU KNOW OF AWIDOW WHO HASBEENDENIEDHER WIDOW’S BENEFIT BECAUSEOF THAT TEN-YEAR RULE, PLEASELET US KNOW SO WE CAN HELPHER GET HER DIC. This change isnot effective until Oct. 1, 2011, butefforts are being made to make iteffective sooner.

More caring! Boyd Engle in GlenDale, W VA calls to ask for help ingetting back in touch with his oldPOW buddy Manuel Granado inTaft, TX. I give him phone numberof San Patricio County VeteransService Office in Sinton, TX andthey make the connection to checkup on Manuel who is blind and deaf,with wife whose limited Englishprevents communication withBoyd. He’s concerned that theyhave their VA benefits.

Bernice e-mails from New Hamp-shire about getting her mother inNew Jersey her VA benefits; she’sin a nursing home. Bernice makesconnection with VA in New Jersey.

Delbert in Huntington, W VA calls.His mother has gotten her DIC ef-fective June 1, 2010; husband diedof ALS and they got claim to VA onOct. 15, 2009. I call Philadelphia VARep to ask why effective date ofclaim was not much earlier. He saidwhen the fiduciary papers came tothe VA, due to mother’sAlzheimer’s problem, they will goback to make effective date Nov. 1,2008. Good!

Elizabeth in Johnstown, PA writes:“Thanks to your letter in Dear Abby,I just got my 3rd check from theVA, due to my husband’s ALSdeath. It took a long time, but ithappened. Thank you for caringabout fellow veterans. I for one willbe forever grateful. God bless you.Elizabeth.”

Kathy in Red Bluff, CA has goodnews: “I just called to tell you I gotmy first VA check, since my hus-

band died of ALS.” I asked Kathyif she didn’t get a retro checkalso. Her excitement rose as sheanswered, “Yes, I got a check for$27,000 and I have been able topay off all my debts! Thank youfor your help.”

For many years, VA Rep BobManchester has served veterans,especially former prisoners of war.Retired from VA, now serving withthe Texas Veterans Commission,Bob is still at it, doing good deeds.In late October, Bob drives 125miles to Vidor, Texas, picks up Ti-ger Lyons to take him to the VAPOW Advisory Committee’s semi-annual meeting, this time in Waco,Texas, 265 miles from Vidor, for thethree day meeting and seeing oldfriends on the Committee. thenback to Vidor with Tiger, 265 miles,and then 125 miles back to Hous-ton. Caring is the word.

Elsie in Connecticut writes: “DearFred, I am thinking of you thisThanksgiving, and I am grateful formany things. One of them is thebenefits I receive each month thatyou have helped me to get. I amgrateful to you and your work. Ihave passed on my ALS claims in-formation to a destitute widow Imet by chance. Wishing you all theblessings this Thanksgiving.”

AXPOW service officer BenGarrido was parking his motorhome near Needles, California,adjacent to the Colorado RiverIndian Reservation bordering theColorado River in Arizona, forsome winter months. And stillthinking OUTREACH. Thus, thisletter: “Mr. Eldred Enas, Chair-man, CRIT Council, Parker, AZ. Istrongly support our organization’sendeavor in getting the word out toour POWs, widows of veterans andour war orphans. Attached is an ar-ticle in our May/June 2010 POW Bul-letin about our successful Outreach


8

due to our letter in the Dear Abbycolumn of last year’s newspapers. Ihope you and your tribal council willhelp us in reaching out to our veter-ans, widows and war orphans in ob-taining their rightfully earned entitle-ments. I am available to assist you inthis, Ben Garrido (of Tahlequah,Oklahoma, home of the CherokeeNation)” Thank you, Ben, for reach-ing out wherever you are!

Recently, I referred Harriet to theParalyzed Veterans of America Ser-vice Office in the Buffalo, NY VARO.And she writes: “Fred...I just had acall from the PVA Rep. What a niceman that called. Michael Kruse. Hetold me all the forms he needs fromme including burial expense etc.Thank you so very much for the lead.He said PVA represents us withoutobligation, and he was so helpful.Thanks again.”

Please know that Paralyzed Veteransof America service officers are to befound in most states’ VA Regional Of-fices, and give excellent service.Don’t hesitate to use them when youare where there are no AXPOW NSOs.

“Dear Mr. C, I have you to thank forleading me in the right direction.With the help of Mr. Fletcher in AnnArbor (who sent me the proper form)and a church friend who is a volun-teer with the Kalamazoo Red Cross(who went to the VA office here), Ireceived notice today that serviceconnected death benefits (DIC) aregranted effective May 3, 2009, oneyear prior to the date of claim. I amabsolutely overwhelmed to knowthat I will receive a monthly checkof $1,260. Talk about taking a loadoff my mind! I had been worried thatshould I live to be 92 years old (I amnow 90), I would only have Social Se-curity as my total income. I was un-der the impression that I would onlyreceive a one-time benefit, so you canimagine my surprise. I am going to

sleep better and I hope you will too!Be sure to keep your halo polishedand on straight! Again, thanks formaking life easier for this veteran’sspouse. God bless you, Kathryn”.(Kathryn, you are the only one whohas noticed my halo, except my wifewho says it’s on crooked.)(NOTE: Kathryn had been advisedthat she was not eligible because herhusband who died of ALS had servedin WWII, and this benefit was forthose who served in Vietnam. Badadvice! IT PAYS TO GET A SECONDOPINION.)

Variety is the spice of life, for sure.Here’s a note from Marsha Coke inAXPOW Headquarters in Arlington,TX: “Fred, he’s not in Texas, but canyou help this man? Thanks!”

The shaky-hand letter from Art inScottsdale: “Dear Ms. Coke, I am anX POW, 100% disabled, and I am veryhappy with the findings of the POWMedsearch. However, I have one thingin my mind that perhaps no one hasbrought up before. Many of usXPOWs have outlived our originalspouses and have subsequently mar-ried a younger woman. In order tomaintain a sexual relationship, be-cause of medications we are forcedto take to live, it becomes impossible.I am 89 and perhaps too old to thinkof such things, but I’m sure a lot ofyounger men have thought of this.Thanks for your consideration. Art,Bataan Survivor”

Art, fond memories can certainlyspark concern!

OUTREACH to former POWs contin-ues, but I believe we’ve reached mostby now. There may still be a few oldsoreheads who refuse to have any-thing to do with the VA or govern-ment in general, but we’ve tried asbest we can. Father Time marches on,and so do we.

nso

Ruth Powell, Director - NSO191 Florence RoadWaltham, MA 02453781-687-2821

Update on Cost-of-Living Adjust-ment for Veterans Compensationand Pension Benefits in 2011COLA Tied to Social Security andConsumer Price Index

The Social Security Administrationhas announced that no cost-of-liv-ing adjustments will be made toSocial Security benefits in 2011 be-cause the consumer price index hasnot risen since 2008 when the lastSocial Security increase occurred.

Like recipients of Social Securityand other federal benefits, Veter-ans, their families and survivors willalso not see a cost-of-living adjust-ment in 2011 to their compensationand pension benefits from the De-partment of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Under federal law, the cost-of-liv-ing adjustments to VA’s compen-sation and pension rates are thesame percentage as for Social Se-curity benefits.

Compensation Rates100% rating:Veteran Alone $2,673Veteran with Spouse $2,823Dependency & Indemnity Rates:Basic Payment Rate $1,154

VA provides compensation andpension benefits to about four mil-lion Veterans and beneficiaries.

Ruth

outreach, cont’d...

Over 22,000 people are employed at Wright-Patterson,

which occupies a site wherethe Wright Brothers tested

their fledgling airplaneabout a century ago.

pow medsearchMarsha Coke, Chairmane-mail: [email protected]

3201 E. Pioneer Pkway, Suite 40Arlington, TX 76010

(817) 649-2979


9

Korean

Hemorrhagic

FeverMore than half a century has passedsince the end of the Korean War.More than three years of fightingbetween United Nations and com-munist forces culminated indeci-sively with the July 27, 1953, sign-ing of what has become an uneasytruce.

Although the belligerents finallystopped killing each other, a differ-ent type of assailant — oblivious tothe armistice — continued its re-lentless assault. It waged war notonly on the ravaged Korean penin-sula, but throughout the world.Today, the battle against this ad-versary isn’t being fought byarmies, but by soldiers of sciencewhose basic weapon is research.They have yet to achieve victory, astheir elusive target adopts diver-gent forms.

Not differentiating friend from foe,this enemy of both enemies firstattracted international attentionafter it struck U.S. troops during theKorean War. No stranger in a partof the world where it had been ac-tive for centuries, it blindly at-tacked opposing sides and civilianswith equal intensity and was irre-futably responsible for the demiseof untold numbers on and off thebattlefields. Unarmed and unno-ticed as it moved among its prey-striking indiscriminately — this in-sidious killer was a disease: Koreanhemorrhagic fever (KHF). Allied andcommunist troops alike, as well ascivilians, endured its wrath.

KHF is a widespread and often fa-tal illness caused by a rodent-borne

species of Hantavirus known clini-cally as Hantaan virus. The same orclosely related Hantavirus maladies(called epidemic hemorrhagic feverin China and by several differentnames in at least 20 countries) arepervasively rampant throughoutthe Far East.

And it still continues to silentlykill.Fourteen cases of Korean hemor-rhagic fever (KHF) were identifiedamong 3,754 U.S. Marines who par-ticipated in a joint U.S.-Korean mili-tary training exercise in the Repub-lic of Korea (ROK) from late Septem-ber to mid-November 1986. Tenindividuals were hospitalized; twoof these died. Cases were confirmedby serologic testing and bypostdeployment screening of se-rum from 2,053 of the participants.

Korean hemorrhagic fever occursfrequently among rural civiliansand Korean military personnel.However, in recent years, fewerthan 10 cases have been recognizedannually among U.S. troops. TheMarine units participating in themilitary exercise were from campsin Okinawa, Japan, where KHF hasnot been reported. In addition, KHFhad not been previously reportedin association with this exercise,which is held annually, even thoughmost of the training takes placenortheast of Seoul in an area wherethe disease is endemic. There wasnothing unusual about the exercise,except that it occurred approxi-mately 1 month earlier than thoseheld in previous years. The weatherwas milder; conditions were warm,dry, and dusty until early Novem-ber.

Most (1,969) of the U.S. force wasquartered in tents at Uncheon BaseCamp, within the perimeter of apermanent ROK Army garrison

camp southwest of Uncheon. An-other 1,105 Marines were atWatkins Range, about 2 km north-west of Uncheon Base Camp. Theremaining 680 troops were engagedin aviation activities at various lo-cations distant from the base camp.

The patient with the index case be-came ill on October 26. The otherpatients had onsets of illnessthroughout the ensuing 51 days(Figure 1). The last patient identi-fied became ill on December 17, 38days following his departure fromKorea. The 10 hospitalized patientsinitially had nonspecific flu-like ill-nesses. The four nonhospitalizedpatients had a variety of symptoms.Prominent findings on admissionincluded fever (100%), fatigue(100%), headache (90%), conjuncti-val injection (90%), thrombocytope-nia (100%), and proteinuria (100%).

The overall attack rate was 4.6/1,000 among the total group of sol-diers deployed in the Uncheon area(14/3,074) and 7.0/1,000 amongthe group that was screened (14/1,985). Cases occurred in severaldifferent units, but 13 of the 14were among the 1,969 personshoused at Uncheon Base Camp. Onewas among the 1,105 personshoused at Watkins Range (rate ra-tio = 7.3; 95% confidence interval,0.96 to 55.7). At least 10 of the pa-tients lived in tents pitched alongthe periphery of the camp in an areanear high grass and scrub brush.Six of the 14 patients (43%), includ-ing the two who died, were from asingle engineer company of 118men and women. All of the affectedpersons in this company were as-signed to two of the three company

medsearch continued...platoons (attack rates, 54/1,000and 94/1,000).

All of the soldiers who had beentested for antibody completed aquestionnaire within 2 months oftheir return from Korea. In addi-tion, 11 of the 12 surviving patientswere interviewed. No temporal clus-tering by unit, field exercise area,environment, or work-related fac-tors could be identified as risk fac-tors for infection.

Fifteen persons with IgM antibodytiters greater than 1:3,000 wereidentified by an enzyme- linkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA) spe-cific for hantaviruses. Thirteenwere confirmed by indirect immu-nofluorescence assay (IFA) (greaterthan 1:128) and plaque-reductionneutralization (PRN) (greater than1:20). The fourteenth case was di-agnosed by IFA and PRN alone. Neu-tralization tests distinguishedApodemus-associated (Hantaan)virus from urban rat-associated(Seoul) virus. All sera that had beenconfirmed as positive yielded titersat least fourfold higher against pro-totype Hantaan virus than againstSeoul virus.

Approximately 150 cases of KHFwere reported among ROK militaryforces between September and De-cember 1986. Nine cases of KHFwere identified among ROK troopsstationed in the Uncheon area dur-ing the time of the exercise. Two ofthese occurred among the approxi-mately 1,500 ROK Marines partici-pating with the U.S. forces. Differ-ential neutralization revealedApodemus-associated infection inthese patients as well. Reported by:CDR E Pon, LCDR B Merrell, LCDRR Thomas, US Navy EnvironmentalPreventive Medicine Unit #6, Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii. LT A Corwin, Con-solidated Preventive Medicine Svc,US Naval Hospital, Okinawa, Japan.MAJ B Diniega, MAJ K McKee,Walter Reed Army Institute of Re-search, Washington, DC. LTC TKsiazek, US Army Medical ResearchInstitute of Infectious Diseases,Fort Detrick, Maryland. H-W Lee,Korea Univ Medical College, Seoul,Korea.* Special Pathogens Br, Div ofViral Diseases, Center for InfectiousDiseases, CDC.

Note: Hemorrhagic fever with renalsyndrome (HFRS), sometimesknown as Korean hemorrhagic fe-ver, is a viral infection acquiredfrom rodents, principally the spe-cies Apodemus agrarius, Rattusrattus, and Clethrionomysglariolus. Human infections arewidespread, particularly in Asianorth of the Himalayas. For ex-ample, in the People’s Republic ofChina, HFRS is responsible for over100,000 reported cases annually,with the reported incidence increas-ing rapidly in the last few years (1).This increase may be the result ofrecent changes in agricultural prac-tices, which may have altered ro-dent populations. The disease isundoubtedly ancient, but was firstrecognized independently and re-ported in the 1930s in Scandinaviaand in Manchuria during the Japa-nese campaign (2). Most of the earlyrecognized outbreaks were associ-ated with military maneuvers, es-pecially where troops had biv-ouacked in the open or had beeninvolved in trench warfare. Duringthe Korean conflict, at least 3,000United Nations troops were af-fected (3,4). The prototype viruswas isolated in 1978 and namedafter the Hantaan river in Korea (5).

The group of closely related virusescausing HFRS have recently beenclassified as the genus Hantavirus,forming a subgroup of the familyBunyaviridae (6). The virus is usu-ally acquired directly from rodents,in which it establishes a silent butpersistent infection. In these ro-dents, the virus is detected prima-

rily in the lung and kidney, whereit is able to persist in the presenceof serum antibodies. Large quanti-ties of virus are excreted through-out life. Humans may become in-fected through minor cuts andabrasions contaminated with ro-dent urine or feces, but evidencealso suggests that aerosol infectionmay occur where virus contamina-tion is heavy. Infections have alsobeen reported among laboratorypersonnel in the Soviet Union, Ja-pan, Scandinavia, and Belgium.Most of these have been associatedwith handling of infected wild orlaboratory rodents (2,7).

Both the epidemiologic character-istics of outbreaks of human dis-ease and the severity of the infec-tion may be determined by the ro-dent host. A. agrarius, the majorhost in Asia, is found mainly in ru-ral areas, particularly in the east-ern Soviet Union, mainland China,and Korea, where its habits are in-creasingly peridomestic. TheApodemus-associated hantavirusesprobably cause the most severehuman disease, with mortality ratescurrently reported between 3% and7% (1). Rattus-associated disease isapparently less severe, and asymp-tomatic infections may be morecommon than with Apodemus-as-sociated disease (8). Human infec-tions from R. rattus are reportedfrom some inner cities in Asia andprobably occur also in rural areaswhere infestation with both R.rattus and A. agrarius is common.Although infected rats have beendetected in Western cities, associ-ated human disease has yet to bedescribed (9). Nephropathiaepidemica, which was first de-scribed in Scandinavia, is nowknown to be due to infection witha strain of Hantavirus that infectsvoles (Clethrionomys species) (10).It has become apparent recentlythat infected voles and human dis-ease occur throughout WesternEurope (11). Nephropathiaepidemica is typically the least se-vere disease and causes very fewdeaths, although some patients


10


11

medsearch continued...may require dialysis. Some severecases with hemorrhagic tendencyhave occurred in some Europeancountries, particularly France (12).A severe disease caused by the lo-cal Apodemus species has been re-cently reported from Greece (13).

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syn-drome has classically been dividedinto five stages: febrile, shock,oliguric, polyuric, and convalescent(2). In practice these stages fre-quently overlap, particularly theshock and oliguric phases. The ini-tial symptoms are usually fever,flushed face, periorbital edema, andpalatal and axillary petechiae. Con-junctivitis, headache, eye pain, lum-bar pain, and tenderness are alsocommon. Principal laboratory find-ings are proteinuria, hemoconcen-tration, and thrombocytopenia.Most patients recover spontane-ously from this stage. A fewprogress to a phase of oliguria oranuria that is short and usually self-limiting. Shock can be managed bycareful fluid replacement; the great-est danger to the patient is inad-vertent fluid overload. Althoughpetechiae, thrombocytopenia, andplatelet functional abnormalitiesare very common, overt bleeding isnot. In hospitals in some endemicareas of the People’s Republic ofChina, the infection is most oftenself-limiting and without a severephase, and the few deaths are usu-ally due to intracranial hemorrhageor generalized uncontrollablebleeding.

The outbreak being reported is typi-cal of endemic Apodemus-associ-ated HFRS in Asia. There were noasymptomatic seropositives amongthose at risk for the disease. Therewas no evidence for a point source.The cases occurred sporadicallyduring the fall season and were lo-calized in an area presumably in-fested with infected A. agrarius.The experience mirrors those of theJapanese during their occupation ofChina and of the United Nations

forces during the Korean conflict.The attack rate of the outbreak inthis report is higher than that usu-ally reported in civilian populationsand probably reflects the relativelyintense exposure to the virus en-countered during the military op-eration.

The mission of the Army PublicHealth Command is to promotehealth and prevent disease, injury,and disability of Soldiers and mili-tary retirees, their Families, andDepartment of the Army civilianemployees; and assure effectiveexecution of full spectrum veteri-nary service for Army and Depart-ment of Defense Veterinary mis-sions.

United States Army Public HealthCommand (Provisional)5158 Blackhawk RoadAberdeen Proving Ground, MD21010- 5403

References1. Chen H-X, Qiu F-X, Dong B-J, et al. Epidemiological studies onhemorrhagic fever with renalsyndrome in China. J Infect Dis1986;154:394-8.

2. Fisher-Hoch SP,McCormick JB. Haemorrhagicfever with renal syndrome: areview. Abstracts on Hygiene andCommunicable Diseases1985;60:R1-20.

3. Earle DP. Analysis ofsequential physiologic derange-ments in epidemic hemorrhagicfever. Am J Med 1954;16:690-709.

4. Sheedy JA, Froeb HF,Batson HA, et al. The clinicalcourse of epidemic hemorrhagicfever. Am J Med 1954;16:619-28.

5. Lee HW, Lee PW, JohnsonKM. Isolation of the etiologicagent of Korean hemorrhagicfever. J Infect Dis 1978;137:298-308.

6. Schmaljohn CS, Hasty SE,Dalrymple JM, et al. Antigenic and

genetic properties of viruseslinked to hemorrhagic fever withrenal syndrome. Science1985;227:1041-4.

7. Desmyter J, LeDuc JW,Johnson KM, Brasseur F, DeckersC, van Ypersele de Strihou C.Laboratory rat associated out-break of haemorrhagic fever withrenal syndrome due to Hantaan-like virus in Belgium. Lancet1983;2:1445-8.

8. Tsai TF, Bauer SP, SassoDR, et al. Serological and virologi-cal evidence of a Hantaan virus-related enzootic in the UnitedStates. J Infect Dis 1985;152:126-36.

9. Lee HW, Baek LJ, JohnsonKM. Isolation of Hantaan virus,the etiologic agent of Koreanhemorrhagic fever, from wildurban rats. J Infect Dis1982;146:638-44.

10. Lahdevirta J. Nephropathiaepidemica in Finland: a clinicalhistological and epidemiologicalstudy. Ann Clin Res 1971;3:1-54.

11. Centers for Disease Con-trol. Hemorrhagic fever with renalsyndrome—France. MMWR1984;33:228,233-4.

12. Dournon E, Girard P,Moriniere B, Brion N. (Hemor-rhagic fever with renal syndrome.Epidemiologic data (Letter).)Presse Med 1985;14:1101.

13. Antoniadis A,Pyrpasopoulos M, Sion M, DanielS, Peters CJ. Two cases of hemor-rhagic fever with renal syndromein Northern Greece. J Infect Dis1984;149:1011-3. *The views ofthe authors do not purport toreflect the position of the U.S.Department of the Army or theU.S. Department of Defense.

POW Photos Order FormThese black & white 8x10” photographs are availablefrom MedSearch. Please include a donation of $5.00per picture, or $50.00 for the complete set of 12 withyour order. Fill out the form below with selections.

Fill in the number of copiesof each picture desired in theblank beside the picture’sidentification number:

1._____5._____9._____

2._____6._____10.____

3._____7._____11.____

4._____8._____12.____Set of 12 photos_______

Mail to:MEDSEARCH, AXPOW National Headquarters3201 East Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, TX 76010. PH: 817-649-2979; fax 817-649-0109; e-mail: [email protected]

Name ___________________________________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________________________

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Credit Card: MasterCard ________ VISA _______Card # ____________________________________ Expiration: ___________

Total Amount Enclosed or Charged($5.00 per picture/$50.00 for set of 12) __________

1. Santo Tomas prison campinternees Lee Rogers andJohn Todd.

10. POWs at CabanatuanCamp 3 beaten with clubs.

11. Bilibid POW hospitalward, Philippine Islands.

12. Bataan Death March,April 1942.

2. Pvt. Robert Collins & M/Sgt. Woodrow Haines backbehind UN lines, Chechon,Korea.

6. Nick Mustacchia and an-other POW are liberatedfrom a German prison camp.

3. Pfc. Robert Brandon ra-tions Red Cross parcels, Sta-lag IX-B.

4. Nichols Field Detail, PI,taken at Pasay Schoolhouse.

5. An American POW suf-fering from dry beri-beri be-ing treated in Bilibid.

7. Survivors of SuchonTunnel Massacre, Korea.

8. Three American POWSreleased by the Viet Congnear Tay Ninh City.

9. 100 days as a POW --100 lb. weight loss.NickMustacchia is shown.


12

andersonville

Andersonville NHS496 Cemetery RoadAndersonville, GA 31711(229) 924-0343


13

Brad Bennett, [email protected]

Happy 2011!

At this writing, cold winter windsare blowing the last of autumn’sleaves from the trees andAndersonville National Historic Sitehas already experienced its firstfrost. By the time you are readingthis, Andersonville National Cem-etery will have once again wit-nessed the annual Wreaths AcrossAmerica program, held the secondSaturday of December, where thepublic has an opportunity to re-member and honor our nation’sveterans during the holiday season.This year’s event is being coordi-nated by the park’s new Chief of In-terpretation and Education, EricLeonard, who has brought freshenergy and ideas to the NationalPrisoner of War Museum, our pub-lic programs, and our website. Eric,

who holds a Master’s Degree inPublic History, has served at sev-eral national parks, and he is nowexcited about leadingAndersonville through the 150th

Anniversary of the Civil War – theSesquicentennial – during the nextfive years. He has also worked withthe National Park Service Center forMedia Services in West Virginia(also known as Harpers Ferry Cen-ter, or HFC) on exhibit projects inthe past. Thus, he is the perfectperson to take the reins of the POWTraveling Legacy project, “VictoryFrom Within: the American Pris-oner of War Experience” as we tran-sition from the design phase to fab-rication.

On that note, I want to thank onceagain the park’s resident historianand Chief of Natural and CulturalResources, Alan Marsh, and theAXPOW advisory group, for theirhard work over the past year ingetting the exhibit package readyto build. I also want to thank themany AXPOW members and chap-ters who have continued to supportthe project through donations. Asyou know, through your efforts,with the last big infusion in Sep-tember provided by your NationalConvention in Albany, Georgia, thePOW Traveling Legacy accountgrew to $38,000. That amount,combined with the $62,000 be-quest received by the Friends ofAndersonville, brought the totalamount of private dollars raised tobuild the traveling exhibition to$100,000! Matched with the$136,000 requested and receivedby the National Park Service

through a public-private grantsource brought the balance to$236,000.

Needing another $36,000 to reachthe $272,000 project budget andbegin the contracting phase, theFriends of Andersonville made amuch-appreciated executive deci-sion in November to provide a$36,000 “advance” from theAndersonville Trust fund, so thatthe project could proceed withoutdelay. However, those monies needto be replenished into the corpusof the endowment, so that it con-tinues to earn the level of interestthat provides other annual supportto small and medium-sized NationalPrisoner of War Museum researchand education projects. So, to para-phrase the words of Wayne Waddell,Vietnam POW, and a member of theFriends of Andersonville Board ofTrustees, who spoke atAndersonville NHS on NationalPOW/MIA Recognition Day, “if youhaven’t yet supported this project,please do. And if you already have,please consider ‘doubling down’and making another donation.”

Another way to support the projectwould be through your time. If youwould be willing to serve as a GuestHost at a Grand Opening of the ex-hibit at a museum near your home,please contact Eric at 229-924-0343x110 or at [email protected] email. After all, this is yourstory, and it our purpose to ensurethat Americans, particularlyyounger generations, never forgetabout the sacrifices that you andyour families have made in serviceto our nation. With your continuedsupport, we will accomplish thismission together.

All donations are tax deductable.Please make checks payable to: POWTraveling Legacy and send to:Friends of Andersonville, PO Box186, Andersonville, GA 31711.

Thousands of Wreaths Decorate Veterans’ GravesDonors and Volunteers Honor Veterans at VA National CemeteriesThousands of red-bowed wreaths decorated Veterans’ graves andmemorials across the country thisholiday season when volunteersplaced them at 131 Department of Vet-erans Affairs (VA) national cemeteries,state Veterans cemeteries, and at Ar-lington National Cemetery and memo-rial sites.

namPOW news

Paul E. GalantiNational Director, East Central804.389.1668 (cell)[email protected]


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Operation

Homecoming 1973Release of the longest heldprisoners of war in Americanhistory.

“What kind of an airplane is that?” –long-term resident of the HanoiHilton upon seeing his first C-141,the aircraft that had been the logis-tics workhorse of most of the Viet-nam war.

February 12, 1973 was unlike anyother February day in the last sevenyears. We’d been issued our clothesthe night before - real shoes (not HoChi Minh tire-tread sandals) khakitrousers and shirt (not cheap paja-mas) and a cheap tan jacket - all fromCzechoslovakia - not good qualitybut the best we’d seen in a long time.

Our senior officers had put out theword that no one was to show anyemotion during the release. We knewthat the North Vietnamese commu-nists would try to use any joy or smil-ing or happy faces to propagandizethe release and use the film to rebutreports of the awful treatment we’dreceived over the previous 6, 7 or 8years of captivity.

Several weeks previously, the guardshad moved many POWs into differ-

ent cells around the prison based onthe date we’d been shot down. Thecamp commander had lined everyoneup – and actually allowed our seniorofficers to form us into militaryranks. He read the provisions of theGeneva agreements signed in Parison January 26, 1973 which statedthat all POWs were to be releasedwithin 60 days. Although we wereecstatic we showed no emotion.None. No facial expressions. Nocheering. Nothing.

The camp commander became veryperplexed. The senior interrogatorwho spoke excellent English came upto the microphone and asked, “Doyou understand you will be goinghome soon.” There was still no reac-tion from the POWs. We displayedno emotion. Gave no positive ornegative reaction to the news. Wejust stood there.

As we glanced around the HanoiHilton’s courtyard, we could seemany motion picture cameras set upin the gun towers of the prison. Aha!Suspicions confirmed.

The obviously very irritated campcommander and interrogator saidsimply go back to your rooms. Whichwe did quietly and without showingany emotion.

It was the first actual victory we POWshad achieved over our captors in themany years we’d been held.

As soon as we got into the cells westarted cheering wildly as we finallyrealized that we’d soon be goinghome. And then the room got veryquiet as each man contemplated free-dom after years of brutal imprison-ment coupled with torture, beatingsand starvation. The emotions wereoverwhelming as we realized that all

those dreams and fantasies com-piled during years of solitary con-finement were about to be realized.

The morning of February 12 waschilly by north Vietnamese standardsbut we didn’t feel it a bit. The firsttwo buses left about an hour apartand we were on the third bus waitedand waited and waited and wethought here it comes... finally it’sjust a drill - we’re not going homeafter all.

We’d heard that POW Ed Davis (Navypilot shot down nearly 8 years before)had stolen the camp commander’spuppy - “Liberated” was the word Edused! - and had actually got the pupaboard the Air Force C-141 and outof the country.

Finally the guards got the last groupof us and herded us into a bus. Wemarched from the bus to the stagingarea at Gia Lam airport and thenmarched to a table where our nameswere called, We were grabbed bysome Air Force medics who cau-tioned us to be quiet and not say any-thing inflammatory. We were thenguided individually to our Air ForceMedEvac C-141. There was a firstclass airline seat for each of us aswell as a litter in case we wanted torest. Fat chance! Most didn’t sit downfor the three hour flight to Clark AFBin the Philippines electing instead tocheck out the cockpit, chat with theflight crew, read magazines from Lifeto Playboy, smoke cigarettes andstand in line to sniff the perfume ofour much appreciated Air Force flightnurses who frequently had to wipetheir eyes!

It had been a very long final combatmission but at last it was over. Wewere going home…

Photo: Ed Davis with USNA class-mates aboard the last flight of theHanoi Taxi at the 2003 Nam-POWReunion when it was the last flyingC-141 and became part of a survivalexhibit at the Air Force Museum InDayton, Ohio.<L-R> Paul Galanti,Mike McGrath and Ed Davis. The Min-iature Schnauzer was Ed’s dog in2003. Ed died in 2008 and is buried

in Arlington National Cemetery.

pow-mia


15

PNC John EdwardsChairman889 Randall RoadNiskayuna, NY 12309-4815(518) 393-3907 phone & fax

Americans Identified

There are 1,705 Americans listed bythe Defense POW/Missing PersonnelOffice (DPMO) as missing and unac-counted-for from the Vietnam War.On November 2, DPMO posted thenews that the remains of one US Ma-rine had been recovered. He has nowbeen identified as SSgt Samuel E.Hewitt, USMC, listed as MIA in SouthVietnam from a ground incident thatoccurred March 23, 1966. His re-mains were recovered June 24, 2010,and identified September 20, 2010,with notice just released by DPMOwith the family’s agreement. On No-vember 3rd, the remains of two USAir Force officers dad been recoveredand identified. The first is MajorThomas J. Beyer, of North Dakota,listed as MIA in south Vietnam onJuly 30, 1968. His remains were re-covered December 1, 2009, and iden-tified on October 12, 2010.

The second officer is Major RichardG. Elzinga, of Oregon, listed as MIAin Laos on March 26, 1970. His re-mains were recovered June 22, 2009and identified October 28, 2010. Several others have been identified,but not yet announced by DPMO asthey are awaiting family notificationby the Service Casualty Offices. Thenumber of Americans returned andidentified since the end of the Viet-nam War in 1975 is 878; another 63US personnel, recovered post-inci-dent and identified before the endof the war, bring the total to 941. Ofthe 1,705 Americans POW/MIAs from

the Vietnam War, our unreturnedveterans, 90% were lost in Vietnamor in areas of Laos and Cambodiaunder Vietnam’s wartime control:Vietnam – 1,305 (VN-478, VS-827);Laos – 334; Cambodia – 59; PeoplesRepublic of China territorial waters– 7. Over 450 are considered over-water losses.

Soldier Missing in Action fromWorld War I Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announcedtoday that the remains of a U.S. ser-viceman, missing in action fromWorld War I, have been identified andreturned to his family for burial withfull military honors. Army PrivateHenry A. Weikel, 28, of Mt. Carmel,Pa., was buried on Dec. 9 in Annville,PA.

On Sept. 16, 1918, as part of the 60th

Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th In-fantry Division, his unit encounteredheavy enemy artillery barrage andmachine gun fire near Jaulny, France,in a wooded area known as Bois deBonvaux. Weikel was killed duringthe battle and his remains were bur-ied with two other soldiers in awooded area between Bois deBonvaux and Bois de GrandFontaine. Attempts to locate his re-mains by U.S. Army Graves Registra-tion personnel following the warwere unsuccessful. In September2006, French nationals hunting formetal in the area found human re-mains and World War I artifacts. AJoint POW/MIA Accounting Com-mand team, operating near the loca-tion, was notified of the discoveryand recovered human remains uponexcavating the site.

Missing WWII Airman Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) an-nounced that the remains of a ser-viceman, missing in action fromWorld War II,have been identifiedand returned to his family for burialwith full military honors. Army AirForces Capt. George W. Grismore, 30,of Salt Lake City, was buried at seaNov. 17 off the coast of NewportBeach, Calif.

In 1945, Grismore and five crew mem-bers aboard a C-47A Skytrain de-parted Tanauan Airfield on Leyte,Philippines, on a resupply mission toguerilla troops. Once cleared fortakeoff, there was no further com-munication between the aircrew andairfield operators. When the aircraftfailed to return, a thorough searchof an area ten miles on either side ofthe intended route was initiated. Noevidence of the aircraft was foundand the six men were presumedkilled in action. Their remains weredetermined to be non-recoverable in1949.

In 1989, a Philippine National Policeofficer contacted U.S. officials re-garding a possible World War II-eraaircraft crash near Leyte. Human re-mains, aircraft parts and artifactswere turned over to the local police,then to U.S. officials at the JointPOW/MIA Accounting Command.From 1989 to 2009, JPAC sought per-mission to send teams to the crashsite but unrest in the Burauen regionprecluded on-scene investigations orrecovery operations. Meanwhile,JPAC scientists continued the foren-sic process, analyzing the remainsand physical evidence already inhand. Among other forensic identi-fication tools and circumstantial evi-dence, the Armed Forces DNA Iden-tification Laboratory used mitochon-drial DNA-which matched that ofGrismore’s nephew-in the identifica-tion of his remains.

At the end of the war, the U.S. gov-ernment was unable to recover andidentify approximately 79,000Americans. Today, more than 72,000are unaccounted-for from the con-flict.

Missing/Captured

US Service members reported miss-ing or captured while supportingcombat operations: Army Pfc. BoweR. Bergdahl, 24, June 30, 2009, Af-ghanistan Army Staff Sgt. Ahmed K.Altaie, 45, Oct.23, 2006, Baghdad.


16

civilians

Sally Bateman MorganChairman3201 E Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, TX [email protected]

Finch, A.L. Child P.O.W.—A Memoirof Survival. Enumclaw, WA: Anno-tation Press, 2008. Pp. 399. Largeprint.This book is a personal account ofabuse to the author and her motherby the Japanese during World War II inthe Philippines. It covers the author’schildhood, concentrating on slightlymore than three years ending when shewas eleven. During this period, Ms.Finch writes that she and her motherwere held as civilian POW’s and slavelaborers in a series of camps in the Phil-ippines, China and Japan. Her tale islively, interesting, and reasonably well-written. However, it contains descrip-tions of alleged Japanese atrocities thatdidn’t happen. It also contains “eye-witness” testimony that is impossibleto believe. The author appears to haveconflated, exaggerated and sometimesinvented events in the Philippines andelsewhere, and then placed herself andher mother in the midst of them.

An early exaggeration is her tale of fly-ing to the Philippines on a Pan Am Clip-per which made “extemporaneousstops” at uninhabited tropical atolls toallow the passengers to swim, picnicand collect shells (p. 43).

This is nonsense, but rather harmlessnonsense. Much of the rest is not sobenign. The following review will high-light some of the many inventions andinaccuracies in this book.

As she and her mother had limitedfinances, Finch credits her “AuntAlice”, stationed in Manila as a “Major”

in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, withfinancing the trip. The “Aunt”supposedly was evacuated along withseveral other nurses from thePhilippines by submarine on December11, three days after the initial Japaneseair raids (p. 82).

No such submarine evacuationoccurred and no Major Alice is on theroster of U.S. Army nurses in thePhilippines. The ranking Army nurseat the time was Capt. Maude Davison1,one rank lower than Finch’s “Aunt”.Initially the 100 Army and Navy nurseswere desperately needed to treat thewounded. A few (22) were evacuatedin the week before the May 5 surrenderof Corregidor2 , but most (77) wereincarcerated by the Japanese for thenearly three years prior to liberation33

In Chapter 9, “Death at Tea Time,”Finch claims that after she and hermother were arrested by the Japanese,they were transported to the Bay ViewHotel, which she described as “secondrate” and “across the tracks” indowntown Manila (p. 113).

At this point Finch launches into oneof her most serious inventions whenshe describes seeing piles of deadwomen and children at the hotel, manyof whom appeared beaten and raped(p. 114). Finch further claims that wellunder half the women and childrentaken to the Bay View left alive. Amongthese victims she lists a wealthy Fili-pino family that had befriended herand her mother because of Finch’sfriendship with their daughter whenboth were attending a private schoolin the U.S. This family is never identi-fied.

Actually the hotel was good quality, lo-cated across the street from Manila Bayand the lovely new American HighCommission, now the U.S. Embassy.

In addition, this entire episode is fic-tion. The Bay View Hotel was a gather-ing place for foreigners (not Filipinos)to be interned by the Japanese, but noviolence took place there during thisperiod. Violence did occur at Bay Viewthree years later when the Japaneseused it as a rape hotel during theirmurderous rampage as American lib-eration forces approached Manila.Then approximately 100,000 Filipinomen, women and children were mur-dered.

In Chapter 10, “Evil Swords,” Finchclaims that she and her mother wereimprisoned with a mixture of militarymen and civilians in a series of 7 or 8sub-camps to O’Donnell and Ca-banatuan (p. 119).In actuality, the Japanese separatedmale military prisoners from mostmale and all female civilian internees;and there is no listing of “sub- camps”,which Finch claimed totaled aroundthirteen (p. 119).

She also describes a camp comman-dant, whose hobby was raising roses,which he regularly watered by decapi-tating prisoners while the survivorswere forced to watch. According toFinch, she and her mother were alwaysplaced in the front row, so were regu-larly splattered with the victim’s blood(pp. 125-6).

Finch further charges that this campcommander “became a mega-million-aire” and a member of the JapaneseDiet following the war. And that hewas protected from prosecution by theAmerican government which“needed…men to run the new Japanesegovernment.” (p. 128) Later she claimsGeneral Douglas MacArthur placed thisman as “the American head of an im-mense electronic corporation, whichMacArthur helped establish.” (Ch. 21,“A Long Road Home,” pp. 248-9)

Finch also describes torture where vic-tims were crucified face-first againstwooden buildings, doused with gaso-line and set on fire (p. 125).

These two execution stories aren’tfound elsewhere in wartime accountsof Japanese abuse and the flaming cru-cifixion incidents surely also wouldhave burned down the buildings towhich the victims were nailed.

No evidence is offered to support thecharges against Gen. MacArthur andthe U.S. Government, and neither theJapanese man, nor the company sheclaims he headed is identified.

An excuse Finch uses for not identify-ing such people is fear of retaliation.By the time her book was published itis unlikely that any still would be liv-ing. Hundreds of war criminals wereprosecuted due to eyewitness testi-mony and scores were executed.

In Chapter 13, “The Basket Man,” isanother of the more serious inventions


17

in Finch’s book. Here she claims that,upon the surrender of Corregidor, theJapanese rampaged through theMalinta tunnel hospital, where “theycame across wounded patients, nurses,doctors and surgeons [and] …machinegunned every single person withoutmercy…” (p. 142)

This massacre never happened, norwere patients and medical personnelmassacred at the two large field hos-pitals on Bataan when the Filipino andAmerican forces surrendered a monthearlier. Indeed, all 100 American mili-tary nurses survived the war.

In Chapter 16, “The Jumping Frogs,”Finch’s account of five months in aJapanese officers’ brothel in the moun-tain resort city of Baguio is suspect. Inthis chapter (and elsewhere) Finch al-leges the Japanese broke her fingers,burned her with cigarettes, tore out hertoe nails and broke bones in her feet“solely to amuse” themselves. She fur-ther stated that x-rays taken of her feetafter her release showed “more than50 healed fractures”. (p. 176) Finchalso claims that, when repatriated, sheinitially weighed just over 25 pounds,despite being nearly 12 years old (p.269).

No evidence appears to exist of thisbrothel, which she describes as “nearthe former summer home of Philippinekings….and emperors.” (p. 162-3.)Moreover, there were no Philippinekings or emperors, unless you countthe series of Spanish kings who nevervisited the Philippines in the 350 yearsthe archipelago was part of their Em-pire.

Indeed, her tale of more than threeyears of starvation, disease, physicalabuse and incredibly long hours athard labor makes it difficult to con-ceive of her (or her mother) surviving.In Finch’s case, this all allegedly beganwhen she was only eight years old andrecovering from polio.

In Chapter 18, “Lennie and the RoseGarden,” Finch writes that an Austra-lian friend “Dear Lennie” was beheadedfor no apparent reason in front of herand her mother while in Fukuoka, Ja-pan in early February 1943.

A photo accompanying this beheadingaccount appears on p. 198. At the bot-tom of this photo is a link to the Aus-

tralian War Memorial website(www.awm.gov.au). The Australian siteidentifies this as a famous photo of Sgt.Leonard George Siffleet being decapi-tated on a beach in Aitape, New Guineaalong with two other Australian mili-tary men on 10/24/43.

In Chapter 19, “The Hell Ship,” Finchadds a “Hell Ship” story to the book byclaiming that she and her mother weresent from Fukuoka to Manila in earlyFebruary 1943, and then shipped backto Japan (Kobe) less than a week lateralong with “nearly 800” POWs. The tripto Kobe, she writes, took eight daysduring which no food or water was sup-plied (p. 207).

However, there is no record of a HellShip departing the Philippines for Ja-pan (or anywhere else) during thatmonth. There also appears to be norecord of Hell Ships transporting cap-tive women along with military POWs.Furthermore, eight days without waterspent packed in the sweltering ship’shold likely would be fatal to the POWs.Finch claims they traveled to multiplecamps in the Philippines (most of whicharen’t known to have existed); toFoochow, China (work in a tin mine);to Fukuoka, Japan; back to Manila; backto Japan (Kobe); and then repatriationfrom Japan to the U.S. via Australia.

No accounts of prisoners being movedaround this much appear to exist. Fur-thermore, civilians seized in the Phil-ippines were either murdered (in re-mote locales) or taken to one of threeholding camps, Santo Tomas Univer-sity (Manila), University of the Philip-pines (Los Baños) and Baguio.

In Chapter 20, “Kobe Dock Laborers,”Finch states that she and her motherworked 25 months, twenty hours a day,shoveling and hauling coal to powerJapanese ships, while, subsisting on adaily diet of 50 to 100 grains of rice,supplemented by seaweed and any-thing they could scavenge. (p. 215).

In Chapter 21, “A Long Road Home,”inexplicably, at the end of the stint onthe Kobe docks, mother and daughterwere suddenly placed aboard a Swed-ish repatriation ship, theDrottninghom/Sverge and taken tofreedom in Australia. Supposedlyabout 200 others, most of them “se-verely wounded soldiers” were repatri-ated with them (p. 237).

Such repatriation missions didn’t oc-cur late in the war. Furthermore,wounded (or unwounded) militaryPOWs never were repatriated by theJapanese.

A constant Finch complaint is the re-fusal of military authorities to believethe stories she and her mother told,but couldn’t document. Her motherfinally obtained counterfeit state-sidedocumentation from a sympathetic un-named colonel in military intelligenceto assist her in getting a job. This in-cluded “personnel records and pay-check stubs”; along with tax receiptsshowing she had worked in “aircraftcompanies in San Diego” during thewar. Documentation of school atten-dance, including report cards, for herdaughter also was provided (pp. 334-5).

Upon finishing this book, one is leftwondering if the stateside “cover story”supposedly provided by military intel-ligence, is actually the true account ofFinch and her mother’s wartime expe-riences. In her final chapter, Finchwarns Americans against “charlatans”and advises that “when we hear an un-usual fact or claim…we must check thesources carefully.” (p. 383)

Her book illustrates the wisdom of thatadvice.

Reviewed by J. Michael HoulahanHoulahan is a retired U.S. diplomat,who was stationed at the AmericanEmbassy in Manila 1989-92. He writeson the Philippines and visits that coun-try frequently with his wife, a Filipinoacademic. Ten of his articles are basedon interviews with POWs, includingeleven American military nurses, mostof them imprisoned with the non-Fili-pino civilians at the Santo Tomas (Uni-versity) Internment Camp.

NOTE: We understand that there isnow a movie being made from thisbook. If you are as outraged by this aswe are, please contact the publisher.~ Sascha Weinzheimer JansenBACEPOW Board MemberAmerican Ex-POW [email protected]


18

Cheryl, I recently met a group ofWWII British POWs who organizedthemselves into the Monte SanMartino Trust. They survived cap-tivity and performed multiple es-capes out of northern Italy. Thereare at least 6 still living and theyare curious if there might be a simi-lar organization in the US. Thereintention is to declare a “sister or-ganization” for futuregatherings. The current director ofthis organization is: Sir NicholasYoung (btw: he is also CEO of theBritish Red Cross and son of oneof the former POWs). I’ve been re-searching for about 3 weeks andhave thus far come up blank. Might you have some contacts whocould point me in the rightdirection? Thank You,Sonny Blinkinsop.Colonel, U.S. Air ForceAir AttachéU.S. Embassy Londonwork +44 (0) 20-7894-0714 (0761)mobile +44 (0) 7850 [email protected]

My father, Porter E Stevens wascaptured during the Battle of theBulge and held prisoner in 9C Bonn,13C Hammelberg, Schweinfurt, 13DNuremberg, 7A Moosburg and wasthe last known American to be lib-erated from Dachau. He made twodifferent escapes during his captiv-ity. He died in April 2010. I wouldlike to hear from anyone who knewof him. I am his son and only survi-vor. Thank [email protected].

On D Day, June 6, 1944, my familylived on an old farm at St. Georges

d Boron. Early that day, we helpedwith some American paratrooperswho were misdropped near the vil-lage. Unfortunately, there wereGerman paratroopers there as welland most of the Americans werecaptured. I have a unit roster ofthese men; most all camp from the501st Parachute Inf. Reg. 1st Bn,Companies A, C and HQ. Here aresome of the names: Privates An-thony Capobianco, CharlesDuckworth, John Fekete, MichaelKovalick, Hugrd. Snead, KeifferBohannan, Talmadge C Burrell, Gil-bert A Smith, S/Sgt Herbert HSmith, Tech/Sgt Ross W Ford...allfrom “A” Company. If anyoneknows these heroes or their fami-lies, I would be grateful. My infor-mation is: Thierry Ferey, 3, routedu Rivage, 50500 Auvers,Normandy, France.

I am looking for anybody who knewa Philip Mintz. He was in the 77thinfantry in WW2 stationed in Ja-pan. He was a POW and we needproof of this fact for the army. They lost all records in a fire theyhad. I hope someone out thereknew him and can help me. Pleasecall me at 954—424—4084 or e-mail me at:[email protected] you, Edythe Mintz.

lookingfor

Warning to VeteransForwarded by Kevin Secor, VSO Li-aison, Office of the Secretary of theDepartment of Veterans Affairs.

An organization called VeteransAffairs Services (VAS) is providingbenefit and general information onVA and gathering personal informa-tion on veterans. This organizationis not affiliated with VA in any way.http://www.vaservices.org/us/index.html

VAS may be gaining access to mili-tary personnel through their closeresemblance to the VA name andseal. Our Legal Counsel has re-quested that we coordinate withDoD to inform military installa-tions, particularly mobilizationsites, of this group and their lackof affiliation or endorsement by VAto provide any services.

In addition, GC requests that if youhave any examples of VAS acts thatviolate chapter 59 of Title 38 UnitedStates Code, such as VAS employ-ees assisting veterans in the prepa-ration and presentation of claimsfor benefits, please pass any addi-tional information to Mr. Daughertyat the address below.

Michael G. Daugherty,Staff AttorneyDepartment of Veterans AffairsOffice of General Counsel (022G2)810 Vermont Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20420

VA Processes

First Claims forNew Agent OrangePresumptivesNew Program SpeedsApproval for VietnamVeterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) has decided more than 28,000claims in the first six weeks of pro-cessing disability compensationapplications from Vietnam Veter-ans with diseases related to expo-sure to the herbicide Agent Orange.

“With new technology and ongoingimprovements, we are quickly re-moving roadblocks to processingbenefits,” said Secretary of Veter-ans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We arealso conducting significant out-reach to Vietnam Veterans to en-courage them to submit their com-pleted application for this long-awaited benefit.”

BriefsNews


19

news briefs,cont’d...VA published a final regulation onAug. 31 that makes Veterans whoserved in the Republic of Vietnamand who have been diagnosed withParkinson’s disease, ischemic heartdisease, or a B-cell (or hairy-cell) leu-kemia eligible for health care anddisability compensation benefits.With the expiration of the required60-day congressional review on Oct.30, VA is now able to process theseclaims.

Vietnam Veterans covered underthe new policy are encouraged to filetheir claims through a new VA Webportal at www.fasttrack.va.gov<http://www.fasttrack.va.gov/> .Vietnam Veterans are the first us-ers of this convenient automatedclaims processing system.

If treated for these diseases outsideof VA’s health system, it is impor-tant for Veterans to gather medicalevidence from their non-VA physi-cians. VA has made it easy for phy-sicians to supply the clinical find-ings needed to approve the claimthrough the new Web portal. Thesemedical forms are also available atwww.vba.va.gov/disabilityexams.

The portal guides Veterans throughWeb-based menus to capture infor-mation and medical evidence re-quired for faster claims decisions.While the new system currently islimited to these three disabilities,usage will expand soon to includeclaims for other conditions.

VA Launching

New PersonalizedVeterans HealthBenefits Handbook

The Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) is piloting new, personalizedVeterans Health Benefits Hand-books. The handbooks are tailored

to provide enrolled Veterans withthe most relevant health benefitsinformation based on their ownspecific eligibility. In essence, eachhandbook will be written for the in-dividual Veteran.

“These handbooks will give Veter-ans everything they need to knowand leave out everything thatdoesn’t apply to them,” said Secre-tary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.Shinseki. “Our Veterans will nowhave a comprehensive, easy to un-derstand roadmap to the medicalbenefits they earned with their ser-vice.”

In addition to highlighting eachVeteran’s specific health benefits,the handbook also provides contactinformation for the Veteran’s pre-ferred local facility, ways to sched-ule personal appointments, guide-lines for communicating treatmentneeds and an explanation of theVeteran’s responsibilities, such ascopayments when applicable.

“Enhancing access isn’t just aboutexpanding the kinds of services VAprovides. It also includes makingsure we do everything we can toensure Veterans have a clear under-standing of the benefits availableto them so they can make full useof the services they have earned,”Shinseki said.

The new handbooks will initially beavailable only to certain Veteransin Cleveland and Washington, D.C.,areas. Following the pilot phase,full implementation is scheduled tobegin in the fall of 2011 for acrossthe county.

Veterans

in Congress

At the start of the 111th Congressof 2009-2010, only 25% of U.S. sena-tors and 21.6% of U.S. representa-tives had served at least some pe-riod in military uniform (activeduty, Guard, or Reserve). That per-

centage has been declining steadilysince it peaked at 74% for the House(1969-70) and 78% for the Senate(1977-78).

The decline will continue when thenewly minted 112th Congress takesoffice next year. In the new Senate,there will be 25 vets, including fourmilitary retirees - the same figuresas the 111th Congress. SenatorsMark Kirk (R-IL), Scott Brown (R-MA), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) arecurrently serving National Guard orReserve members. In the House, awhopping 98 seats turned over.Among incoming freshmen, 22 areveterans, including four militaryretirees. Rep Steve Stivers (R-OH)and Reps-elect Tim Griffin (R-AR),Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), StevenPalazzo (R-MS), and Joe Heck (R-NV)are currently serving in the NationalGuard or Reserve. The new Housewill have a total of 87 veterans (20%of voting members), including 10military retirees.

Disabled

VeteransMemorial

Two Veterans Affairs secretariesand the Speaker of the House wereamong the dignitaries who joineda crowd of some 400 on 10 NOV ata groundbreaking ceremony forWashington’s newest monument,the American Veterans Disabled forLife Memorial. On a strip of landnear the U.S. Botanical Gardenwith a sight line to the Capitol,the privately funded memorialwill take the form of a star-shaped pool, ceremonial flame,panel of glass walls and fourbronze sculptures. It is scheduledfor completion by Veterans Day2012. Veterans Affairs SecretaryEric K. Shinseki, in thanking thedonors and the leaders of the Dis-


20

abled American Veterans whofirst conceived the project 12years ago, said, “The price of lib-erty has been paid by the vigi-lance and valor of the manyyoung Americans” who put serviceto country above self and “dis-played a courage at which we canonly marvel.” One of his predeces-sors, Anthony Principi, said, “Life-long disabilities are part of veter-ans’ contribution to the cost ofwar,” and quoted the aphorismfrom Gen. John J. Pershing that“time will not dim the glory of theirdeeds.”

Government

Funding Extended

Before adjourning, Congress ap-proved a continuing resolution inorder to keep the federal govern-ment funded through March 4,2011. The resolution came just intime to prevent a government lock-out as funding for federal govern-ment operations would have ex-pired on December 22.

The bill extends most agenciesfunding at 2010 levels, but it alsoincludes an additional $460 millionfor the VA in order to maintainclaims processors and help reducethe backlog of claims.

Reducing the claims backlog hasbeen a long-standing goal. Morefunding was required to keep pacewith the swell of claims brought onby the three new presumptive con-ditions for exposure to Agent Or-ange approved by the VA this fall.

news briefs, cont’d... The resolution also includes atwo years pay freeze for federalcivilian employees starting onJanuary 1. Military personnel willnot be affected by the freeze, andinstead will see a 1.4% pay in-crease in 2011.

VA Urges

Veterans to Sign Upfor Direct Deposits Treasury Publishes FinalRegulation to Phase OutPaper Checks by 2013

The Department of the Treasuryannounced a new rule that will ex-tend the safety and convenience ofelectronic payments to millions ofAmericans and phase out paperchecks for federal benefits byMarch 1, 2013. Officials at the

Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) urge Veterans to sign up forelectronic payment of benefits.On March 1, 2013, VA will stop is-suing paper checks. People whodo not have electronic paymentsfor their federal benefits by thattime will receive their funds viaa pre-paid debit card.

Called the Direct Express card, itis issued by Comerica Bank as thefinancial agent of the U.S. Trea-sury .

Another deadline affects peoplereceiving VA’s compensation orpensions for the first time afterMay 1, 2011. Those people willautomatically receive the ben-efits electronically.

Along with payments for VA ben-efit, the change will also affect re-cipients of payments from SocialSecurity, Supplemental SecurityIncome, Railroad RetirementBoard, or Office of PersonnelManagement.

From theByLaws Committee:All requested changes to the National Bylaws are to be sub-mitted as follows:

Resolutions have two major parts: a preamble and a resolu-tion. The preamble gives the reason for the resolution. Theresolution gives the intent. Each can contain one or moreparagraphs and the whole is read in its entirety, beginningwith the preamble. Each preamble paragraph begins with“Whereas” and ends with “and” to connect it to the next para-graph. The final paragraph is joined to the resolution with asemicolon and followed by the phrase “Therefore, be it”

Whereas, (ETC); andWhereas (ETC); therefore, be itResolved, that ___________

One signature is required on resolutions and amendments.Members are reminded that resolutions must be submittedto the committee before Feb. 1, 2009. Those requestingchanges should include a telephone number where theycan be reached if more information is needed. Send re-quested changes to: Clydie Morgan, Chairman, 3201 E.Pioneer Pkway, Suite 40, Arlington, TX 76010.


21

From OHIO

Retired Air Force Col. Thomas Moe, who spent five years with in the infa-mous Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam with U.S. Sen. John McCain, is Gov. JohnKasich’s pick to run the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.

Kasich made the announcement with Moe, 67, of Lancaster, during a pressconference at VFW Post 1380 in Lancaster on the 69th anniversary of theattack on Pearl Harbor.

Moe, a Republican, is honorary chairman of Ohio Veterans United, whichendorsed Kasich this fall over Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. Moe alsowas chairman of Ohio Veterans for McCain when the Arizona senator ranfor president in 2008.

“The citizens of Ohio can rest assured that partisan politics will not beinvolved in any of your decisions, only what is best for Ohio,” Moe said ofKasich during the campaign.

The Ohio Department of Veterans Services was created as a cabinet agencyin August 2008. Previously, the functions mostly were run out of the

governor’s office.

The department provides services for Ohio veterans and runs veterans’ homes in Sandusky and Georgetownnear Cincinnati. The agency has about 900 employees, most of whom work at the two homes.

And VIRGINIALATE POST MEMBER TO BE HONORED IN PROPOSED LEGISLATION

Our Blue & Gray VFW Post 8469 comrade, Colonel George Juskalian USA(ret), a Centreville (VA) resident, passed away on Independence Day 2010.The Colonel was a three-war veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnamwhose personal decorations included two awards of the Silver Star Medal,the Legion of Merit, four awards of the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal,the Army Commendation Medal, and the POW Medal. Over the summer,the Commander of Centreville American Legion Post 1995, Peter DeFreecesuggested that our Post join his in writing Congressman Frank Wolf andSenator Mark Warner recommending that the local Centreville Postal Fa-cility be named after Colonel Juskalian. We sent such a letter including allthe biographic material and pictures contained in the Colonel’s Pillars ofthe Post biography, along with some heartfelt sentiments via a letter dated16 August 2010.

This October, our Post received a letter from Congressman Wolf’s office relaying that he has introducedlegislation, co-sponsored by every other member of the Virginia delegation, titled H.R. 6392 which wouldname the Centreville Postal Facility after our comrade. This legislation has been introduced and referred tocommittee, two of the six steps necessary for the proposal to become law. Congressman Wolf promised tokeep us abreast of developments as H.R. 6392 moves through the process. The last paragraph of our letter toCongressman Wolf last summer reads, “Thousands of our World War II heroes are leaving us every day.Centreville needs a lasting reminder of their service and sacrifice for all generations to come. Please lend yoursupport to designate the United States Post Office at 5003 Westfields Blvd , Centreville , VA as the “ColonelGeorge Juskalian Post Office.” Thank you for your consideration.”

From: Jim Adams, VBAVACO” [email protected]


22

In the small Iowa town of Walnut,a town of 800 residents, the dedi-cation of the Walk of Honor Vet-erans Monument was held on Oc-tober 24, 2010. Assisting withthe dedication was National Se-nior Vice Commander CarrollBogart, Iowa Department Com-mander Tom Snyder, and IowaJunior Vice Commander ElwinDiehl. They were given thehonor of raising the POW/MIAflag during the ceremony. Modera-tor of the dedication was Iowa De-partment Junior Vice Commanderand National Historian Gloria Myersof Walnut, who was also co-chair-man of the Walk of Honor commit-tee responsible for the design andconstruction of the monument.

The Walnut Monument is one offourteen Eagles of Honor Monu-ments in Pottawattamie County inwestern Iowa. The fourteen townsin the county each have an Eagle ofHonor Monument, each having adifferent theme to honor veteranspast, present and future. TheEagles of Honor Monuments will bereminders for future generationsthat “ Freedom is not free”.

The Walk of Honor Monument in Walnut emphasizes the sacrifi-cial walk made by the POW/MIAveterans and their families. Thebronze eagle is adorned with a

POW/MIA flag across its chest, afolded American flag to rememberthose who have given the ultimatesacrifice, barbed wire signifying theinternment of military personnel inprisoner of war camps, and a roselaid at the base of the eagle, remind-ing us of the life of each of the miss-ing, and the loved ones and friendsof these Americans who keep thefaith, awaiting answers. The smallbronze child is about to place a sec-ond rose at the base of the eagle to

“honor the walk” of all veterans andtheir families.

Within the eagle wasplaced an MIA bracelet forVietnam Army SFC LeroyDonovan. His braceletwas discovered on abronze sculpture of the Statue of

Liberty inL o v e l a n d ,C o l o r a d oa s t h esculpture wasb e i n gcleaned. Itwas given tothe Walk of

Honor committee by the bronzeartist to be placed in the Walnutmonument. SFC Donovan’s plane

Walnut Iowa Monument

had gone down in Vietnam and hisremains were never recovered. The bracelet was given a final rest-ing place within the Walk ofHonor Veterans’ Monument, theonly monument in PottawattamieCounty to hold a memento of thiskind.

During the ceremony special recog-nition was given to two World WarII POWs, who were long time resi-

dents of Walnut. Louis E. Myers,Gloria’s father, was surrendered atBataan, survived the Bataan DeathMarch, and was held prisoner by theJapanese for three and a half yearsin the camps of O’Donnell,Cabanatuan, Mukden, andKamioka. Edwin A. Holtz was cap-tured at the Battle of the Bulge in1944 and held captive by the Ger-mans for 110 days. On the monument are these wordsthat explain the Walk OfHonor: ” Walnut, Iowa’s VeteransMonument...A tribute to honor themen and women who have unself-ishly provided us with our freedomand with a special tribute to theMIA’s and POW’s who have gonebeyond their call of duty. May thewalk of your life be a journey filledwith the values our veterans havefought for with their service.”


23

American Ex-Prisoners of War2011 National Convention

Dayton Marriott1414 S. Patterson Boulevard · Dayton, Ohio 45409

937-223-1000~800-450-8625

National ConventionTentative Agenda Sept. 13-18, 2011

Tuesday Sept. 13:National Service Officer TrainingRegistration Desk Open in PM

Wednesday Sept. 14:National Board of DirectorsMeetingRegistration Desk OpenHospitality Room OpenHospitality RoomEvening Entertainment

Thursday Sept. 15:Opening CeremoniesCommanders ReceptionEvening Entertainment

Friday Sept. 16:Past National CommandersBreakfastGeneral Business SessionCamp ReunionsHospitality Room

Saturday Sept. 17:General Business Session &BallotingBanquet and Installation ofOfficers

Sunday Sept. 18:DevotionalNational Board of Directors Meeting

AD Order FormPage size is 8 ½ x 11

Ad PricingBlack & White ColorFull Page …..$250 $500Half Page… .$175 $300Quarter Page…$125BusinessCard..$50

Name: _________________________

Organization: ___________________

Address:_______________________

City: ____________ _____________

State & Zip: ____________________

Telephone: _____________________

Ad Size: _______________________

Amount Enclosed $_______________

Checks Payable to:2010Convention FundMail Form with Ad materials andcheck to:Marsha Coke, NationalHeadquarters, 3101 E. Pioneer Pkway,Suite 40, Arlington, TX 76010

Local AttractionsNational Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Dayton Art Institute Dayton Aviation Heritage Nat. Historical Park

Carillon Historical ParkDayton Dragons Professional Baseball

IMAX Theatre - AIr Force Museum Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

Riverscape River Corridor Bikeway

James S. Trent Arena

The first All-American Soap Box Derby

was held in Dayton, Aug.19,1934


24

American Ex-Prisoners of WarCandidate for National Office

2011

Candidate for office of:

Name:

Address: Telephone:

Member Chapter:

Military Service Organization (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines or civilian):

Date and Place of Capture:

Places of Internment:

Date and Place of Liberation:

Biography (Please attach, including picture):

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To be eligible to run for a national office, a candidate must have been a member for the 3previous years.

Submit to: Milton M Moore, Jr., Chairman, 2965 Sierra Bermeja, Sierra Vista, AZ 85650email: [email protected] Phone: (520) 459-7925


25

Your

Stories

Eleven Two –

as in November 2nd

By Frank A. Kravetz

November 2, 1943, was the day I leftto begin my training with the UnitedStates Army Air Corps. I boarded theBaltimore and Ohio Rail Road trainin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, andheaded for Greensboro, North Caro-lina. There were servicemen travel-ling in the car with me who were go-ing to other bases. They were alreadywearing their Army issued uniforms.I was still in civilian clothes. As wetalked, I told them that I was goingto Greensboro because I had enlistedin the U.S. Army Air Corps Cadet Pro-gram and that was pretty much allthe conversation that there was. Theywished me good luck.

The date was No-vember 2, 1944and we werescheduled to fly,so we received ourusual earlywakeup call at 3AM. After making the trip to the messhall for breakfast, we reported to thelarge Nissen hut where the briefingroom’ was. This served as the big warroom where crews that were goingto be on a particular mission for theday assembled.

The commanding officers in chargepulled the curtain back to show a bigmap of Germany and pointed out thetarget for the day. As they pushedthe sticks around they moved planesinto different locations pinpointedon the map. I watched intently andvividly remember seeing a target thatwas highlighted for this morning’smission.

The target was Merseberg, Germany.I kept pressing my throat micro-phone, shouting, “Tailgunner to crew,tailgunner to crew, I’m hit, I’m hit!” Iheard nothing in response – no oneanswered my call. I found out laterthat our intercom system had beenknocked out by fire from the FW–190s, which is why my crew neverheard my cries for help over the ra-dio. The tail section was filling withsmoke from the direct hit receivedfrom the enemy fighters. I had noidea how badly I was injured andshortly after my repeated attemptson the radio to reach a crewmate, ev-erything went black and I passed out.

When the train eventually stopped topick up a few more prisoners of war,I found out that this train was tak-ing us all to Stalag Luft XIIID (13–D)in Nuremberg, Germany (Stalag Luftmeans, “camp for Airmen”).

I really had no idea what to expect.Of course, I thought of cells and im-prisonment and barbed wire, but Icouldn’t comprehend what being a‘Prisoner of War’ would mean to me.Up until now I was a patient, then aprisoner–patient in a hospital setting,but not in a prison camp. I wonderedwhat kind of medical attention Iwould get, if any. As the train raceddown the tracks, I tried to just ap-preciate not being in a hospital bed,and accept this next part of my jour-

ney.

Arriving at the train stationin Nuremberg, I grabbedmy crutches, walked off thetrain and immediately no-ticed how the station hadbeen severely damaged bybombings and stood par-tially in ruins. Guards fromthe Nuremberg Prisoner ofWar camp met us there and

began walking us to the prison camp,as there was no transportation avail-able. There were several of us whohad just been released from hospi-tals, so we were all plodding along,me on my crutches, others just shuf-fling along dealing with their inju-ries and sickness.

If you would like to learn more aboutmy story, I have written a book,“Eleven Two” *** One WWII Airman’sStory of Capture, Survival and Free-dom. A biography of Frank AKravetz, Staff Sgt. US Army Air CorpB17 Crew Member. The book waspublished on November 2, 2010. Itis available at the following web site:www.s i lverbeargraphics .com/frankakravetz.

Vet recalls three years

without hope: Twoformer POWs to serveas grand marshals forVeterans Day Parade

By Barbara Arrigoni - Staff [email protected]. Copy-righted article reprinted withpermission.Chico Enterprise-Record/Oroville Mercury-Register

Sixty-five years after the end of WorldWar II, two veterans and former pris-oners of war will be honored as grandmarshals for the annual Veterans Dayparade.

The men are Homer Cooley, 89, a U.S.Army Air Corps gunner whose B-17plane was shot down over Germany,and Bob Wolfersberger, 91, an Armysoldier who was captured in the Phil-ippines when the United States onthe Bataan Peninsula surrendered tothe Japanese.

In 1944, Cooley, a crew chief and topturret gunner on a B-17, was on amission out of Italy when his planewent down in Germany. He para-chuted safely from the plane, but wascaptured by Germans shortly after


26

landing, according to Stan Rinehart,adjutant and quartermaster of theVeterans of Foreign Wars Post 9602.

Cooley was interned at a LuftwaffePOW camp. At one point, he and afriend escaped, trying to get to whatthey thought were friendly lines.About two weeks later, the two wererecaptured and sent to another Ger-man camp, where Cooley remaineduntil the end of the war.

Cooley was unavailable for commentand will not be able to ride in theparade, Rinehart said. On Tuesday,Wolfersberger spent more than 90minutes recounting his capture in1942 and the three years he spent incaptivity.

Wolfersberger was sta-tioned in the Philip-pines when the Japa-nese struck Pearl Har-bor on Dec. 7, 1941. Hewas 24. For the nextfour months, he foughton the Baatan Penin-sula, the largest islandof the Philippines.

He was in a dive-bomb-ing outfit, a crew chiefand rear gunner, butthe planes were de-stroyed on the ground.They were converted to infantry.

Wolfersberger said Gen. DouglasMacArthur was in charge, but failedto do anything for eight hours afterthe bombing at Pearl Harbor, and theJapanese got tanks and infantry ontothe main island. “We were at a greatdisadvantage,” he said. “It waschaos.”

Wolfersberger said MacArthur fledand put Gen. John Wainright incharge of forces on Corregidor andGen. Edward P. King in charge offorces on Bataan, he said.

King agreed to surrender.

“That’s when our trouble started,”Wolfersberger said. “They were our

enemy. As a Christian, we’re sup-posed to pray four our enemies, butboy, it’s hard to do that when they’rethrowing rocks at you, so to speak.

The Japanese captured approxi-mately 20,000 Americans and 50,000Filipinos, he said.

“I can’t describe to you the chaos,”Wolfersberger said. “It was a mixtureof everybody.”

Wolfersberger said he was moved toManchuria, China, on Nov. 11, 1942.About 1,200 people were sent toManchuria.

His captors started out trying to trainthe prisoners as machinists. But thatdidn’t work, and they were dividedinto 200-man groups. Some were sentto work in sawmills, steel mills, acanvas factory and a leather factory.

W o l f e r s b e r g e rwound up makingleather.

Prisoners sufferedfrom malnutrition.If a prisoner gotsick, there was verylittle medication tohelp them.Wolfersberger saidif the body didn’theal itself, theywere out of luck.“We were in badshape.” “I truly

didn’t think I would make it,”Wolfersberger said. He spent the nextthree years without hope.

Not all the guards treated the menbadly. “Some were halfway decent,”Wolfersberger said. “They didn’t tor-ment you or think you were inferior.Others thought they were king of theworld. They considered us lower thana duck’s instep.” “You just took abeating when they felt like it,” hesaid. “They believed a lot in masspunishment, but also individual pun-ishment.”

Wolfersberger was working in theleather factory one day in 1945 whenthe prisoners were told they’d be sentback to their barracks and to get theirpersonal belongings. They were toldnot to say anything or make any ges-tures to anyone as they were drivenback.

“We didn’t know what was going on,but we knew something big,” he said.

Apparently, a crew from a B-17 hadlanded. The crew included a doctorand was looking for Gen. Wainright.The Japanese were told they’d lostthe war and the Americans would betaking over. It took more than a dayfor the camp officials to verify theinformation. “It was indescribable,”said Wolfersberger. “We couldn’t goanywhere, but I was free. That’s whatcounts. We were in a concentrationcamp and couldn’t go anywhere, butwe were free.”

Wolfersberger was flown out of thecamp in a B-24 that had a red crosspainted on it. He was first taken to ahospital in San Francisco and even-tually transferred to a hospital nearhis home in Windber, Pa.

Later, Wolfersberger married andraised a family. He worked for thecity of Fairfield at a wastewater treat-ment facility before retiring andmoving to Oroville in 1980.

For 60 years, Wolfersberger shunnedanything to do with Japan andwouldn’t buy any products madethere. That changed when his carbroke down and he drove a Mazdaloaned to him by the repairman. Heended up buying one. He has recon-ciled with the past and let it go. “Youhave to. You can’t drag all this stuffaround in your mind,” Wolfersbergersaid. “It’s called forgiveness. It’s whatthe Lord told us. He’s forgiven us, sowe’re to forgive others. That’s hardto do at times.”

Although he’s honored to be namedgrand marshal and proud he served,Wolfersberger voiced one regret. “Itdidn’t have to happen,” he said.

The Veterans Day parade begins at11 a.m. Thursday and runs alongMontgomery Street from Fifth Av-enue to Downer Street.

your stories, con’t...

Dayton was named for JohnDayton, a congressman from New

Jersey who, along with severalpartners, owned the land when the

original settlers arrived.


27

AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WARVOLUNTARY FUNDING PROGRAM

The AXPOW Voluntary Giving Program parallels that of other VSOs, whereby the entiremembership, including life members, is given the opportunity to contribute to the operation

of our organization, based on ability and willingness to contribute.

All contributions are to be sent directly to National Headquarters to be used for theoperation of the organization. A complete accounting of contributors will appear in the

Bulletin each month.

I am enclosing my contribution to support the operation of the American Ex-Prisoners of War.

$20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $100.00 Other

Please circle one category:

Individual Chapter State Department(If chapter or department, please give name)

Name

Address

City/State/Zip

Phone #

Chapter/Department (if any)

Please make checks payable toAmerican Ex-Prisoners of War - Voluntary Funding

Mail contributions to:National Headquarters

American Ex-Prisoners of War3201 E. Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40

Arlington, TX 76010Donations are not tax-deductible at this time


28

American Ex-Prisoners of WarWebsite Biography

www.axpow.org

If you are not a current member of AXPOW,you must submit documentation of your POW status.

Name

Nickname

Address

City/State/Zip Telephone

Email

Conflict and Theater of Operation

Branch of Service Unit

Where were you captured? Date captured

POW camps you were held in

How long were you a POW? Date liberated

Medals received

Job in the militaryAfter military service

Submit 1 or 2 photographs (color or black and white).Biography:(please type or print)

SEND TO: American Ex-Prisoners of War3201 East Pioneer Parkway #40Arlington, Texas 76010-5396

Please include your check for $65 payable to AXPOW.If you have any questions, please contact Clydie Morgan,National Adjutant, at 817-649-2979; [email protected]


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National Headquarters3201 East Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, TX 76010; (817) [email protected]

new members

New AnnualMembersWelcome Home!

Jose Manuel AstorgaLa Mesa CAArmy F Trp 8 Cav 196Light InfPlantation, Gardens, HanoiHilton4/2/72-3/73

William ReileyAlfred ME82 Airborne Co HStalag 2

Susan Hecker CramRonaldDiamondhead MSDaughter of Sid Hecker,ETO

Frederick E Saefke JrBismarck NDUSMC 3 BN 4 RECorregidor, Cab, Manila5/6/42-9/13/45

Thomas MorelliMaupin ORArmy12A 2A5/30/44-5/45

Dianne ParkerGermantown TNDaughter of KennethParker, ETO

New Life MembersWelcome Home!*denotes new memberto AXPOW

Francis R Edwards 39718Punta Gorda FLUSAACRangoon Burma12/14/44-5/45Pat Agresta 39719Manahawkin NJ15 AAF 376 BGLuft 1, Others

Colby A Davis 39720Canton ME15 AF 454 BG 736 BSLuft 4

Clarence W Spence 39721Bend OR4 COMP GP 28 MATL SQBataan Bilibid O’Donnell,Cabanatuan 1&3,Fukuoka 10

Michael R Potts 39722Milledgeville GASon of Hal H Potts, PAC

Martin Sylvester 39723New York NY409 Inf Div2A Labor Camp

Charles K Braun 39724Cincinnati OH15 INF 3 DIV7A 2B

Helen F LaGarde 39725New Market MDWidow of WilliamLaGardeLuft 3 13D 7A

Dorothy A Tiarks 39726Underwood IAWidow of William Tiarks

Camp 3 Korea

Donald B Heslop 39727Akron OHCO C 607 Tank7A8/17/44-4/29/45

Elisabeth Lukashevich 39728Palm Coast FLWidow of JosephLukashevichLuft 17 Sagan5/30/44-4/29/45

Edward K Bier 39729Calabase NCSon of Jesse Bier

Kenneth T Kockhart 39730

Wyckoff NJUSAAFOberussels, Meiningen,Nurnburg, Moosburg

Jane Bianchin 39731Carpinteria CAWidow of John BianchinLuft 4 11B9/44-5/2/45

Jennie Di Giovanni 39732

Philadelphia PAWidow of Anthony DiGiovanniMunich, Others9/11/44-4/29/45

Raymond L Ruetsch *39733

Columbia MOSon of Robert Ruetsch,ETO

Jacob G Roth JrBetty 39734 39735Fayetteville NCCO L 34 INF REG 24 DIVCamp 3

7/50-8/23/53

Dennis J CroninLouise H 39736 39737Edgewater FLCO I 119 INF 30 INF DIVZerbst, East of Elbe River4/5/45-5/10/45

Robert B McClureNiki 39738 39739Indianapolis IN15 AF 745 BS 456 BGHungary, Hospital,Nurnburg, 7A1/31/45-4/29/45

Charles E Spargur JrLora M 39740 39741Indianapolis IN15 AF

James King MillerRosemary 39742 39743Louisville KYCO F 2 BN 242 INF 42DIV5A 13C1/6/45-5/2/45

Charles Bachini JrClaudette 39744 39745Spotsylvania VASon of Charles Bachini,ETO

Harry J HallGeraldine 39746 39747Tipton IN1 Army 112 REG CO ABad Orb, Berga12/20/44-4/23/45


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members’forum

Cheryl:

We received the Nov/Dec 2010 Ex-POW Bulletin here at AndersonvilleNational Historic Site and it wasnice to see the many pictures andarticles relating to the Septemberconvention — and the day inAndersonville. It was good to bewith you all again for this specialtime, and I look forward to seeingyou again next year in Dayton!Thank you for your ongoing sup-port of the National Prisoner of WarMuseum, and our effort to tell yourstory through the “Victory FromWithin” traveling exhibition

Commander Barker: if you are ableto put in a plug for the project inyour next column, we’d certainlyappreciate it. As you know, AXPOWmembers have been very generousthus far, contributing over $38,000toward the $272,000 budget. Asyou also know, the Friends ofAndersonville helped temporarilyclose the $36,000 fund-raising gapso that we could meet our mid-No-vember deadline for launching theproduction phase...but they’ll needto recoup those dollars to replen-ish the Andersonville Trust fundthat annually supports other POWprojects at the National Prisoner ofWar Museum.

Thanks again for your support andleadership.Brad BennettSuperintendent, AndersonvilleNational Historic Site

Dear Cheryl,

I was pleasantly surprised when Ireceived the new calendar, and theSeptember month had a picture ofthe POW exhibit at the Dayton, Ohiomuseum, at Wright Patterson,AFB. This picture shows veryclearly the propeller off the B 17airplane that was shot down overHolland, in 1943, which was theplane that my husband parachutedfrom, and we were able to obtainthe propeller in 1982, and had itmounted in our yard, and after hisdeath I donated it to the Museum.

The picture is excellent, and I planto make a trip to the museum nextsummer. The same Curator is stillthe same Curator which we con-tacted and he helped with the dedi-cation. I planned to go there lastsummer but had other conflicts.Ruth Natvig KilmerSun City West, AZ

Dear Ms. Morgan:

Each day we edge closer and closerto reaching our goal for full fund-ing of the Traveling Legacy Exhibit— “Victory from Within”. We have

always been amazed at the supportthat has come forth from yourmembers across the country. Thesupport of this major project atyour convention in Albany, Georgiawas overhwlming. The generous do-nations collected at the conventionwill all be used in support of thisproject. ...

Since I do not have a list of donorsand the majority of them donatedcash, I cannot acknowlege indiviaulgifts. Therefore, I hope you will ex-tend our thanks en masse. ...

Once completed, the exhibit willtravel throughout the country tomuseums, galleries and other hostinstitutions where it can be experi-enced by people unlikely to visitAndersonville and the Naitonal Pris-oner of War Museum.

Again, please thank your membersfor their continued support of thisworthy project. We could not dothis without AXPOW.

Sincerely,Pat Recker, SecretaryThe National POW MemorialMuseumAndersonville NHS

The Annual Veterans Day Parade in Wichita, Kansas washeld on Nov. 6, 2010. The Air Capital Chapter, AXPOWwas the guest of the Wichita Horseless Carriage Club.Many of the Vehicles Transporting the Ex-POWs were olderthan the WWII Veterans. The photo shoes Dr. Wm. Pas-chal, &John &M a r yE l l e nM o c k .J o h nMock isthe com-manderof theAir Capi-tal Chap-ter.


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Suitable for framing, thiscertificate of captivity, printed on8½” x 11” quality paper, proudlydisplays your history as a prisonerof war. Each certificate backgroundis personalized to the theater ofoperation. To purchase thiscertificate from AXPOW, send yourname, service number, branch ofservice, unit when captured, POWnumber (if known), camp namesand locations, along with your

payment of $25.00. You may

include a picture with your order.

Please order from NationalHeadquarters. If you are orderingat Convention, you can place yourorder in the Merchandise Room.

Certificate of Captivity

request for membership applicationAmerican Ex-Prisoners of War

Name: _____________________________________________________________________Address:___________________________________________________________________City/State/Zip:_____________________________________________________________

Membership is open to US Military and Civilians capturedbecause of their US citizenship and their families.

Do NOT send dues with this request for an application

MembershipRates

Single Membership$40

Husband & wife$50

Mail to:

American Ex-Prisoners of War3201 East Pioneer Parkway, #40Arlington, TX 76010-5936(817) 649-2979 voice(817)649-0109 faxe-mail:[email protected]

Please send donations to:National Headquarters, 3201 EastPioneer Parkway, Suite 40,Arlington, TX 76010.

You can also make a donation witha credit card (MasterCard or Visa).Just call 817-649-2979. Thankyou!

contributions


32

GENERAL FUNDVirginia Timpanaro, Brick NJIn honor of my parents, Alex &Mildred Donaldson, by LuAnnWalzIn honor of my grandparents,Alex & Mildred Donaldson, byElizabet WalzIn honor of Jerry Reyes, WacoVARO, by Robert McAdamIn memory of “Beau” Bolensky, byHartwell & Frances ChampagneIn memory of AnnabelleLivaudais, by Hartwell & FrancesChampagneIn memory of Clifford Fox, byThelma ‘Susie’ FoxIn memory of Dan Abriola, byFrank & Mae KoehlerIn memory of Elsie Bilof, by EdwinBilofIn memory of Frank Proto, byPatricia Kapsinow, by Pierre &Rosemary Kennedy, by the Con-necticut Chapter, by Gene & JaneBishop, by Theresa Proto, byConnie Proto, by M/M EdmundTerracciano, by Judy & AbeHomar, by Mary Ann Anderson,by Maryann Bracken, by MarjorieMendillo, by Marion Larkins, byJohn & Frances Sgueglia, byFamily of Matthew & CelesteProto, by M/M Richard Ardolino,

by Frank & Angela Carrano, byThomas & Elizabeth Pugh, byMargery Demay, by Mae Christie,by the Guilford Rotary Club, CTIn memory of Frank Zito, byShirley & Jim MuiseIn memory of Gail Waites, byArchie AitchesonIn memory of Hillman Rabalais, byHartwell & Frances ChampagneIn memory of James Ben Kert, byThe Zittau SurvivorsIn memory of LucilleVanMoorlehem, by ArtVanMoorlehemIn memory of Orland ‘Red’Friesen, by John & PhyllisHutchinsIn memory of RobertAbrahamson, by theGreenmeadow Womans GolfLeague, by Debra Tsouprakakis,by Janet & Darryl Weidler, byDenise Weidler, by Peter and EthelDeane, by Nabnasset AmericanLegion Auxilliary Unit 437, byJanice & Hubert Dudley, by Craig& Sharon Galipeau, by MichelleLeedberg, by Catherine Burns, byCarol Archibald, by Elizabeth &Gary Keegan, by Kathleen Rogers,by Linnea Fader, by Mrs. Zmuda,by Mary Partirdge, by Marjorie &Jim Hennessey, by NabnassetAmerican Legion, Post 437

LEGISLATIVE FUNDIn memory of Donald Powell, byHelen PowellIn memory of Donald Powell byKim Powell OngieIn memory of HarrySchaumloeffel, by the Departmentof Maryland

MEDSEARCH FUNDIn memory of Alexander Yonych,Sr. , by the Department of Mary-landIn memory of Donald Powell, byHelen PowellIn memory of Donald Powell byKim Powell Ongie

BULLETINBrooklyn Key ChapterIn honor of Ralph Mottola, byHaskell Yadlovker

In honor of William Birch, byHaskell Yadlovker

VOLUNTARY FUNDINGBilly Reinbeau, Thirnville OHDeloris Brain, Golden Valley MNEugene Ostrowsky, CheektowagaNYFrank Annis, Gerald MOGeorge Strong, Bremerton WAGerold Tucker, Loco MTH Paul Greenman, Kihei, HIHarry Crane, Las Cruces NMHerman Molen, Mabank TXHorace Hosbach, Morton PAHoward latton, Portage WIJohn Gatens, Fair Lawn NJJohn Terborg, New Port Richey FLLeon Gray, Malvern ARLeon Tracy, Tucson AZLew Sleeper, Tucson AZLt Col George P Korb, KingsvilleMDMarvin Roslansky, Apache Junc-tion AZMerland Buttolph, Lowden IAMid-Iowa Chapter, IowaNeil Brennan, Orange Beach ALPaul & Dolores Young, LakewoodWARobert Lattin, Yardville NJRobert Vogler, San Diego CATacoma Chapter, WashingtonVictor Breite, St Louis MOWilliam Koeln, St Louis MOIn honor of Clydie, Sally andMarsha, three of the finest peoplewe know, by Frank & AnneKravetzIn memory of John Novak, byMartha NovakIn memory of Lt Col Grant M Bird,by Jean BirdIn memory of Sid Hecker, by BobSeitzingerIn memory of Sid Hecker, byHarold & Gloria Brick

taps Please submit taps notices to: Cheryl Cerbone, 23 Cove View Drive, South Yarmouth, MA 02664


33

TAPS for Central MissouriChapter members:Roy K. East, Born 9-13-15, died 11-29-08 at age of 93Marian Eas,t Born 1-7-24, 11-17-08at age of 84Clone Foster, wife of Charles Fos-ter passed away. Date unknown.Raymond L. RuetschVice Commander

ABRAHAMSON, Robert Manfred,of Westford, Massachusetts, diedNovember 23, 2010. He served withthe 141 Inf, 36 Div, was capturedin Italy and held in Stalags 4B and2B. An AXPOW life member since1985, he was also a member ofVFW, Combat Infantrymen’s Asso-ciation and 59 year member of theAmerican Legion. He leaves his wifeof 64 years, Joyce.

ABRIOLA, DANIEL of Brick NJpassed away on August 25, 2010. He was 89. He flew with the 416thBomb Group (8th Air Force) out ofEngland. He was held captive atStalag 6B. He was anactive member of the OceanCounty Chapter, New Jersey. Hewas a Past Commander, and at thetime of his passing was the Chap-lain. He is survived by his wife,Gloria and a son Michael.

ACRI, Vincent James , 87, ofHershey, PA died Oct. 21, 2010.During WWII, he served with the110th Inf. Reg., 28th Div. He wascaptured in the Battle of the Bulgeand held until liberation. Survivorsinclude hiswife, Angeline, 1 daugh-ter, 1 son and many beloved niecesand nephews. Vince was a memberof the PA Capital City Chapter.

APODACA ALFOND, Dolores ,Chairperson and founding memberof the National Alliance of Familiesdied Dec. 2, 2010. Dolores came tothe POW/MIA issue the day her

brother Victor was shot downover North Vietnam, on June 8,1967. After the Vietnam War, shequietly worked on her brother’sbehalf. Her private effort wentpublic in June of 1990, when shejoined with POW/MIA familiesfrom World War II, Korea, ColdWar, and the War in SoutheastAsia to form the National Alli-ance of Families. Dolores madethe Alliance a respected and hon-est advocated for our missingmen and their families. Over thelast 20 years, she dedicated herlife to our unaccounted for POWsand MIAs. She made it her life’swork to bring the issue of ourPOWs and MIAs to the public andhold Washington accountable fortheir return. She is survived byher son, Michael, 2 grandchildren,3 sisters and a host of extendedfamily and friends.

BENKERT, James E., of WillowGrove, PA died June 20, 2010. In De-cember, 1944. While serving in the28th Div., B Co., 103rd Combat En-gineers, he was captured in theBattle of the Bulge and sent to alabor camp near Zittau, Germany.At the time of his death he was oneof 10 living Zittau survivors. Fam-ily survivors include his wife, Janet,nieces and nephews.

BRITTON, Robert L., of Soldier,KS passed away Oct. 5, 2010. Hewas 88. He was captured whileserving with the 232nd Inf. Reg.in WWII; he was held in Germany.He leaves his wife, Norma, and 2foster daughters.

CADORET, Roland A. , 91, ofBradenton, FL died Aug. 19, 2010.While serving withthe 351st BG, heparticipated in the D-Day invasion.Following 15 successful missions,his plane was shot down in June1944 and he spent nearly a year

in Stalag Luft III. Roland was acharter member and past com-mander of the Manasota Chapter,AXPOW. Survivors include hiswife of 65 years, Helen, 2 daugh-ters and 2 grandchildren.

CANUP, Luther Paul “Luke” ofSalisbury, NC passed away Nov. 13,2010. During WWII, he enlisted inthe AAC; he flew a P-47 Thunder-bolt over Germany before beingshot down and captured. He washeld in Luft III. Luke is survived by3 sons, 5 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, 2 siblings and theirfamilies.

CARMICHAEL, Edwin M., ofMaryville, MO passed away Septem-ber 29, 2007. Edwin was a mem-ber of the 8th Air Force stationedin England during WWII. He was anavigator and was a POW in Ger-many from 1943-1945. He is sur-vived by his wife and two sons.

CODERRE, Robert R., 91, diedNov. 17, 2010. He was a chartermember of New HampshireChapter #1, AXPOW. Robertserved in the Army, 28th Divi-sion. He was captured inOberkamnitz, Germany and spent6 months in a POW camp. He wasliberated May 6, 1945.

COOK, Archie Lee, of Vernon, FLpassed away Nov. 14, 2010. He was85. During WWII, he served in theArmy’s 100th Inf. Div in Europe. Hewas a former prisoner of war and along-time member of theHutchison-Poplawski Chapter,AXPOW

COUTURE, Donald, of Fort Mill,SC passed away Oct. 22, 2010. Dur-


34

taps continued...ing WWII, he was captured andspent 15 months as a POW in Ger-many. He was a member of POWChapter #1. His loving wife of 63years, Florence, survives him;Don also leaves 1 son, 2 daugh-ters, 3 brothers and 4 grandchil-dren.

CRAWBUCK, John R. died Novem-ber 30 in St. Petersburg, FL. He wasa B-17 waist gunner in the Army AirCorps during WW II. He is survivedby Eileen, his wife of 64 years; twodaughters, three sons, 10 grand-children, and three great-grandchil-dren. He was a member of theFlorida Gulf Coast Chapter, Ameri-can Ex-Prisoners of War.

DAHLSTROM, Norman R . o fVenice, Florida died Nov.6, 2010 atthe age of 86. He was co-pilot on aB-17 with the AAF and was shotdown on Oct. 15, 1944 over Co-logne, Germany. He leaves his lov-ing wife of 65 yrs., Audrey, 1 son,4 daughters, 9 grandchildren and4 great-grandchildren.

DeVERE, John, 92, of Charleston,WV passed away Oct. 9, 2010. Hewas a member of the Barbed WireMountaineers. Survivors include1 daughter, 3 sons, 5 grandchil-dren and 11 great-grandchildren.

FARMER, George R., 85, memberof the Sioux Land Chapter (SD),AXPOW, died Aug. 2, 2010. He wascaptured while serving with theAAF during WWII. He is survived by3 sons, 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandsons.

FARRELL, Charles, member of theAgua Fria Chapter, AZ died Nov. 15,2010. During WWII, he volunteeredas a glider pilot, and served in theAAC. He was shot down in 1944,and was interned in Luft I. He issurvived by his wife, Helen, 4sons and 4 daughters.

FREEMAN, Richard, of Webster,NY passed away Sept. 22, 2010 atthe age of 89. He was shot downover Austria on his 35th mission,captured and held at Luft 1 for15 months. Survivors include hiswife of 63 years, Virginia, 1 son,2 daughters and 5 grandchildren.

FRIESEN, Orlando H “Red” ofLittleton, CO passed away Oct. 7,2010. He was 87. He was capturedwhile serving in the 8th AF, 392ndBG during WWII; he was held inStalag 17-B. Red was a member ofthe Mile High Chapter, AXPOW. Heleaves his wife Iris (Jackie), 1 daugh-ter, 2 grandsons and 2 great-grand-children.

GERHOLD, Mel of Groveport, Ohio,died Dec. 16, 2010. He served inthe ETO, 384th BG and was a POWin Stalag Luft 4. Mel was a memberof Ohio Chapter One. He is survivedby his wife of 65 years Catherine, 3daughters, 2 sons, 11 grandchil-dren and 9 great grandchildren.

GLIPTIS, John M., 91, of Ambridge,PA passed away May 8, 2010. Whileserving with the Navy aboard thedestroyer USS Pope 225 in theSouth Pacific, he was captured andheld in the Celebes Islands for 3-1/2 years. He was a member ofAXPOW. John leaves his belovedwife of 64 years, Katherine, 1daughter, 2 sons, 6 grandchildrenand 3 great-grandchildren.

HALVERSTADT, Eldon M, 89,member of the Steel Valley Chap-ter #13, AXPOW, died Oct. 29, 2010.He was a resident of Columbiana,OH. Eldon was captured while serv-ing in the Army’s 3rd Inf. Div. dur-ing WWII. His wife, Winnie, 3 daugh-ters, 1 stepson, 2 brothers, 12grandchildren, 17 great-grandchil-dren and 1 great-great-grandchildsurvive him.

HIRSCHI, Alvin L., of Fridley, MNpassed away Dec. 3, 2009. DuringWWII, he was serving with the379th BG, 8th AF. He was cap-tured and held in Luft IV, then

marched. He leaves his wife,Ardelle, and six children.

HODGES, A “Vic”, 81, of NewMilford, NJ passed away May 19,2010. He was a member of the F-86Sabre Pilots Association andAXPOW Chapter #1. Vic was shotdown on his 93rd mission in Ko-rea; he was captured and helduntil Sept. 5, 1953. Survivors in-clude his loving wife, Harriet, 5children and their spouses and10grandchildren.

HUFFMAN, Rosa L., of Greensboro,NC died Nov. 23, 2010. She was 83.She was the widow of ex-POW Pete,who passed away in July. Rosa wasthe past commander of the Greens-boro Chapter, AXPOW, secretary ofthe Dept., and a life member ofADBC. She is survived by 1 daugh-ter, 1 son, 4 grandchildren and theirfamilies.

JAMES, William Lloyd, of Mesa, TXpassed away Sept. 16, 2010. Dur-ing WWII, he was captured onBataan while serving with the AirForce. He was a POW for nearly 3-1/2 years. William was a memberof the East Valley Chapter, AXPOWand ADBC.

JANKES, Les, member of the AguaFria Chapter, Arizona, died on No-vember 9, 2010. Les was in the447th BG and Luft 3 and Stalag7A. He is survived by his wife,Shirley. He and Shirley lived atFreedom Inn, located in Sun CityWest.

JOLLY, Phil, of Lodi, CA died Nov.1, 2010. He was 80. While servingwith the 1st Cavalry in Korea, hisunit was overrun by the ChineseArmy and he was captured. He waswounded in the capture and wassent home in 1951 with 26 others.Phil was a member and chaplain forthe Delta Chapter, AXPOW. Heleaves his wife of 59-1/2 years,Alice, 2 sons, 3 grandchildren and1 sister.


35

taps continued...KELLEY, Harry T., 90, of Basehor,KS., survivor of the USS Houston,passed away Oct. 20, 2010. Harryserved his country honorably inthe U.S. Navy from 1940 to 1945.He was an ex-prisoner of war heldfor three and a half years underJapan. He was a life member ofAXPOW, DAV and MOC (MilitaryOrder Of The Cooties). Survivorsinclude the love of his life, wifeof 62 years, Audrey, two sons, 5grandchildren and 7 great-grand-children.

KEOUGH, Doris E., 99, of Warwick,RI died Sept. 4, 2010. She was thewife of the late Daniel Keough(WWII ex-POW and member of theRhode Island Chapter #1.). She issurvived by 1 son, 1 daughter, 6grandchildren, 3 great-grandchil-dren, 1 nieces and their families.

KRALIK, Roy H., of Creston, IApassed away September 25, 2010. He served in the US Army from1941 to 1945. In February 1943,he was taken prisoner in Germanyand released in August, 1945. KRALIK, Velma, passed away Oc-tober 13, 2010. She was the widowof Ex-POW Roy. She was a mem-ber and Adjutant/Treasurer of theSouthwest Iowa Chapter. They aresurvived by one son, two daughters,Linda and Jane, five grandchildrenand nine great-grandchildren.

KUSHERA, Fredrick, Jr., of Cy-press, CA, died Oct. 7, 2010. Dur-ing WWII, he served with the 603rdBG, 398th BS, flying out of England.He was shot down, captured andheld until liberation. He leaves twochildren, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their families.

KYROVAC, Bernard, member ofthe Fox River Valley Chapter,AXPOW passed away recently. Hewas captured in Trieste, Italy in1944 and held until liberation. Ber-nard is survived by his wife, Ellen,2 children, 6 grandchildren and4 great-grandchildren.

MAGALONG, Felix B. Sr., of Au-rora, CO died Oct. 9, 2010. He was91. He was captured while serv-ing with Co H, 45th Inf. Reg.BRZSR in the Philippines; after en-during the Bataan Death March, hewas held in O’Donnell, Tarlac,Capas. His wife, Sandra surviveshim; he also leaves 2 daughters,2 sons, 14 grandchildren and 11great-grandchildren.

MAGNUSON, Morris W., 89, Com-mander of the Sioux Land Chapter,AXPOW, died Aug. 28, 2010. He wasshot down while serving with theAAF during WWII, captured andheld until liberation. Morris leaveshis wife of 65 years, 1 daughter, 2sons, 8 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson.

MANSELL, Roger of Palo Alto, Cali-fornia passed away October 25,2010.He was an avid reader, andfascinated by history, and espe-cially the history of World War II.After he retired, he began research-ing the allied POWs of the Japanese,a rich and terrible story that, untilhe began his work in the 90s, hadbeen largely buried in inaccessiblearchives. Over more than twentyyears, he made multiple and ex-tended visits to the National Ar-chives, scanning and photograph-ing thousands of documents thathad not been centralized or com-plied. He founded the Center forResearch Allied POWs Under theJapanese to post this informationon its website, www mansell.com.

MARSH, Clark Dean passed awayin Morgan Hill, CA August 4, 2010.He was 89 and a veteran of WWIIand Korea. He was captured inWWII in the Battle of the Bulge andspent several months marchingacross Germany until liberation bythe British Army. His wife, Sarah,predeceased him; he leaves his son,James, and his family.

MARSH, Helen L., 78, ofAustintown, OH died Nov. 19,2010. She and her husband, ex-POW Homer were members of the

Mahoning Valley Chapter,AXPOW. In addition to her lovinghusband of 62 years, she will besadly missed by 3 daughters, 2sons, 6 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, 2 sisters and 1brother.

MITCHEL, Herbert W. of NevadaCity, CA, died September 11, 2010.He is a survivor of the Bataan DeathMarch and was a POW of the Japa-nese for 3-1/2 years. He was anAXPOW life member since 1979. Heis survived by his wife, Helen.

MONTANARI, Mary Catherine“Bunny”, of Dennisport, MA passedaway Nov. 8, 2010. She was anactive member of the Western MAChapter, AXPOW until she and herhusband, Carl, moved toDennisport in 1995. She leaves herloving husband, 1 son and 2grandchildren who will miss hervery much.

MYHR, Ellsworth B. “Bud” of SunCity, AZ died Oct. 21, 2010. He wasa member of the Agua Fria Chapter,AXPOW. He served with the 94thInf. during WWII; he was capturedand held in Stalags 13C and 12A.He is survived by his wife, Lila.

NAJARIAN, Askanaz “Arky” ofPawtucket, RI passed away Nov. 4,2010. He was captured whileserving in the AAC, flying overGermany; he spent 18 months as aPOW. Arky was past commander ofRhode Island Chapter #1, AXPOW.He leaves 2 daughters, 1 son, 6grandchildren and a host ofextended family and friends.

OPSAHL, Dorothy K., of Fishers,IN, passed away Sept. 4, 2010. Sheand her beloved husband, ex-POWRoland, were members of the EastValley Chapter, AXPOW. She alsoleaves 1 son and 2granddaughters.


36

taps continued...PEARCE, Charles W., of Novinger,MO passed away Sept. 27, 2010. Hewas 88. He was captured whileserving with the 82nd AirborneDiv., 504th Parachute Inf. inHolland after Operation MarketGarden. He was held in Stalags 7Aand 11A near Munich. Charles issurvived by his wife of 64 years,Joanne, 3 children, 5 grandchildrenand 6 great-grandchildren. He wasa life member of the Green HillsChapter, AXPOW.

PROTO, Frank A. of Guilford, CT,died October 31, 2010. He servedin the US Army, 29th Inf. Div., 115thReg., Co. B on Normandy on D-Day;he was captured at St. Lo in July andheld prisoner for ten months inStalag 12A. An AXPOW life mem-ber since 1982, and member of theConnecticut Chapter, Frank is sur-vived by his wife, Emma and 3brothers.

POWELL, Donald W., a member ofEastern Iowa Chapter, AXPOWpassed away Sept. 18, 2010 at theage of 85. Don was in the 45th Div.,180th Inf. Co. E. He was first scoutfor his unit and was captured twice;1st for one day and the second timefor 9 months. He was held in Stalag7A and then a work farm. Donleaves his wife of 63 years, Helen,1 son, 1 daughter and 4 grandchil-dren.

PURVIS, George, of San Antonio,TX passed away Sept. 12, 2010. Hewas 88. During WWII, he served asa Medic in the Army, stationed inthe Philippines. He was one of the“Battling Bastards of Bataan”.George spent 3-1/2 years as a POWin Cabanatuan and O’Donnell. Heleaves his beloved wife, Minnie, 1son, 1 daughter, 3 grandchildrenand 4 great-grandchildren.

RICHTER, Leroy, of Flatonia, TXdied Oct. 27, 2010. He was cap-tured while serving with the 36thDiv., 141st Inf. Co. L; he was heldin Stalag 2B and other camps un-til liberation. Survivors includehis beloved wife, Melba, 2 sons, 3stepdaughters, 8 grandchildrenand 15 great-grandchildren.

RITTHALER, Paul, of Puyallup, WA,formerly of Texas, died October 27,2010. An AXPOW life member since1976, he served in the US MarineCorps and was a POW in Zentsuji.He is survived by his wife of 63years, Betty, who is also a life mem-ber since 1976.

SAXON, Joseph Edward, of Win-ston Salem, NC, died February 22,2009. He served in the 2 Tank Bnand was held as a POW in Korea. Heis survived by his wife of 34 years,Carolyn.

SEALS, Noah Junior Jr., 86, ofVincennes, IN passed away March24, 2010. He was 86. During WWII,he was captured while serving withthe 106th Inf., 590th FA BN. Hewas captured during the Battle ofthe Bulge and held until libera-tion. Survivors include his wife,Arlyna, 3 daughters, 2 sons, 3 sis-ter, 8 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

SIMEONE, Francis L., 87, of RockyHill, CT died Oct. 25, 2010. Heserved with the 29th Inf. Div., 116thReg., 2BN Co G. Frank was in firstwave of the D-Day invasion; he wascaptured on June 12 and held atcamps 12, 4B, Work Kommando1308, Dresden. He was a memberof the CT Chapter, AXPOW. Heleaves his wife, Ellen, 1 son, 1daughter, 3 grandchildren and 1brother.

SOMMERS, Marjorie, 83, of LaJunta, CO passed away Sept. 3,2010. She was the beloved wife ofDean who was a POW in Stalag 17B.In addition to Dean, she will besadly missed by 2 sons, 4

grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

STEVENS, Porter E., of Ashland,OH died in April, 2010. DuringWWII, he was captured in theBattle of the Bulge and held in 9C,13C, Schweinfurt, 13D, 7A andwas the last known American tobe liberated from Dachau. Porteris survived by one son.

TRIMBLE, J. Leo, of San Leandro,CA passed away Aug. 2, 2010 at theage of 85. He was captured at AnzioBeach while serving in the Army,held prisoner at Stalag IIB, thentransported by boxcar to work ona farm at Besswitz. His wife,Marjorie, survives him.

TWEEDY, Paul, of Beebe, Arkansas,died December 31, 2009. He servedin Company G, 168th Inf, 34th Divand was held in Stalags 7A, 3B, 2Aand 483C. He was a member of theNorthwest Arkansas Chapter. He issurvived by his wife, Irene.

UNGER, Allen Leroy, of Loveland,CO passed away Oct. 10, 2010. Hewas 88. He was a member of theNortheast Colorado Chapter,AXPOW, where he served aschaplain; he also served as chaplainfor the Dept. of Colorado. DuringWWII, he served with the 739th BS,454th BG, DFC; he was capturedand held in Vienna Austria, 7ABavaria. He leaves his wife of 67years, Florance, 2 daughters, 2granddaughters and 1 great-grandson.

Van MOORLEHEM, Lucille, ofMarshall, MN died Oct. 19, 2010.She was the beloved wife of 68years of ex-POW Arthur (106th Inf.Div; 9B, Bad Orb). Lucille was a lifemember of AXPOW. In addition toArthur, she is survived by 4 sons,1 daughter and their families.

VINCENT, Leonard John “LJ”, ofBuffalo, SC passed away Nov. 20,2010. He was captured whileserving in the Army during WWII;he was a member of the Catawba


37

taps continued... national chaplain

PNC Gerald Harvey709 Baptist Home LaneChillocothe MO 64601660-646-4301

This story came to me on my emailand I want to share it with you.

“A pastor was on a long airplaneflight. The first warning of the ap-proaching problems came when thesign flashed on: Fasten yourseatbelts.

Then after a while, a calm voicesaid, ‘We shall not be serving bev-erages at this time as we are expect-ing turbulence.’ Then the stormbroke.

There were ominous cracks of thun-der. Lightning lit up the skies.Within moments, the airplane waslike a corked tossed around on acelestial ocean. One moment theairplane was lifted on terrific cur-rents of air; the next, it dropped asif it were about to crash.

The pastor confessed that heshared the fear of those aroundhim. He said, ‘As I looked aroundthe plane, I saw that nearly all ofthe passengers were alarmed. Somewere praying. Many were wonder-ing if they would make it throughthe storm.

‘Then I saw a little girl. Apparentlythe storm meant nothing to her. Shewas reading a book and everythingwithin her small world was calm.

Chapter, AXPOW. Survivorsinclude 1 son, 1 daughter, 4brothers, 2 sisters, 3grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

WAITES, Gail Everett, of Yoakum,TX died Oct. 7, 2010. DuringWWII, he served in the Army; hewas captured and held in Luft IV,then marched across Germany.Survivors include 2 daughters, 6grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, 3 great-great-grandchildren and best friend andArmy buddy, Archie Aitcheson.

WOLZ, Dorothy E. of YoungstownOH passed away Nov. 7, 2010. Shewas a longtime member of the SteelValley Chapter #17, AXPOW. Herhusband of 65 years, Albert (SVCof Chapter #13) survives her; shealso leaves 3 daughters, 1 grand-daughter and1 great-granddaugh-ter. She will be missed by all whoknew her.

ZETTI, Frances, of Akron, Ohio,died November 10, 2009. An activemember of the North Central OhioChapter, she was married to JosephZetti for 65 years. Joseph was aPOW in Stalags 2B, 3B, 4B and 3A.

‘When the plane was being buf-feted by the terrible storm; whenall the adults were scared half todeath, that marvelous child wascompletely composed and un-afraid.’

When the plane finally reached itsdestination and all the passengerswere hurrying to disembark, thepastor lingered to speak to the girlwhom he had watched for such along time. He asked her why shehad not been afraid during thestorm.

The little girl replied, ‘Cause mydaddy’s the pilot and he’s takingme home.”

God is our Father. The prophetIsaiah assures us that God is withus during the difficult times in ourlives. Isaiah 25:4 “For Thou hastbeen a stronghold to the poor, astronghold to the needy in his dis-tress, a shelter from the storm...”

We are starting a new year with allof its uncertainties. No matter whatcomes, God will be with us.

Gerald

Did you know?The Wright Brothers built theworld’s first successful engine-

powered aircraft here andtoday the community hosts the

Wright-Patterson Air ForceBase, one of the nation’s largest

military bases.

Over22,000

people areemployed

at Wright-Patterson.

Capitol City ChapterCommander Sina Chandler andNational Commander Morris

Barker. Sina has served 14 years ascommander of this Texas chapter.

Way to go, Sina!


38

50/50 drawingMarch 2010Arlington, TX

1st Place Walter Riley $431.60Dallas, TX

2nd Place Milton “Skip” Moore $323.70Sierra Vista, AZ

3rd Place Ernest Smith $215.80Wichita, KS

4th Place Sally Morgan $107.90Grand Prairie, TX

These drawings help raise money needed for our operating ex-penses. They allow our members to participate in a very worth-while project, while giving them a chance to win. 50% of thedonations will be given to the General Fund and the other 50%are awarded as prizes. The amounts are determined after alldonations are received. You do not have to be present to win.Please make copies of the tickets on the other side and offerthem to your Chapter members, family and friends. We are ask-ing $5.00 for 6 tickets. These donations are not tax deductible.Fill out the tickets and send them and your donations to:National Headquarters ~ 50/50 Drawing3201 E. Pioneer Pkway, #40Arlington, TX 76010-5396


39

The 106th InfantryDivision Association

Organized atCamp Lucky Strike 1945 active since

1946

If you are a former 106th Infantry Division vet, wereattached to the 106th,a relative of a 106th veteran, you

are eligible for membership in the Association.Annual Dues $10.00

The CUB Magazine is published three timesper year. Published since 1946.

Annual Reunions held yearly since 1947.

Contact: Lyle Beeth, Membership Chairman2004 Golf Manor RoadValico, FL 33594-7288

(813) 689-9621; fax: (813) 655-8952Toll Free (888) 644-8952

[email protected]

Let’s Light Up Your WayWith a NUMBERED

keychain/flashlight combination(battery included).

If it’s lost, the finder can return it to us and receive a$15.00 reward. We will return it to you. If you givethis as a gift, you need to give us the name and addressof your recipient.

This is an attractive, silver-colored and thoughtfulitem. It is sent in a handy gift box and is ideal forfriends and family.

This is a fund-raising project of the Dept. of NewYork. Profits are being used to give Wounded Warriorsand their families a “Taste of the Big Apple”.Fivedays/four nights airfare, hotel, food, admissions.

$10 each including S/HTo: Dept. of New York, AXPOW190 Bethel Loop, #104Brooklyn, NY 11239

Life’s JourneyAuthored by Cor LongiottiList Price: $17.95

Growing up in a small town. Enduring Life in the great depression era.Attending Catholic school forsix years and graduating fromPublic High School.Serving in U.S. Army with the 179th Infantry as a machinegunner in Sicily. Fighting in Italy, landing on the beachesof Salerno and fighting our way to Casino then retreating to make a landing at Anzio. After much fierce fighting getting captured, and spending time as a POW in Italy and Germany. Returning home, getting married,

raising a family and working to build a better life.

For a copy of book, go to;Amazon.com/life journey-cor-longiotti/dp/1449596630

Or send $18.00 (shipping included) to; Cor Longiotti, 522 E. Valley View Rd. Ashland, Or. 97520

American Ex-Prisoners of War50/50 Drawing

PLEASE PRINTName:_______________________Telephone: ( )_______

Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________

Here is my donation of $5.00 for 6 chances to win the drawing.Prize amounts are determined by the total amount donated.

Mail your donation American Ex-Prisoners of Warand entry to: 50/50 Drawing

3201 E. Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, TX 76010-5396

You do not have to be present to win. Your donation is not tax deduct-ible. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.Thank you for your support. (3/11)



Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________







Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________Here is my donation of $5.00 for 6 chances to win the drawing.

Prize amounts are determined by the total amount donated.Mail your donation American Ex-Prisoners of Warand entry to: 50/50 Drawing


You do not have to be present to win. Your donation is not tax deduct-ible. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.

Thank you for your support.



Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________







Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________







Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________Here is my donation of $5.00 for 6 chances to win the drawing.

Prize amounts are determined by the total amount donated.Mail your donation American Ex-Prisoners of Warand entry to: 50/50 Drawing


You do not have to be present to win. Your donation is not tax deduct-ible. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.Thank you for your support. (3/11)Ex-POW Bulletin (3/11)

Jan/Feb 2011

40


41

TheQuartermaster’s Shop

AXPOW Pocket Knife11 function pocket knifeincludes a stainless steelknife, screwdrivers and

much more! AXPOWimprint is protected by an

epoxy dome, lasting alifetime. Rubber grip

ensures easyhandling...individually

gift boxed...folded knifemeasures 3 3/4”x1”$13.00 plus s/h

Bronze GraveMedallion

with AXPOW LOGOThe Medallion is 4", Bronze/Brown with Lacquer, weighsapproximately 1lb 4oz,containing 84% copper,balance in other metals. Thehardware for mounting isincluded in each packet.

check with your localcemetery before ordering to

see if medallions arepermitted.

$75.00 plus s/h/i($15.00 for one; $20.00 for

two or more)

AXPOW Vests!The uniform of the American Ex-POWs consists of the military cap and the vest. These vestsare custom-made with your name on the front, and yourchapter and logo shield on the back. Orders take approxi-mately six weeks to complete.

$55.00 each includesshipping/handlingFor pins, vest guards and otheritems to “dress up” your vest, or-der from the merchandise page.

Jeweled FlagYou love your country. Our

Austrian Crystal Flag and USApins are beatuiful ways to show

your patriotism. They makewonderful gifts ~ for yourself

or someone you love.

American Flag ~

$30.00 plus s/h

order on page 42

AXPOW FlashlightsBright safety light whenyou need it! AXPOW logo

in color...individuallygift-boxed.

$12.00 plus s/h

AXPOW Vest Order Form(For members only)Name________________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________________

City, State, Zip ________________________________________________

Size (Men/coat, Women/chest measurement) __________________________

Long, Regular or Short_________________________________________

Name on front of vest __________________________________________

Chapter Name (back of vest) _______________________________

Price: $55.00, includes shipping/handlingPlease allow 8-10 weeks for delivery.

Mail orders to:AXPOW NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS3201 East Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, Texas 76010-5396

Official AXPOW Cap (specify size) 40.00Vinyl Cap Bag 3.00Maroon AXPOW Sport Cap 8.00Black Eagle Sport Cap 9.00Canvas Sport Cap (offwhite or tan) 10.00AXPOW Pocket Knife 13.00Necktie w/logo 30.00 (specify regular or pre-tied)AXPOW Logo Bolo Tie 25.00U.S. Flag Bolo Tie 20.00Mini POW Medal Bolo Tie 25.00Barbed Wire pin 3.00Life Member pin 5.00Crossed Flags Lapel pin 5.00Brooch pin 5.00EX-POW pin (goldtone) 5.00Logo pin 5.00POW Stamp pin 3.00Past Chapter Commander pin 5.00Past Department Commander pin 5.00

AXPOW Pocket Knife 13.00

Eagle pin w/Barbed Wire 8.00(specify gold, silver or antique gold)Jeweled Flag Pin 30.00USA Jeweled Pin 15.00Logo Necklace 5.00 Logo Earrings (pierced or clip) 5.002” Medallion (for plaque)5.00Vest Chainguard w/eagles 8.003” Blazer Patch 4.004” Blazer Patch 4.008” Blazer Patch 10.00CLOTH STRIPES (specify which title) 3.00Life Member · Chapter CommanderPast Chapter Commander · Chapter Adj/Treas ChapterAdjutant · Chapter TreasurerState Department CommanderPast State Dept. Commander · Department AdjutantDepartment Treasurer · Sr. Vice CommanderJr. Vice Commander · Chaplain · HistorianService Officer · Legislative OfficerPast Chapter Officer · Past Department Officer

QUANTITY ITEM SIZE / COLOR PRICE

For orders up to 4.00, add $3.00; For orders 4.01 to 7.99, add $4.00; For orders 8.00 to 25.00,add $8.00, For orders 25.01 to 49.99, add $13.00; For orders 50.00 to 99.99, add $15.00For orders over 100.00, add $20.00 Checks/Money Order/Credit Card Accepted.

For credit card orders: Card # _________________________________ Expiration: _________

(Check one) Master Card ___________Visa____________

Name _______________________________________________________Address _____________________________________________________City, State, Zip ________________________________________________Phone _____________________________

Shipping/Handling/Insurance:

Total: $

MAIL TO:AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR

3201 East Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, Texas 76010-5396

[email protected]

We accept Master Card/Visa

Name Badge Order Form(for members only)Actual size of badge issize of a credit card

PLEASE PRINT:Name __________________________________________Line 1 __________________________________________Line 2 __________________________________________

Name Badge with name & chapter and city: $6.00(includes shipping and handling)Ship to:Street ____________________________________________

City/State/Zip ______________________________________

Mail orders to:AXPOW NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS3201 East Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, Texas 76010-5396

12x18 AXPOW Graveside Flag 10.003x5 ft. AXPOW Flag w/3-color logo with fringe, indoor use 60.00 with grommets, outdoor use 60.003x5ft. blackPOW/MIA flag, outdoor use 25.00AXPOW Metal License Plate Frame 10.00Aluminum License Plate 5.003” Vinyl Decal 1.003” Inside Decal 1.008” Vinyl Decal 6.0012” Vinyl Decal 10.00Bumper Sticker “Freedom – Ask us” 2.00AXPOW Wall Clock (includes battery) 20.00AXPOW Notecards (pkg of 25) 6.00Special Prayer Cards (pkg of 25) 6.00AXPOW Prayer Book 2.00Ladies Prayer Book 1.00AXPOW By-Laws 5.00POW Videotape – ETO or Pacific 11.00“Speak Out” Education Packet 6.00Canvas Totebag w/4” logo 15.00AXPOW Flashlight 12.00

Please print:Name_____________________________________Address___________________________________City/State/Zip______________________________Phone ( )_________________________________Please allow 4 weeks to make address corrections.

Mail to: National Headquarters, AXPOW, 3201 E. Pioneer Parkway,Suite 40, Arlington, TX 76010-5396Or fax: (817) 649-0109e-mail: [email protected]

All orders for products sold byAXPOW National Organization,

including dues/subscriptionsshould be mailed to:

American Ex-Prisoners of WarNational Headquarters


(817) 649-2979/ (817) 649-0109 faxe-mail: [email protected] collect calls, please

Subscription Rates -- non members$40.00 per year

Foreign subscriptions$50.00 per year

Now accepting MasterCard/Visa

Thank you for supporting the American Ex-POWS with your purchases of National Merchandise.

change of address formInclude your mailing label for address change or inquiry. If you are receiving duplicate copies,please send both labels. If moving, please give us your new address in the space provided.

AXPOW Pocket Knife11 function pocket knife includes astainless steel knife, screwdrivers

and much more!AXPOW imprint is protected by an

epoxy dome, lasting a lifetimeRubber grip ensures easy handling

individually gift boxedfolded knife measures 3 3/4”x1”

$13.00 plus s/h

Documents

EX-POW BULLETIN · Periodical postage paid at Arlington, TX and additional mailing ... ers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas liberated more than 500 from ... 4. . Ex-POW Bulletin,