EX-POW BULLETIN · The January, 2013 issue will be the last one you receive if you don’t renew. Take a minute and send your 2013 dues to National Headquarters. Don’t miss out

EX-POW BULLETINthe official voice of the

American Ex-Prisoners of War Volume 69 Number 11/12www.axpow.org

November/December 2012

We exist to help those who cannot help themselves

Carroll “Pete” Gouger, of South Yarmouth, MA served with the 8th AF, 401st BG. He was heldin Luft I with my dad. Pete and his son had gone to Barnstable Airport (Cape Cod) to see thevintage WWII B-17 and B-24 brought in by the Collings Foundation as part of the Wings ofFreedom Tour. Pete is in the picture on the left with the Flying Fortress…a picture of mydad with his crew is shown on the right inside the B-24 Liberator.

LEFT: Active members of the Capitol CityChapter, AXPOW (L-R): Harvey Gann, PaulAnderson, Raymond McKee Sr., DonHusienga, Joe Bloomer, Jim Manford, Rob-ert Albresch, Andy Bardagjy.

RIGHT: POWs and spouses from the SteelValley Chapter #13, Youngstown, OH at theirannual picnic. A gracious donor presented allthe ladies with long-stem red roses and all themen with gift certificates to a local eatery.

LEFT: Central Missouri Chapter CommanderWilburn Rowden presented a copy of“Prisoners of Hope” to MO governor MelCarnahan in his office. 119 ex-POWs have hadarticles in this book about their lives.

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.© 2012 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]

Intrepid Staff ReporterAlice A Booher

Deadline for the Jan/Feb 2013issue is Dec. 1, 2012.

Please send all materials to theeditor at the above address.

officers/directors 4commander/HQ 5NSO 6medsearch 7andersonville 11namPOW 12outreach 13Joint Committee 14pow-mia 15vavs 16civilian 17events, info, looking for 18chapters/depts 19news 25voluntary funding 30contributions 31new members 32taps 33chaplain 37raffle 39quartermaster 42

November/December 2012table of contents

Ex-POW BulletinNov/Dec 2012

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On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, anarmistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared be-tween the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, thenknown as “the Great War.” Commemorated as Armistice Day begin-ning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holi-day in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War IIand the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holidaydedicated to American veterans of all wars.

Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all military personnelwho served the United States in all wars, particularly living veter-ans. It is marked by parades and church services and in many placesthe American flag is hung at half mast. A period of silence lastingtwo minutes may be held at 11AM. Some schools are closed on Vet-erans Day, while others do not close, but choose to mark the occa-sion with special assemblies or other activities.

Renewal Notice! Annual Members!The January, 2013 issue will be the last one you receive if you

don’t renew. Take a minute and send your 2013 dues toNational Headquarters.

Don’t miss out on all the benefits membership in AXPOW offers!

Merry Christmas! HappyHanukkah! Feliz Navidad!

Happy Holidays!

from the AXPOW StaffClydie, Marsha, Donna, Cheryl

and Mom

axpow officers & directors 2012-2013National 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]

Southeast RegionEdward L. DeMent8735 Doral Oaks Dr., #1617Temple Terrace, FL 33617(813) [email protected]

Benny Rayborn459 Grady Brown RdLumberton MS 39455(601) [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 CommanderCharles Susino136 Jefferson StreetMetuchen, NJ 08840(732) 549-5775 phone & fax

National Sr Vice CommanderJames L. Lollar292 VZ CR 3727Wills Point, TX 75169(903) 560-1734; (903) 560-1705 [email protected]

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

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

Jr. Vice CommandersWm “Bill” Jeffers -Eastern Zone3522 Millbrook Way CrGreenacres, FL 33463(561) [email protected]

Pam Warner Eslinger -Central ZonePO Box 117Hammon, OK 73650(580) [email protected]

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

Mid-Central RegionBecky Fisher6319 Whims Rd.Canal Winchester, OH 43110(614) [email protected]

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

South Central RegionPNC Morris Barker710 Chapel ViewWaco, TX 76712(254) [email protected]

Ben Garrido6813 W 60th StreetTulsa OK 74107(951) [email protected]

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

Southwest RegionAlice Gollin37231 Turnberry IslePalm Desert, CA 92211(760) 610-1271;(760) 610-1752 [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 DirectorCarroll Bogard, Ph.D275 N Taft #116Mason City IA 50401(641) 424-4870 – Voice(641) 512-4543 - Cell


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National CommanderCharles Susino, Jr.

newsfromhq

UMB Credit CardEvery time a member – ormember’s family or friends –signs up for the new UMBcredit card (which features ourmarching men on the face),AXPOW receives $50.00. That’slike making a $50 donation tothe organization when yousign up. We also get apercentage of every dollarspent if you use the card eachmonth.

So won’t you take a fewminutes and apply for thiscard today?

REMEMBER

Each year, America recognizes a sol-emn day, POW/MIA Recognition Day.This day was established to remem-ber those veterans – both living anddeceased – who served this countryand became Missing-in-Action or aPrisoner of War in the hands of theenemy. Across our nation, it is a dayfor all Americans to remember thesacrifices of the POW/MIAs for ourcountry’s freedom.

It is something we all know about.

The feelings and the emotions, anxi-eties, loneliness, inhumane treatmentby the captors, I revisit many times.

With more than 83,000 veterans stillmissing in action or prisoners of waron foreign soil since WWII, as a na-tion we are not whole. The everydayplight of all POW/MIA veterans seeno future. Seeing guards of differ-ent nations with only one thought inmind – making you suffer. Food, onlyenough to keep you alive, water –maybe, hygiene – none. Clothing onyour back is wearing thin. The body

and mind weaken. Your visions ofhome fade.

For some, they have made it home.For others, this nightmare continues.When are they coming? Are we for-gotten? Our voices must reaffirm thecommitment of the Defense Depart-ment to bring closure for the veter-ans, their families and our country.With the use of the latest technolo-gies, in recent years many veteranspreviously listed as MIAs have beenidentified. These efforts must con-tinue.

Closure continues to come for many.In June of this year, Nick A Romeo,brother of Sgt. Vincenzo DominickRomeo, a POW in the Korean War con-tacted me regarding receiving thePurple Heart medal his brotherearned as a POW in Camp #5, NorthKorea, where he died on December31, 1950. Sgt. Romeo had earned 8medals for his service and Nick waspresented with these awards in alow-key ceremony at the Soldiers andSailors Monument in Cent Square inSgt. Romeo’s hometown of Easton, PAon the eve of POW/MIA RecognitionDay. On that day, the citizens ofEaston remembered and gave theirthanks.

We as a nation have an obligation toseek those alive or deceased andbring them home.

Remember…US Service member captured whilesupporting combat operations:Army Spc. Bowe R. Bergdahi, 26,June 30,2009, Afghanistan

God bless our troopsGod bless AmericaREMEMBER

Charles Susino, left, national commanderof the American Ex-Prisoners of War, pre-sents eight service medals to Nick Romeo,of Easton, PA during a ceremony Thurs-day afternoon in Centre Square. The med-als were in honor of Romeo’s brother,Vincenzo, also of Easton, who was capturedand died as a prisoner of war during theKorean War. Express-Times Photo | BILLADAMS

Happy Holidays, everyone.

It’s the end of another year! Timepasses so quickly.

Annual dues members, it’s timeto renew. This will be your lastissue of the Bulletin if you don’tget your dues in now. We wouldsurely miss you.

There are a couple of great itemswe offer that would make greatstocking stuffers. The POW/MIApostage stamp pin, the logo de-cals and the magnetic ribbons areall affordable and available. Checkout the back of the Bulletin fordetails on how to order.

HQ will be closed the week ofChristmas through New Year’sDay. We wish all yáll a happy andsafe holiday season.

Clydie, Marsha, Donna and Sally


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Ruth Powell, Director - NSO191 Florence RoadWaltham, MA 02453781-899-0726

nso

For AXPOW National ServiceOfficers:VA FORM 21-22 has beenupdated

The new form: “APPOINTMENT OFVETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZA-TION AS CLAIMANT’S REPRESEN-TATIVE” must be used for all newclaims. To get copies, go to:http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-22-ARE.pdf.There are also copies available atNational Headquarters.

Aid and Attendanceoften overlooked by claimantsand their NSOs…

The Aid and Attendance (A&A)Pension provides benefits for vet-erans and surviving spouses whorequire the regular attendance ofanother person to assist in eat-ing, bathing, dressing and un-dressing or taking care of theneeds of nature. It also includesindividuals who are blind or apatient in a nursing home be-cause of mental or physical inca-pacity. Assisted care in an assist-ing living facility also qualifies.

To qualify for A&A it needs to beestablished by your physicianthat you require daily assistanceby others to dress, undress, bath-ing, cooking, eating, taking on oroff of prosthetics, leave home etc.You DO NOT have to require as-sistance with all of these. Theresimply needs to be adequatemedical evidence that you cannotfunction completely on yourown.

The A&A Pension can provide upto $1,704 per month to a veteran,$1,094 per month to a survivingspouse, or $2,020 per month to acouple.

A Veteran filing with a SickSpouse is eligible for up to $1,338per month. Many families over-look the A&A Pension as it per-tains to veterans who are still in-dependent, but have an ill spouse.Keep in mind that in this situa-tion, if the spouse’s medical ex-penses completely depletes theircombined monthly income, theVeteran can file as a Veteran witha sick spouse.

ELIGIBILITY

Any War-Time Veteran with 90days of active duty, 1 day begin-ning or ending during a period

of War, is eligible to apply for theAid & Attendance Improved Pen-sion. A surviving spouse (mar-riage must have ended due todeath of veteran) of a War-TimeVeteran may also apply. The in-dividual applying must qualifyboth medically and financially.

To qualify medically, a War-TimeVeteran or surviving spousemust need the assistance of an-other person to perform dailytasks, such as eating, dressing,undressing, taking care of theneeds of nature, etc. Being blindor in a nursing home for mentalor physical incapacity, or resid-ing in an assisted living facilityalso qualifies.

Eligibility must be proven by fil-ing the proper Veterans Applica-tion for Pension or Compensa-tion. This application will requirea copy of DD-214 or separationpapers, Medical Evaluation froma physician, current medical is-sues, net worth limitations, andnet income, along with out-of-pocket Medical Expenses.

To qualify financially, an appli-cant must have on average lessthan $80,000 in assets, EXCLUD-ING their home and vehicles.

Each Decembermore than 500sites partici-pate in the na-tional WreathsA c r o s sAmerica pro-

gram to remember and honorour military veterans. Spon-sored wreaths will be laid ongravesites in National Cemeter-ies across the country, includ-ing Andersonville National Cem-etery, on the second Saturday ofDecember. The next WreathsAcross America ceremony isscheduled for Saturday Decem-ber 15, 2012.

If you are interested in sponsor-ing a 20" Frasier Fir wreath witha red velveteen bow, you canlearn more about the programand sponsor wreaths online at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.

Please note: The Wreaths AcrossAmerica ™ national office is notable to accommodate grave-spe-cific requests. You may choosea specific location from thehundreds of our participatingsites across the country. Theleader for that location MAY beable to accommodate a gravespecific request.

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

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

(817) 649-2979


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PRESUMPTIVE SERVICECONNECTEDDISABILITIES

Public Law 97-37(Layman’s Terms)

Originally publishedby William Paul Skelton, Ill,

MD F.A.C.P.updated by the Department of

Veterans Affairs

All ex-POWs should keep theseand/or make copies. Wheneveryou open your claim, take themwith you and make sure the adju-dication officer sees them and havehim read them! Make sure heknows all about them. Tell himyour own story as it relates to yourproblem...

1. ARTHRITIS, TRAUMATICAlso known as articular trauma.This disorder looks and is treatedjust like degenerative arthritis(arthritis associated with age) ex-cept it is caused by severe dam-age to a single or few joints pro-ducing early onset arthritis. Sinceit has a definite cause, it is calleda secondary form of arthritis.This is an extremely difficult di-agnosis to make, but in generalone has to prove that a specifictrauma occurred to a single orvery few joints, and other changesconsistent with degenerative ar-thritis are not present through-out the rest of the body at thesame time. In short, thesechanges need to be localized.

2. AVITAMINOSISThe total lack of vitamins in thediet. This disorder is a fatal con-dition unless it is supplementedwith vitamins within a few weeks.There fore, most individuals suf-fer from hypovitaminosis, whichis a relative deficiency of vita-mins in the diet. The specific

type, intensity and duration ofdeprivation determines the long-term effects.

3. BERIBERICaused by a severe lack of vita-min B1 (thiamine) in the diet. Thisproduces changes in the nerves(both in the brain and extremities)and the heart. Brain changescould produce dementia or psy-chosis. Nervous changes are usu-ally associated with numbnessand/or painful feet. Beriberi heartdisease is an acute condition,similar to congestive heart fail-ure, except that the heart pumpsmore blood than in normal con-gestive heart failure and it is as-sociated with the presence of anexcessive amount of lactic acidin the body. It is unknown at thistime whether this can produce achronic state.

4. DYSENTERY, CHRONICA disease characterized by fre-quent and watery stools, usuallywith blood and mucus, and ac-companied by rectal and abdomi-nal pain, fever, and dehydration.This is an infection in the colonand can be caused by a multitudeof different organisms, the mostcommon of which is amoebawhich can produce a mild or se-vere dysentery and possibly be as-sociated with a chronic irritablecolon. Bacillary dysentery is as-sociated with the bacteria shi-gella, but will not cause a chronicstate. There are multiple otherbacteria that can cause dysenterywhich usually do not producechronic states. Viral dysenterycan also present like amoebic orbacillary dysentery and will notproduce a chronic state.

5. FROSTBITEThe actual freezing of tissue. Thisis graded on a continuum withone representing mild to four

representing mummification ofthe tissue. The extremities fur-thest from the heart are usuallyaffected, with primarily the nose,ears, fingertips, and toes beinginvolved. This usually produceslong-term side effects such asnumbness, discoloration, exces-sive swelling, and pain in the af-fected area.

6. HELMINTHIASISInfection with any type of wormsthat parasitize the human. Mostinfections usually resolve spon-taneously either with propertreatment or as the naturalcourse of the disease. Strongy-loides is known to persist in apermanent state in humans dueto its ability to re-infect the host.

7. MALNUTRITIONMerely means bad nutrition. Thenutritional depletion may be ei-ther caloric, vitamin, fatty acid,or mineral deficiency, or morelikely a combination. Dependingon the type, intensity, and dura-tion, it may yield permanent sideeffects or no lasting side effectsat all.

8. PELLAGRALiterally meaning rough skin inItalian, also known as blacktongue in dogs. It is caused by avirtual lack of vitamin B3 (niacin)in the diet, producing the classicaltrio of diarrhea, dermatitis, anddementia. All are easily treatedearly on with no side effects. Thedementia, if left untreated, mayproduce permanent mentaldeficits.

9. ANY OTHERNUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCYThe lack of protein and calories

medsearch continued...


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in the diet generally produces nolasting side effects. However, vi-tamin deficiencies other than theaforementioned B1 (beriberi) andB3 (pellagra) can have very disas-trous effects on one’s body. Alsodeficiencies of certain fatty acidsand essential minerals in the dietcan have lasting and long termsequela.

10. PSYCHOSISA generic term for any of the in-sanities. Generally, it is thoughtof as a mental disorder causinggross disorganization of aperson’s mental capacity and hisability to recognize reality andcommunicate with others regard-ing demands of everyday life.

11. PANIC DISORDERCharacterized by discrete peri-ods of apprehension or fear withat least four of the following dur-ing an attack: shortness of breath,feelings of heart skipping, chestpain, dizziness, sweating, faint-ing, trembling, fear of dying, ordoing something uncontrollableduring an attack. These attacksneed to occur at least three timeswithin a three week period, notassociated with physical exertionor life threatening situations.Also there needs to be an absenceof severe physical or other men-tal illness which could causethese symptoms.

12. GENERALIZEDANXIETY DISORDERCharacterized by generalized per-sistent anxiety and with symp-toms of at least three of the fol-lowing four categories:(1) Motor tension as character-ized by shaking, jumpiness, trem-bling and restlessness;(2) Autonomic hyperactivity.such as sweating, cold or clammyhands, high or irregular heart

rate, dry mouth, etc.;(3) Apprehensive expectations,anxiety, worry, fear, anticipationof misfortune to himself orothers;(4) Tendency to insomnia, hyper-attentiveness, irritable.All these symptoms had to havelasted at least one month. Also,there needs to be an absence ofall other mental disorders andphysical disorders which couldexplain the symptoms.

13. OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVEDISORDERThis may be either obsessions orcompulsions. Obsessions are re-current, persistent ideas or im-pulses that are thoughts that in-vade consciousness and are expe-rienced as senseless or repug-nant. Attempts are made to ig-nore or suppress them. Compul-sions are repetitive and seem-ingly purposeful behaviors thatare performed in certain similarmanners. The behavior is felt bythe individual to produce or pre-vent some future event. Gener-ally, the individuals recognizethe senselessness of the behav-ior and do not derive pleasurefrom carrying it out, although itoften relieves tension. Also, theobsessive or compulsive indi-viduals are associated with a sig-nificant sense of distress in thatit interferes with social or rolefunctioning.

14. POST TRAUMATIC STRESSDISORDERThe re-experiencing of a traumaof a past recognized stress or thatcan produce symptoms of dis-tress. This re-experiencing needsat least one of the following:(I) Recurrent and intrusive recol-lection of the event;(2) Recurrent dreams;(3) Sudden feelings that thetrauma was occurring because ofan association, an environmentalor ideational situation.Also involved is reduced involve-ment with the external world be-ginning after the trauma, re-vealed by at least one of the fol-

lowing:(1) Hyperalertness or exaggeratedstartle response; (2) Sleep disturbance;(3) Guilt about surviving whenothers have not;(4) Memory impairment ortrouble concentrating;(5) Avoidance of activities thatarouse recollection of the trau-matic event;(6) Intensification of symptomsby exposure to events that sym-bolize or resemble the traumaticevent.

15. ATYPICAL ANXIETYDISORDERThis is a category that is used fordiagnosis when the affected indi-vidual appears to have an anxietydisorder that does not meet thecriteria for entry into any of theother known anxiety disorders.

16. DEPRESSIVE NEUROSIS/DYS-THYMIC DISORDERCharacterized by depressive pe-riods in which the patient feelssad and/or down and has a lossof interest in the usual activitiesthat cause pleasure or involve-ment in usual pastimes. Thesedepressive periods are separatedby periods of normal mood, last-ing a few days to a few weeks, butno more than a few months at atime. During the depressive pe-riod, too little sleep or too muchsleep, low energy or chronic tired-ness, loss of self esteem, de-creased effectiveness or produc-tivity at work, social withdrawal,loss of interest in pleasurable ac-tivities, excessive anger, inabilityto respond with apparent plea-sure to praise or reward, less ac-tive or talkative than usual, pes-simistic attitude about the fu-ture, tearful or crying thoughtsabout death or suicide. There arealso no psychotic featurespresent..

17. PERIPHERALNEUROPATHYLiterally Greek for the sufferingof nerves outside of the brain andspinal cord. There are several dif-


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medsearch, continuedferent causes for peripheral neu-ropathy, and vitamin deficiencyand possibly mineral deficiencyare just two. Other causes to beconsidered are various toxinssuch as lead, copper, and mer-cury, a hereditary predispositionto neuropathy, deposition ofamyloid or protein produced byone’s own body mounted in re-sponse to an infection, infectionssuch as by leprosy, which is themost common form of neuropa-thy in the world, and multipleother less common causes.

18. IRRITABLE BOWELSYNDROMEIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) isa common disorder of the intes-tines that leads to crampy pain,gas, bloating, and changes inbowel habits. Some people withIBS have constipation (difficult orinfrequent bowel movements);still others have diarrhea ( fre-quent loose stools, often with anurgent need to move the bowels);and some people experience both.Sometimes the person with IBShas a crampy urge to move thebowels but cannot do so.Through the years, IBS has beencalled by many names - colitis,mucous colitis, spastic colon,spastic bowel, and functionalbowel disease. Most of theseterms are inaccurate.

19. PEPTIC ULCER DISEASEA peptic ulcer is a sore or hole inthe lining of the stomach orduodenum (the first part of thesmall intestine).In addition to the pain caused bythe ulcer itself, peptic ulcers giverise to such complications ashemorrhage from the erosion ofa major blood vessel; perforationof the wall of the stomach or in-testine, with resultant peritonitis;or obstruction of the gastrointes-tinal tract because of spasm orswelling in the area of the ulcer.The direct cause of peptic ulcers

is the destruction of the gastricor intestinal mucosal lining byhydrochloric acid, an acid nor-mally present in the digestivejuices of the stomach.

20. CIRRHOSISThe liver, the largest organ in thebody, is essential in keeping thebody functioning properly. It re-moves or neutralizes poisonsfrom the blood, produces im-mune agents to control infection,and removes germs and bacteriafrom the blood. It makes proteinsthat regulate blood clotting andproduces bile to help absorb fatsand fat-soluble vitamins.

In cirrhosis of the liver, scar tis-sue replaces normal, healthy tis-sue, blocking the flow of bloodthrough the organ and preventingit from working as it should.

Many people with cirrhosis haveno symptoms in the early stagesof the disease. However, as scartissue replaces healthy cells, liverfunction starts to fail and a per-son may experience the followingsymptoms: Exhaustion, fatigue,appetite loss, nausea, weaknessand/or weight loss. Cirrhosismay be diagnosed on the basis ofsymptoms, laboratory tests, thepatient’s medical history, and aphysical examination. A liver bi-opsy will confirm the diagnosis.

21. STROKE & COMPLICATIONSA stroke occurs when the bloodsupply to part of the brain is sud-denly interrupted or when ablood vessel in the brain bursts,spilling blood into the spaces sur-rounding brain cells. Brain cellsdie when they no longer receiveoxygen and nutrients from theblood or there is sudden bleed-ing into or around the brain.The symptoms of a stroke in-clude sudden numbness or weak-ness, especially on one side of thebody; sudden confusion ortrouble speaking or understand-ing speech; sudden trouble see-ing in one or both eyes; suddentrouble with walking, dizziness,

or loss of balance or coordina-tion; or sudden severe headachewith no known cause. Includesthe three major types of stroke:ischemic, hemorrhagic, and em-bolic, as well as complicationsfrom stroke.

22. HEART & COMPLICATIONSHeart disease includes athero-sclerotic heart disease, and hy-pertensive vascular disease (in-cluding hypertensive heart dis-ease, and hypertension). Is-chemic heart disease and coro-nary artery disease are includedwithin this provision.

Complications of atheroscleroticheart disease are included. Com-plications may include myocar-dial infarction (“heart attack”),congestive heart failure (“heartfailure”), and arrhythmia (“irregu-lar heart beat”).

Hypertensive vascular disease re-fers to disease associated with el-evated blood pressure. Complica-tions caused by hypertensive vas-cular disease are included. Dis-eases arising from viral or bacte-rial causes are not included.

23. OSTEOPOROSISOsteoporosis is a disease inwhich bones become fragile andmore likely to break. If not pre-vented or if left untreated, os-teoporosis can progress pain-lessly until a bone breaks. Thesebroken bones occur typically inthe hip, spine, and wrist.

Any bone can be affected, but ofspecial concern are fractures ofthe hip and spine. A hip fracturealmost always requires hospital-ization and major surgery. Spinalor vertebral fractures also haveserious consequences, includingloss of height, severe back pain,and deformity.


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POW MEDSEARCH PACKETS

Packet 1~VA Claim Information $8.00

Packet 2~Stresses of Incarceration & After Effects Extreme Stress-Covers the after effects on the nerves and body organs $8.00

Packet 3~After Effects of Imprisonment-Covers arthritis, alcoholism,visual, ulcers, varicose veins, impotency, brain damage, etc $8.00

Packet 4~After Effects of Imprisonment Part 1 - covers the heart, arteriesand veins; Part 2 covers cancer $8.00

Packet 5~What Every Wife Should Know Before She Is Your Widow -Social Security, insurance, burial procedures, allowances, etc. including what pathologistshould look for in an autopsy (includes shipping and handling charge) $15.00

Packet 6~Micro-Film Index: Asiatic Theater - Japanese Possible help inlocating POW records $3.00

Packet 7~Micro-Film Index: European Theater - Germany $3.00

Packet 8~The European Story, History of POWs in Germany, andafter-effects $8.00

Packet 9~The Korea Story, History of POWs in Korea, and after-effects $8.00

Packet 10~The Japanese Story History of POWs in Japan, and after-effects $10.00

Packet 11~NSO Director Answers Your Questions $11.00

Presentation Set~(Packets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10) $60.00

The Modern Day Tragedy~medical & claims evidence in support ofPL 97-37 $4.00

POW: The American Experience~overview on POW experience; reviews vitamin deficiencies,infectious diseases and service-connected statistics $6.00

Map of German POW Camps~shows location of 76 camps $3.00

Map of Japanese POW Camps~21" x 32" with camps featured in red $4.00

Check packets you wish to order and send, with payment, to: AXPOW3201 East Pioneer Parkway #40, Arlington, TX 76010

Name Phone ( )AddressCity, State, Zip

Amount enclosed $ ______ (includes shipping/handling*) MasterCard and Visa accepted (circle one) ($5.00 mini-mum charge) Card Number: Expiration Date:

*Shipping / Handling fees: In U.S.A.; 1-3 packets, add $6.00; 4 - 6 packets, add$9.00; 7 or more packets, add $12.00. In Canada; 1-3 packets, add $9.00; 4 -6packets, add $14.00, 7 or more packets, add $20.00. Overseas; 1-3 packets, add$16.00; 4 - 6 packets, add $22.00, 7 or more packets, add $30.00

andersonville

Andersonville NHS496 Cemetery RoadAndersonville, GA 31711(229) 924-0343Brad Bennett, [email protected]


11

Remembering Sacrifice

by Brad Bennett, Superintendent,with contributions from EricLeonard, Chief of Interpretation andEducation and Bridget A. Beers, Mu-seum Curator.

The third week of September is al-ways a busy one at the park, and thisyear was no exception. On Wednes-day, September 19, 2012, former Viet-nam POW Bill Arcuri was the fea-tured speaker for the seventh annualPOW Convocation on the campus ofGeorgia Southwestern State Univer-sity (GSW) in the city of Americus, 10

miles from Andersonville. Speakingbefore a standing room only audi-ence, Bill shared his story with stu-dents, faculty, and members of thelocal community.

The following day, on Thursday, Sep-tember 20th, Rolling Thunder es-corted honored POWs and MIA fami-lies to the area for “The Ride Home,”returning the Vietnam Traveling Me-morial Wall to GSW for the secondyear.

On the very foggy morning of Na-tional POW/MIA Recognition Day onFriday, September 21, 2012, parkstaff, Rolling Thunder, and formerPOWs gathered in Andersonville Na-tional Cemetery to lay wreaths at thememorial markers for two VietnamMIAs: US Army S/ Sgt Stephen Geistand US Air Force Major Bobby Jones.Following the service, former POWsand members of Rolling Thunderspent much of the remainder of theday in the National Prisoner of WarMuseum.The following week, a new tempo-rary exhibit, Recent Acquisitions,debuted at the Prisoner of War Mu-seum. This exhibit features itemsdonated to the museum collectionby former POWs, their families, andothers in recent years, relating to theCivil War, World War II from the Eu-ropean and Pacific theaters, the Ko-rean War, and the Vietnam War.

The objects on display were usedfor eating, recording daily activities,and personal items used by Ameri-

can service members dur-ing their captivity as wellas items used to rememberPOWs. Among the artifactson display for the first timeare a knife made by Ko-rean War POW WilliamBorer, a pair of socks knit-ted by World War II POWLarry Dennis, and a poemby Vietnam War POWTheodore W. Triebel.

Andersonville National His-toric Site would like tothank the following con-tributors who made this

exhibit possible: Donna Jo Woollen,William F. Borer, Mr. and Mrs. Rich-

ard Murphy, John H. Anderson, PaulF. Hannan, David G. Rawlings,Theodore W. Triebel, Lawerence J.Dwyer, Joseph Casano, Betty Cozens,Laurence Dennis, Rita Grenier, MurielKing, Virginia Niebrand, Faye Lowe,Marilyn Hodges, Robert W. Phillips,and Midway Village Museum.

In the meantime, production contin-ues on the traveling exhibit, “VictoryFrom Within: the American POW Ex-perience.” As of this writing, the mul-timedia component (newly editedaudio-visual recordings of POW in-terviews) is under final review. Con-struction of the exhibit panels anddisplay mounts will follow in the laststage of fabrication. The exhibit isexpected to be completed and readyto tour the country by the summer of2013. Simultaneously, a separately-funded project made possible by theFriends of Andersonville to developaccompanying curriculum-basededucational materials is also nearingcompletion. These lesson plans, in-tended to help teachers prepare stu-dents for visiting the traveling exhibit,will be available on the park’swebsite. Learn more at:h t t p : / / w w w . n p s . g o v / a n d e /p h o t o s m u l t i m e d i a /pow_traveling_exhibit.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wreaths Across

America

Each December Andersonville Na-tional Historic Site participates in thenational Wreaths Across America pro-gram to remember and honor our mili-tary veterans. Sponsored wreaths willbe laid on gravesites in National Cem-eteries across the country, includingAndersonville National Cemetery, onthe second Saturday of December.The next Wreaths Across America cer-emony is scheduled for SaturdayDecember 15, 2012.

Bataan survivor Phillip W. Coon(left) speaks with park volunteer

Mickey Gallip (right)

namPOW news

Paul E. Galanti804.389.1668 (cell)[email protected]


12

Christmas in Hanoi

(x7)

Heartbreak Hotel interrogationprison. Hanoi December 25, 1966.It was bitter cold and damp. I’dbeen a POW for a little more thansix months with much of it in asweltering solitary confinement.Fifty of us had been paradedthrough Hanoi’s city streets asthousands of Vietnamesechanted obscenities and threwvarious objects at us at the urg-ing of their communist politicalcommissars. I’d had several bru-tal interrogation sessions thathad left my emaciated bodyscreaming in pain. Our dailymeals of watery pumpkin grueland rice had recently changed tosewer greens and rice twice a day.

A mouth-watering scent waftedthrough the boarded up windowsmomentarily eclipsing the harsh,sewer smell of the toilet bucket.Wow… What was that? The smellof onions? Of actual meat? Of anexotic oriental smelling aroma offish sauce?

To digress slightly and for pur-poses of total disclosure, I amand have always been an opti-

mist. Totally, unrepentant andwithout any hint-of-shame opti-mist! From the day in June 1966when I’d parachuted into NorthVietnam from my burning A-4Skyhawk and been immediatelycaptured, I was convinced my in-ternment would last six monthsto a year (at most).

So now I was approaching myfirst Christmas in Hanoi. Lastyear my squadron and ship hadbeen at sea flying combat mis-sions off the coast of South Viet-nam but we’d had a “stand-down”for Christmas day, itself. Themeal aboard ship had been a tra-ditional Christmas dinner. Andnow with delightful aromas ema-nating from the usually pungentcellblock, my morale skyrock-eted – and mouth watered. Myemaciated 100 lb. frame longedfor something that tasted asgood as the aroma that driftedthrough the window boards.

When the meal came, it was asmall chunk of turkey flavoredwith nuoc mam, the Vietnamesefish sauce. And some white rice.And a banana. And even a few sipsof beer. It’s obviously a goodsign. We’d be going home soon!And I was never going to com-plain about food again.

We didn’t go home that year but,for whatever reason, the commu-nists went through this charadeevery year. It served as a way tomark time. Infrequently, they’dbring in their “Catholic priest”who’d serve communion to a few“believers” (as the Communistscalled them) while dutifully re-cording the event with their pro-paganda cameras.

In the Son Tay prison camp, I re-member hearing the Christmasstory according to Marx & Leninon the camp P.A. system. Summa-rized with apologies for a 40 year-old memory: Jesus was a poorworking man who was being ex-ploited by the capitalistic foreign

invader Pontius Pilate, But Jesusrallied the masses against the im-perialist colonialists and for thathe was martyred by the criminalinvaders. Moral. We are all thesame. Only the U.S. governmentexploiting its lackeys in SouthVietnam, like the Roman imperi-alists, are attempting to enslavethe heroic “Vietnamese people.”A long diatribe against “Johnson,McNamara and Dean Rusk” wouldfollow followed by exhortationsto “side with the Vietnamesepeople” as opposed to followingblindly “The U.S. Government.”(Note the similarity between theverbiage of the Communists atChristmas time and our presentday morally relativistic FourthEstate.)

Each year the Christmas “celebra-tion” in four or five differentprisons went about the same. In1972, several hundred of us werein a mountain camp near LangSon near the Chinese border. Itwas somehow different. I remem-ber thinking about the last eightChristmases – 1965, 1966, 1967,1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 — allof them in WESTPAC on cruise orin POW Camps. I thought, “Youknow, I’ve been here a long time.(But felt better when I realizedthat I was a newcomer. Good grief,Alvarez has been here 22 monthslonger than I have.) This is reallya good sign.”

I thought, for the thousandthtime, “We should be out of herein six months to a year.”

I was wrong. We were home inless than two months. The nextChristmas was much better!

Save the date!National Conventionin Arlington, Texas~ June 26-30,

2013

va outreach

JVC Bill JeffersChairman


13

The information provided in thisseries of articles is obtained fromseveral creditable sources, includ-ing current updates and review bymy partner in this effort, DorisJenks. Like many of my age, it isrelatively easy to store informa-tion, but very difficult to retrieveit from memory. Therefore, I sug-gest that you keep a file of thesearticles for ready reference. Thiscould save you many hours ofindependently searching andphoning for answers.

My prior articles have dealt withsome of the VA benefits availableto widows and dependants of de-ceased veterans, particularly ex-POWs. This article will begin aseries addressing VA benefitsavailable to any veteran meetingeligibility requirements. Particu-lar attention will be given to ex-POWs.

Any person who served in anybranch of active military serviceand was discharged or releasedunder conditions other than dis-honorable may qualify for VAhealth care benefits. Reservistsand National Guard membersmay also qualify for VA healthcare benefits if they were calledto active duty (other than fortraining) by Federal orders andcompleted the full period of or-dered active duty. There are mini-mum duty requirements, butthese may not apply to those dis-

charged for hardship, early out,or a disability incurred or aggra-vated in the line of duty.

Enrollment into the VA healthcare system begins by complet-ing VA Form 10-10EZ, ApplicationFor Health Benefits. This formcan be obtained from any VAhealth care facility or regionalbenefits office, on line atwww.1010ez.med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez/, or by calling 1-877-222-8387.

There are four categories of vet-erans that are not required toenroll, but are urged to do so topermit better planning of healthresources:

1. Those with a service-connecteddisability of 50% or more.2. Those seeking care for a dis-ability the military determinedwas incurred or aggravated in lineof duty, but which the VA has notyet rated, within 12 months ofdischarge.3. Those seeking care for a ser-vice-connected disability only.4. Those seeking registry exami-nations (Ionizing Radiation,Agent Orange, Gulf War/Opera-tion Iraqi Freedom, Depleted Ura-nium).

The VA assigns each veteran toone of eight priority groups inorder to balance the demand forVA health care enrollment withresources. The highest priority isGroup 1 for those with service-connected disabilities rated 50%or more and/or those deter-mined by the VA to be unemploy-able due to service-connected dis-abilities. In Group 2 are thosewith service-connected disabili-ties rated 30 to 40%. Group 3 isfor those with service connecteddisabilities rated 10 to 20%; Ex-POWs, Purple Heart recipients,Medal of Honor recipients fordisabilities incurred in a VA Vo-cational Rehabilitation Program;those whose discharge was for adisability incurred /aggravated in

line of duty. Group 4 applies tothose receiving aid and atten-dance or housebound benefitsand/or those determined by theVA to be catastrophically dis-abled.

Group 5 includes those receivingVA pension benefits or are eligiblefor Medicaid programs, and non-service-connected and non-com-pensable zero percent service-connected veterans whose grossannual household income and/ornet worth are below certainthresholds. Group 6 applies toveterans seeking care solely forcertain conditions associatedwith exposure to radiation dur-ing atmospheric testing or dur-ing the occupation of Hiroshimaand Nagasaki; illness associatedwith participation in certain testsconducted by DOD ; those withzero percent service-connecteddisabilities receiving disabilitycompensation benefits; veteranswho served in Vietnam between1962 and 1975; veterans of thePersian Gulf War between certaindates; veterans who served in atheater of combat after Novem-ber 11, 1998 in certain duty peri-ods. Group 7 applies to veteranswith gross household incomebelow a certain threshold whoagree to copay. Group 8 includesthose with incomes/net worthabove thresholds, and who agreeto copay. A word of note: Al-though an Ex-POW is listed aboveas being in Group 3, if such a vet-eran is VA rated at 50% or moreservice-connected disabilities, heis automatically considered to beincluded in Group1.

Women veterans are eligible forthe same health care VA benefitsas male veterans and this alsoincludes female-specific healthcare issues.


14

On the Road to Where?By John Clark

In noting the icon at the beginningof this article one sees that we startplanning at “now”, go to “where” wewant to be in the future and thenfigure out “how” to get there. Thismonth I address part of the notionof “how”. Even though the Joint Stra-tegic and NOK Committee is not gen-erally responsible for executing anidea we thought the best way topresent the idea of changing a coupleof bylaws was to propose thechanges in the form of a resolution.In doing so it affords those who willbe voting on it an opportunity tostudy the specifics and to make spe-cific changes. It will eliminate muchof the misinformation, rumor, misun-derstandings, and affords the spe-cifics necessary for fruitful consid-eration.

At the last convention some membersof the joint committee discussed theaspect of streamlining the complexvoting process individually with mem-bers of the board to get their re-sponse and see if there was any sup-port for it. We found strong supportamong most of them, with very fewhaving any reservations at all.

We discussed perhaps replac-ing the organizations hugebureaucracy intended to con-duct business for a member-ship of 60,000 with one thatis more practical and manage-able while also reflectingtoday’s needs would be agood place to start ourstreamlining process.

As a beginning, perhaps evenmore as a “what if” we re-duced the Board of Directorsto 8 Directors elected fromthe whole membership itwould cut the number of di-

rectors in half, most likely increasethe percentage of Next of Kin mem-bers of the board and hence theirinfluence, rid us of the need forzones (3) and regions (8) and the rep-resentatives that they often cannotor do not have the state departmentsto elect anyway. It is especially note-worthy here that of the 50 state de-partments only about 14-16 of themwere represented in the last two na-tional conferences and several ofthem by only one or two people.

The process could be greatly simpli-fied if the directors to be electedwere suggested by a nominating com-mittee as well as nominations takenfrom the floor of the convention andelected by the general membershipat the convention (one member at-tending the convention, one vote).Each director would still serve a twoyear term if 4 directors were electedeach year.

The new PRESIDENT (no longercalled a commander as the Next ofKin would relate much better to“president” than “commander”) whowould also serve as the chairman ofthe board, would be elected eachyear also by the general membershipattending the conference, thus giv-ing the membership attending theconvention the opportunity and au-thority to elect both their ceremo-nial and functional leader in the formof the same person. Thus the orga-nization would look and act muchas it does now except that all of thebusiness would be conducted by theboard of directors.

If the membership didn’t like whatwas being done by the board it couldreplace up to 4 directors and thepresident and chairman of the boardin one year. Unburdened with theresponsibility of conducting the of-ten boring and repetitive business ofthe organization including trying tovalidate questionable numbers ofvotes and keeping voting delegatesdifferentiated from the general mem-bership which is not done now any-way, then the membership could en-joy the social atmosphere of a re-union and turn its attention to theyouth, the history of POW’s, the AX-POW organization, and pursuing itsgoals. A business session could beaccomplished in 2 hours plus or mi-nus including a report from theboard on the business conductedthe proceeding year and cut at leasta day off of the length of the con-vention.

Of course accomplishing this will re-quire solving several smaller ques-tions, rewriting Articles IX and XIIIof the Bylaws, submitting it to theBylaws and Resolutions Committee,and hopefully having a resolution topresent to the Board of Directors atthe mid year meeting in November.

It is important we remember we mustdo this with the existing voting pro-cess and so it will be necessary tohave the support of the most statespossible including the states with thelargest numbers of votes to insureits success. We feel this is a neces-sary step to allow the American Ex-Prisoners of War to move into thenext 5 years unburdened by com-plexities of the past organization,while encouraging the next of kin totake a leadership roll, and demon-strate to them that changes can bemade in the way things have “alwaysbeen done” without fear of disre-specting those whom they so highlyrespect.

Lew Sleeper, ChairmanJoint Strategic Planning and NOKCommittee

pow-mia

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


15

Pentagon Dedicated toBergdahl’s Return,Spokesman SaysBy Karen ParrishAmerican Forces Press ServiceThe safe return of the only U.S. ser-vice member known to be in Talibancaptivity remains a top Defense De-partment priority, Pentagon Press Sec-retary George Little said in early Oc-tober.

Army Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl is some-one Pentagon leaders “remember ev-ery day,” Little told reporters at anews conference.

“We are taking steps on a regularbasis to try to determine preciselywhere he is, and to secure his free-dom,” he added.

Reconciliation between the Talibanand the Afghan government remainsan Afghan-led process, Little said inresponse to a reporter’s question,and is not linked to the department’sefforts to secure Bergdahl’s release.

“We are strongly dedicated to get-ting Bowe Bergdahl home to his fam-ily in Idaho,” he said. “We want to seethat happen as quickly as possible.... We never forget those who remainin the custody of those who shouldnot be holding our soldiers.”

Bergdahl, 26, from Hailey, Idaho, hasbeen missing since June 30, 2009,when his unit in Afghanistan notedhis absence from roll call. He is as-

signed to 1st Battalion, 501st Infan-try Regiment, 4th Brigade CombatTeam, 25th Infantry Division, basedat Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Marines Missing in

Action from WWIIIdentifiedThe Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO)announced that the remains of sevenservicemen, missing in action fromWorld War II, have been identifiedand were buried with full militaryhonors.

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Laverne A.Lallathin of Raymond, Wash.; 2nd Lt.Dwight D. Ekstam of Moline, Ill.; 2ndLt. Walter B. Vincent, Jr. of Tulsa,Okla.; Tech. Sgt. James A. Sisney ofRedwood City, Calif.; Cpl. Wayne R.Erickson of Minneapolis; Cpl. John D.Yeager of Pittsburgh, PA; and Pfc.John A. Donovan of Plymouth, MI,were buried as a group, in a singlecasket representing the crew, on Oct.4, in Arlington National Cemetery. Sixof the Marines were identified andburied as individuals previously thisyear. Lallathin, also individually iden-tified, will be interred individuallyat Arlington on the same day as thegroup interment.

On April 22, 1944, the Marines wereaboard a PBJ-1 aircraft that failedto return from a night training mis-sion over the island of Espiritu Santo,in what is known today as Vanuatu.None of the seven crew memberswere recovered at that time, and in1945 they were officially presumeddeceased.

In 1999, a Joint POW/MIA Account-ing Command (JPAC) survey team trav-eled to the location. The crash sitewas located at an elevation of 2,600ft., in extremely rugged terrain. Toidentify the remains, scientists fromJPAC and the Armed Forces DNAIdentification Laboratory (AFDIL)evaluated circumstantial evidenceand mitochondrial DNA — whichmatched that of the Marines’ familymembers.

Today, more than 73,000 Americans

remain unaccounted-for from theconflict.

Marine Missing in

Action from Korean WarIdentifiedThe Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO)announced today that the remains ofa serviceman, missing in action fromthe Korean War, have been identifiedand will be returned to his family forburial with full military honors.

Marine Pfc. Richard S. Gzik, of To-ledo, Ohio, was buried at ArlingtonNational Cemetery near Washington,DC. On Dec. 2, 1950, Gzik and theother Marines of M Battery, 11th Ar-tillery Regiment, 1st Marine Division,came under attack on the west sideof the Chosin Reservoir in North Ko-rea. It was during this battle that Gzikwas killed in action and his remainswere buried alongside the road lead-ing to Hagaru-ri. Later that month, thewithdrawal of U.N. forces from theChosin Reservoir region made it im-possible to recover Gzik’s remains.

In 1954, United Nations and Commu-nist Forces exchanged the remainsof war dead in what came to becalled “Operation Glory.” Thosewhich were unable to be identified,given the technology of that time,were interred as unknowns at theNational Memorial Cemetery of thePacific in Hawaii — the “Punchbowl.”In 2012, analysts from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) re-examined the case records and de-termined that advances in technol-ogy could likely aid in the identifi-cation of the unknown remains asGzik. Once the remains were ex-humed, scientists from JPAC usedcircumstantial evidence and foren-sic identification tools, includingdental records and radiographs, tovalidate Gzik’s identification.

Today, 7,947 Americans remain un-accounted for from the Korean War.


16

vavs

PNC Morris Barker,Chairman

It is my privilege to announce theawarding of VAVS Volunteer HourBars to two volunteers in the cen-tral Texas area. Susanne Judd be-gan her volunteering career atveteran facilities in 1988, and hasbeen credited with 10,000 hoursof volunteer service. Her first as-signment was at the VA Hospitalin Temple, Texas, in the SurgicalFamily Waiting room. She thenworked in several other areas, andin 1997 she was named VAVS Rep-resentative at the facility. After ashort absence from volunteeringshe was again appointed as VAVSRepresentative for AXPOW by thecurrent National Sr. Vice Com-mander of AXPOW, James L.Lollar, in February 2011.Susanne’s most recent assign-ment is at the Veterans Center inHarker Heights. “I enjoy workingat the Veterans Center, and I lovemy guys, (some of them are gals,but they are all my guys), all com-bat veterans,” said Susanne.Susanne’s most memorable andtrying occasion as a volunteeroccurred during month of No-vember, 2009 after the shootingat Ft. Hood by Major Nidal Hasanat which time thirteen were killedand twenty nine wounded, mostlyveterans. She worked ninety eighthours that month to assist inlessening the anxiety of the vet-erans under her jurisdiction. For

her deduction of service to vet-erans during this time, Susannewas presented with a Certificateof Appreciation and later with aplaque by the facility TeamLeader, Dr. Bob Gombeski.Susanne’s dedication to veteranvolunteer services, especially rep-resenting AXPOWs, is in honor ofher father Colonel RoscoeBonham who served in both WWIand WWII, and was a POW in Man-churia of the Japanese for thirtynine months.. Susanne is to becommended for her service to“her guys,”combat veterans.

Ruby Williams, has assisted vet-erans in many capacities duringthe thirty two years she hasserved as a volunteer at the VAHospital in Temple, Texas. In ad-dition to her faithful service atthe Temple VA facility, Ruby hasalso been very active in her as-signment as VAVS Deputy Repre-sentative for Help HospitalizedVeterans. She worked in this as-signment for six years. Her mostrecent assignment at the VA hos-pital is at the information deskas an information specialist.Ruby said, “I get to meet a lot ofveterans and families in this as-signment, which I enjoy.” Rubyhas been awarded a 5000 hourservice bar for her untiring ser-vice to veterans. In addition toher volunteer service to veterans,Ruby has been active with theAmerican Ex-Prisoners of War or-

ganization on a State level, whereshe served as Adjutant/Treasurerfor four years.....Her work with theAXPOW organization is in honorof her late husband, Warren Will-iams, who was a POW of the Japa-nese during WWII for three and ahalf years.

Note on Volunteer Service Bars. Ihave recently received VolunteerService Bars for volunteer hoursworked, that are to be attached toyour VAVS badge. The bars weresent to me from the daughter ofJean Thiede who served faithfullyas National VAVS Representativefor AXPOW for many years. Thebars are available for VAVS vol-unteers representing AXPOW atthe various VA facilities. The 200-300 bars received are for varioushours of volunteer service, and Iwill attempt to match hours(some are missing) to the best ofmy ability as long as they last.Those VAVS volunteers repre-senting AXPOW wishing to obtainservice bars for the total hoursworked as of October 31, 2012,should notify me, verifying thevolunteer hours worked as of theOctober date.

It was reported by Robert Petzel,Under Sect. for Health VHA, in hisKeynote Address, at the 66th An-nual VA Voluntary Service Na-tional Advisory Committee Meet-ing in March 2012, that last year,87,000 VA volunteers gave morethan 12 million hours of serviceto veterans. In accordance to theIndependent Sector Value of$21.79 per hour for 2011, the vol-unteer hours worked is equiva-lent to approximately $262 mil-lion. This is in addition to $90million in monetary contribu-tions that came from the variousorganizations that volunteersrepresent. Dr Petzel furtherstated, “Together, VA volunteersare engaged in a quest to makethe world a better place, one en-counter, one veteran at a time. Wesalute their generous and selflesscommitment.”

VAVS Representatives RubyWilliams and Susanne Judd withChairman PNC Morris Barker


17

civilians

ND Alice GollinChairman

As most of our Civilian POWs arebarely acquainted with the newphone system that the Dept. ofLabor has installed, I thought itwas time to share it with ourpeople who are trying to utilizethe compensation that Congressgave to the American civilian ex-POWs and their children.

There is no excuse for the turmoilit has caused our civilian ex-POWsand their families. Just telling usit was going to happen wouldhave been nice. But I truly believethe DOL did not know until it wastoo late to get it out to all of us.

Their turmoil was evident in thefact that I had been given five dif-ferent phone numbers and fourdifferent ways to get through toDOL and none worked. Well,enough of yesterday and on withnow.

All people who have got theirnumbers in hand will be able togo straight through to your as-signed examiner. Unfortunatelyfor us, Annette Kaiser has beenassigned to another department.A step up for her.

Thank heaven we have a crew andwith the help of Roberta Podnarwe will get through the hardtimes for those who are new toDOL.

From the lips of SupervisorDavid Woods: You will be callinghis office at 216-902-5682. He willtake you through the informa-tion you need to enroll and re-ceive your number so you mayhave an examiner to help youfrom then on.

If he is away from his desk, leaveyour phone number and he willcall you back within 24 hours. Ifyou have any questions, pleasecall or write to me. Alice Gollin,37231 Turnberry Isle, PalmDesert, CA 92211; 760-610-1271.

VeteransAppreciation

Parade

at the Montrosecampus of VA

Hudson Valley HealthCare System

March 14-16, 2013. USS Hous-ton CA-30 Survivors Associa-tion & Next Generations AnnualReunion will be held at: HyattRegency Houston Downtown.Contact: John Keith Schwarz Ex-ecutive Director- USS HoustonCA-30 Survivors Association &Next Generations;[email protected]; 202-268-2261/703-867-0142.

June 27-July 1, 2013. TheAmerican Ex-Prisoners of WarNational Convention will be heldin Arlington, Texas at the HiltonArlington Hotel. We’ve got agreat convention planned, so nowit’s your turn to start planning toattend. There will be more infor-mation in the Bulletin starting inJan/Feb 2013.

lookingfor


18

events

I am writing to try and find anyonewho may have been held prisoner withby great uncle Ydilio Cubero. He wasborn May 29, 1922 in Florida; he diedJuly 4, 1983 in Florida. He enlistedNov. 20, 1942 Camp Blanding Florida,Unit 339. I think May 12, 1944 wasthe date he may have been capturedand June 14, 1945 may have been hisrelease date. These were dates Ifound on the U.S. National Archives& Records Administration. He wasdetained in Germany at Stalag 2BHammerstein, West Prussia 53-17. Iappreciate your help. Angela [email protected]; tel: 813-598-3583.

I am writing a story about my step-father Willis Earl Bain who was aPOW in Stalag III-C (37 miles eastof Berlin - now Gorzow), who wascaptured at the Battle of Mortain inAugust 1944. He was captured inAugust and escaped from the Stalagon New Year’s Eve ’44/’45 with twoother men. They traveled fromGorzow to Naples, Italy and caughtthe S/S/ Mariposa (Matson Lines) on8 April ’45 to Boston. The trip took3 months. (I am guessing the routewould have taken them through: Ger-man/Poland, Czechoslovakia, Aus-tria, Yugoslavia, and down theAdriatic coast of Italy - over themountains south of Rome where theU.S. airfields were to Naples. I am try-ing to locate the two men who es-caped and traveled with him, andalso any information about their timein Stalag III-C, including a schematicof the camp. I appreciate any infor-mation. Please contact me at:Caroline Kennedy [email protected] - 843.705.5654.

Information on Vincent J. Byrnes. Theresponse to my request for my dad’sstory was overwhelming. As of thisdate I have spoken with at least 15men who were with the 106th Div,422nd Reg, and of course my Dad’sCompany, the 423rd Reg. In all ofthese stories I have been able topiece together a reasonable sem-blance of information regarding myDad and his time in the Battle of theBulge. It may be true he was not withhis company at some point. But, inone story from another POW he wit-nessed my Dad’s truck being blownup and on fire, after my Dad’s com-rade in the seat beside him was shotand killed, and my Dad managed toescape the inferno. From here hiswhereabouts is assumed from sto-ries told to me. He was able to findhis way and join up with the men ofthe 423rd & 422nd that were left tofight. I believe their location at theirtime of capture was Schnee Eiffel orSnow Mountain. On Dec 19, 1944sometime around 2:00 PM these menwere surrendered per order of ColCavender. His final destination wasStalag 11A. My Dad was assigned towork on the railroad along the routeto Magdeburg app. on the Elbe River.Since I believe it was a long trek be-

tween Stalag11A to this area perhapsmy Dad was held in one of the workcamps outside of Magdeburg. Fromhere is where I can only ascertain bymy Father’s DD214 on April15 hewas repatriated or liberated, some19 days before the Russian forcesliberated Stalag 11A. How he man-aged this is a mystery to me. Somereports given to my husband tell ofsome American Forces on the oppo-site side of the Elbe River managedto cross before the order was givento pull back. These men may havebeen detrimental in the rescue of myDad and those nearby working onthat end of the railroad. Alternatively,did these American POWs just walkaway knowing the Russians were ona rapid advance? From here I can onlyguess where my Dad was taken. Onecan only assume he was sent to CampLucky Strike in France. His DD214tells me he departed LeHavre, Franceon April 29th 1945 and arrive homeon May 12 1945. He was not imme-diately sent home to his family. How-ever I do not know where he was sentuntil he was given R & R in N. Hamp-shire perhaps in June 1945.Somefacts, some only speculation basedon stories told to me from otherformer POW’S and information myhusband has been able to obtain. Soas I gradually begin to find my an-swers, so many, many questions re-main. I intend to put this together inmy words, in an attempt at a biogra-phy of my Dad’s time, dring the B.O.B,his capture, and eventual release. But,I cannot in good faith do so, unlessI have actual facts that are true tohis time in the European Theater. ie:What happened to him, how did hebecome liberated, and by whom ifanyone? Where did he go from there,and with whom? Did he just walkaway, or was he rescued by theAmerican Forces who managed tocross the Elbe River? I hope and praysomewhere there is someone who cananswer these questions. In this I cantruthfully and with all honesty com-plete My Dad’s Story. The story henever told. If anyone was in this areaaround this tme, please contact me.Karen Byrnes Fuoco, 120 TwinbrookLane, Bellingham Ma. 02019;[email protected], 1-508-657-1132.

Ex-POW BulletinSept/Oct 2012

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Departments/ChaptersALABAMADepartment of AlabamaNewton J Duke8339 Highway 75Pinson AL 35126205-681-3896

Alabama Chapter #1Newton J Duke8339 Highway 75Pinson AL 35126205-681-3896

Northwest Alabama ChapterJames Merryman308 E 2nd StTuscumbia AL 35674256-383-4745

ALASKAAlaska Chapter #1Walter F Fergus1955 Rockside RoadWasilla AK 99654907-376-6907

ARIZONADepartment of ArizonaLew Sleeper6636 E Villa DoradoTucson AZ 85715520-751-9628

Agua Fria ChapterRobert A Johnston19303 N New Tradition Rd#255Sun City West AZ 85375623-975-9580

Cochise ChapterMilton Moore2965 Sierra BermejaSierra Vista AZ 85650

East Valley ChapterThomas Collins21728 Cherrywood DrQueen Creek AZ 85142480-264-4384

Mohave ChapterCliff Kern2924 CharlesKingman AZ 86401928-753-1186

POW WOW ChapterBetty Jo Thornton110 E Willow AvePhoenix AZ 85022602-993-5635

Southern Arizona ChapterHelen M Fifield7534 E 32nd St

Tucson AZ 85710520-298-3703

ARKANSASArkansas Chapter #1Richard J Spades35 Crestwood DrCabot AR 72023501-941-2066

Old Fort Smith ChapterJohn D Brown6219 Euper LaneFt Smith AR 72903479-452-1547

CALIFORNIADepartment of CaliforniaAlice Gollin37231 Turnberry Isle DrPalm Desert CA 92211760-610-1271

BACEPOW ChapterAngus Lorenzen15 Diamonte LaneRancho Palos Verdes CA90275-6317310-519-8648

Cessna-Sargent ChapterRichard Ornelas7721 Bruce WayBakersfield CA 93306661-363-7594

Coachella Valley ChapterMorton Gollin37231 Turnberry Isle DrPalm Desert CA 92211760-202-1329

Forty-Niners ChapterTed Cadwallader9501 Nut Tree CtElk Grove CA 95624916-685-5369

Fresno Chapter #1Vernon Schmidt315 E Nees Ave # 104Fresno CA 93720-2013559-432-3959

Inland Empire ChapterArchie Aitcheson26053 Verde Grande CtSun City CA 92586951-301-5690

Los Angeles ChapterMarilyn Corre119 S Mansfield AveLos Angeles ca 90036323-936-5831

Luzviminda ChapterDavid V Tejada433 Abbot AveDaly City CA 94014650-756-9033

San Diego County ChapterFrank Burger3135 BrileneSan Diego CA 92111858-277-0501

San Fernando Valley ChapterLawrence J Powell17270 Devonshire StNorthridge CA 91325818-363-3950

COLORADODepartment of ColoradoJohn S Hutchins5500 E Peakview Ave #1124Centennial CO 80121-3551303-691-0244

Mile High ChapterJohn A Pederson11775 Swadley DrLakewood CO 80215303-233-0364

Northeast Colorado ChapterJoe Cucarola20627 Co Rd 41Sterling CO 80751970-522-8278

Rocky Mountain ChapterEdwin H Beck6975 Caballero AveColorado Springs CO 80911719-391-8456

CONNECTICUTConnecticut ChapterJean R Arcand645 Saybrook Rd Apt 328Middletown CT 06457860-343-7376

DELAWAREDelaware Chapter #1Stephen Barczykowski3418 N Rockfield DrWilmington DE 19810302-478-2001

FLORIDADepartment of FloridaBruce Hall5285 Plantation Home WayPort Orange FL 32128386-788-1749

Brevard Space Coast ChapterJoseph F Lendle

1804 South Park AveTitusville FL 32780321-383-3980

East Central Florida ChapterBruce Hall5285 Plantation Home WayPort Orange FL 32128386-788-1749

Florida First Coast ChapterHerman Lodinger2426 Jose Cir NJacksonville FL 32217904-733-0501

Florida Gulf Coast ChapterEd DeMent8735 Doral Oaks Dr #1617Tampa FL 33617813-985-3783

Florida State Chapter #1John J Quigley2243 Springmeadow DrSpring Hill FL 34606352-683-7599

Florida’s Peace RiverChapterNancy Razvoza73 Cornelius BlvdPort Charlotte FL 33953941-743-0871

Gold Coast ChapterJohn G Dunn5925 NE 6th CtMiami FL 33137305-795-6133

Hutchison-Poplawski ChapterMyrtle Peek125 Church AvePanama City FL 32401850-785-6398

Imperial ChapterBob Reese1690 Schalamar Creek DrLakeland FL 33801863-667-2555

Lake Monroe ChapterNelda Young610 Briarcliff RdEustis FL 32726352-483-1272

Manasota ChapterH Ralph Bush


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Departments/Chapters4883 Wood Pointe WaySarasota FL 34233941-927-3947

North Central FloridaChapterByron R Kearbey9976 SW 182nd CircleDunnellon FL 34432352-489-5842

Suncoast ChapterEdward W Horn46 Balfour Rd EastPalm Bch Gardens FL 33418561-626-2497

GEORGIAGreater Atlanta ChapterHal Sporborg3920 Club Dr Apt 1005Duluth GA 30096-8299404-578-2358

Greater Augusta ChapterQuerin Herlik3480 Evans Lock RdMartinez GA 30907706-863-0216

Middle Georgia ChapterCrawford Hicks106 Timberlea DrWarner Robins GA 31088478-922-2839

Southwest Georgia ChapterSilas K Barnes4812 Barnsway LaneAlbany GA 31705229-432-7652

Valley ChapterWilliam D Jenkins2501 40th StPhenix City AL 36861334-291-1283

IDAHOIdaho ChapterBud H Hinckley663 Franklin AvePocatello ID 83201-3864208-233-3741

ILLINOISDepartment of IllinoisNorman Zuckerman1111 Glacier ParkwayAlgonquin IL 60102847-658-8485

Fox River Valley ChapterWilliam Howland6241 Sleepy Hollow LaneLisle IL 60532630-369-0087

Greater Chicago ChapterThomas Jundanian12859 Shawnee RdPalos Heights IL 60463-2030708-448-6862

Illiana ChapterJohn M Sant23 Shady LaneDanville IN 61832217-446-6858

OKAW ChapterDebra Hensley144 Greenview StWood River IL 62095

Springfield Illinois AreaChapterLeonard Patton3228 S DouglasSpringfield IL 62704217-787-2280

Western Illinois ChapterMartin Parisot3555 8th StMoline IL 61265-7157309-764-5060

INDIANAIndiana Dunes ChapterWilliam G Bartels1207 S Woodland Ave #219Michigan City IN 46360219-872-3407

Indiana Hoosier ChapterJoseph Cunningham522 Lexington BlvdCarmel IN 46032317-435-6408

Michiana ChapterGordon Squires28070 County Road 24 #903Elkhart IN 46517219-262-9343

Northern Indiana ChapterC L Wright1014 Moss StHammond IN 46320219-931-9794

Southern Indiana ChapterGuy M Stephens5477 Yankeetown RDBoonville IN 47601812-853-8223

West Central Indiana ChapterEugene Saucerman11769 S US Highway 41Terre Haute IN 47802812-299-2971

IOWADepartment of IowaTom Snyder419 W Willow StClarinda IA 51632712-542-3927

Eastern Iowa ChapterHoward HobbsBox 383Morning Sun IA 52640319-868-7652

Iowa Great Lakes ChapterMarion Jaycox806 Locust StSanborn IA 51248712-729-3941

Iowa Tri-State ChapterAdeline RobinsonPO Box 125Lawton IA 51030-0125712-944-5351

Mid-Iowa ChapterJackye Ray, Adj.1207 Parkway DrBoone IA 50036515-432-6756

Northeast Iowa ChapterCarroll S Bogard275 N Taft #116Mason City IA 50401641-424-4870

Southwest Iowa ChapterTom Snyder419 W Willow StClarinda IA 51632712-542-3927

KANSASAir Capital ChapterJohn Mock1009 Country Club DrEureka KS 67045620-583-6614

Kansas POW ChapterMarguerite Fyler, Adjutant1610 SW 37th StTopeka KS 66611785-272-8492

Leavenworth POW ChapterBenedict Lohman5825 Alhambra DriveFairway KS 66205913-262-6955

KENTUCKYDepartment of KentuckyHerman Castle1915 Ekin AveNew Albany IN 47150812-945-4423

Daniel Boone ChapterJuan G Rodriguez1550 Beacon Hill RdLexington KY 40504-2304859-255-5455

Kentuckiana ChapterHerman Castle1915 Ekin AveNew Albany IN 47150812-945-4423

Western Kentucky ChapterDudley Riley412 Hickory StDawson Springs KY 42408270-797-4147

LOUISIANADepartment of LouisianaJim Clark214 OakdaleBastrop LA 71220-2330318-281-5505

Northeast Louisiana ChapterW.R. Matheny305 Lake Faircrest DrEl Dorado AR 71730670-864-9011

Red Stick ChapterBeth Dawson4657 Hwy 68Jackson LA 70748225-654-9653

MARYLANDDepartment of MarylandEleanor Huson, Adjutant7417 Goettner RdKingville MD 21087410-592-6393

Albert J. Bland MarylandNorth ChapterEleanor G Huson, Adj.7417 Goettner RdKingsville MD 21087410-592-6393

Chuck Williams Mid-Maryland ChapterPatrick F Morris5005 Baltan RdBethesda MD 20816301-229-6045

Maryland East Chapter


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Departments/ChaptersJoseph C Sangermano413 Bayshore Dr #102Ocean City MD 21842-5494410-289-7376

Maryland West ChapterJames Patrick DickelPO Box 378Mt Savage MD 21545301-264-3651

MASSACHUSETTSDept of MassachusettsIrving Lerner16 Richmond AveWorcester MA 01062508-757-4051

Central MassachusettsChapterStephen Kalinowski Jr25 Pheasant Hill RunW Boylston MA 01583-2328508-835-4568

Massachusetts Chapter #1Michael Sallen161 Thorndike StBrookline MA 02146617-277-2057

Western MassachusettsChapterLaura M McIntyreBox 475Hardwick MA 01037413-477-8260

MICHIGANCentral Michigan ChapterJoseph Bierwagen705 N Francis AveLansing MI 48912517-482-7952

MINNESOTADepartment of MinnesotaDavid D ClaypoolPO Box 38Hampton MN 55031612-245-2247

Central Minnesota ChapterMarlene DingmannPO Box 388Annandale MN 55302320-492-8810

Hiawatha ChapterPaul Engel48501 411th AveNorth Mankato MN 56003507-380-1574

Lake Superior ChapterMary H Tessier, Adj4168 Kingston Rd

Duluth MN 55803218-724-5620

Lakes Region ChapterGlenys Hotzler400 Washington Ave S #1Park Rapids MN 56470218-732-4398

Minneapolis-St Paul ChapterRobert B McWhite1506 Holdridge LaneWayzata MN 55391952-473-6971

MISSISSIPPIDepartment of MississippiWilliam G Krebs, Jr2111 Pascagoula StPascagoula MS 39567228-762-1372

Magnolia ChapterFrankie E Petty404 Magazine CircleGulfport MS 39507228-897-2005

W Jack Cleere MemorialChapterBenny M Rayborn1111 Hwy 29Wiggins MS 39577601-466-1951

MISSOURIDepartment of MissouriRaymond Ruetsch4365 N Cindy LaneColumbia MO 65202573-817-9332

Central Missouri ChapterRalph Kalberloh400 Turnberry DrJefferson City MO 65109573-659-4407

Greater Ozarks ChapterCynthia Ruzicka1061 S RoanokeSpringfield MO 65807417-862-8819

Greater St Louis ChapterPaul Dillon11833 Sologne CtMaryland Heights MO 63043314-609-9037

Heart of America ChapterEd Slater804 N PawneeIndependence MO 64056816-461-6818

Pony Express ChapterRobert Shimer6100 Lake Front LaneSt Joseph MO 64504816-238-3406

MONTANABig Sky ChapterJames E Dew531 E Sussex AveMissoula MT 59801406-543-7420

NEVADALas Vegas 7-11 ChapterWilliam Dean Whitaker715 E Eldorado LnLas Vegas NV 89123702-896-0439

NEW HAMPSHIRENew Hampshire ChapterIrene M Wells65 Henniker StHillsboro NH 03244603-464-3035

NEW JERSEYDepartment of New JerseyCharles Susino136 Jefferson StMetuchen NJ 08840732-549-5775

Garden State Chapter #1David Drummond1 Crane CtManalapan NJ 07726732-446-4198

Garden State Chapter #2Frances Pliskin200 Sandringham RdCherry Hill NJ 08003856-741-2343

Neglected Heroes ChapterEmilio Vizachero304 Fountain AveBurlington NJ 08016609-387-7483

NEW MEXICODepartment of New MexicoThomas FoyPO Box 266Bayard NM 88023575-535-3355

Albuquerque Chapter #1George Latella4311 Altura Mesa Ln NeAlbuquerque NM 87110505-508-2001

NEW YORK

Department of New YorkGerald J CurtinBox 608Great River NY 11739516-277-3415

Brooklyn Key ChapterRalph Abbondanza8752 23rd AveBrooklyn NY 11214718-372-5991

Greater New York ChapterDominick Sgobbo2883 E 195 StBronx NY 10461718-892-5442

Greater Rochester ChapterAlbert Ceccanti30 Brian DriveRochester NY 14624716-594-4072

Hudson Valley ChapterMelanie Bussel1739 Horton RoadMohegan Lake NY 10547914-528-7147

Nassau-Suffolk-Long IslandChapterMartin Andrews79 Middleville RoadBuilding 92Northport NY 11768631-928-9613

Northeast New York ChapterManuel L Perez11 Kings RdGansevoort NY 12831518-584-6718

Western New York ChapterJ Donald Griffin106 Nokomis BlvdCheektowaga NY 14225716-633-9123

NORTH CAROLINADept of North CarolinaJacob Roth1941 Wayne LaneFayetteville NC 28304910-425-2313

Coastal Plain ChapterLorraine Allen107 Circle DrLaGrange NC 28551


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Departments/Chapters252-566-3509

Eastern North CarolinaChapterDallas Barnes811 Branch StRocky Mount NC 27801252-446-4909

Greater Fayetteville Chapter#1Jacob Roth1941 Wayne LaneFayetteville NC 28304910-425-2313

Greater Greensboro ChapterJohn Anderson134 Harmon Mill CTKernersville NC 27284336-529-6543

Metrolina Ex-POW ChapterJames E Wall8919 Park Road #40Charlotte NC 28207704-551-7090

Western North CarolinaChapterDavid Grant41 Rockledge LanePisgah Forest NC 28768828-877-3571

NORTH DAKOTADakota North ChapterArnold Postovit613 2nd St SETioga ND 58852701-664-2144

NORTH DAKOTADepartment of North DakotaReinhold Weber250 College St SEValley City ND 58072701-845-1656

Dakota Plains ChapterHerald Tastad36-8th Ave SE Apt 202Mayville ND 58257701-786-3276

Dakota West ChapterSelma CarlsonPO Box 3099Bismarck ND 58502701-663-4364

OHIODepartment of OhioEvelyn Hopkins208 W Main StLaGrange OH 44050

Barbed Wire BuckeyeChapterGwen Benton18477 S Avon Belden RdGrafton OH 44044440-926-2467

Dayton Area ChapterJack PerryPO Box 1934Fairborn OH 45324

Fairfield Barb Wire ChapterDouglas Mundy10070 Larimer RdLogan OH 43138

Mahoning Valley ChapterDaniel King501 Saltspring RdWarren OH 44481330-652-7183

Mid-Ohio Valley ChapterEugene Parker402 1/2 Washington StMarietta oh 45750740-374-4248

Moundbuilder ChapterPat Thompson1596 Blue Jay RdHeath OH 43056740-323-1760

North Central Ohio ChpterLarry VanCamp1066 Welton AveAkron OH 44306330-773-2730

Northwest Central OhioChapterWilliam Reeves9555 Pasco Montra RdSidney OH 45365937-492-2714

Ohio Chapter #1William Schmidt1001 Parkview Blvd # 316Columbus OH 43219614-372-0788

O-K-I ChapterFrank Bates1460 Corydale Dr #160Fairfield OH 45014513-844-8606

Scioto-Ohio River ValleyChapterGrover L Swearingen408 Fair Park AveW Union OH 45693937-544-2459

Steel Valley ChapterCharles Myers4226 Patricia AveYoungstown OH 44511330-799-4638

OKLAHOMADepartment of OklahomaPNC Jack WarnerPO Box 117Hammond OK 73650580 821-4763

Central Oklahoma ChapterRobert Boulware4900 NW 26th StOklahoma City OK 73127405-942-4900

Northeastern OklahomaChapterGoldie Ginther, Adj.22 “C” St SEMiami OK 74354-7035918-542-1777

Oklahoma PanhandleChapterWalter Roberts2401 Brentford PlWoodward OK 73801580-256-2798

Tulsa ChapterHoward B Blagg7220 S Yale Ave #107Tulsa OK 74136918-622-2495

OREGONColumbia River ChapterJim Miller6261 NE Carillion Dr #101Hillsboro OR 97124503-693-2547

Umpqua River ChapterDonald H Kitzman1780 NE Beulah DrRoseburg OR 97470-2107

Willamette Valley ChapterCaldon R Norman12705 SE River Rd #604APortland OR 97222-9733503-771-7632

PENNSYLVANIABrandywine Chapter

Louis Liberato206 Whitaker AveMont Clare PA 19453610-933-3408

Central Penn ChapterMary ShawverPO Box 133McClure PA 17841717-658-9721

Conestoga ChapterFrancis J Lashinsky8015 Gate House Ln PO Box125Cornwall PA 17016-0125717-228-0792

Freedom ChapterWilliam F Miller127 Hillside RdLebanon PA 17042717-273-5840

Keystone Chapter of NE PAFred C Searles453 Mt Olivet Rd KingstonTwpWyoming PA 18664570-696-3622

Liberty Bell ChapterCatherine M ‘Cay’ Burns61 New Pond LnLevittown PA 19054-3811215-945-1014

Pennsylvania Capital CityChapterFrank S Kusnir Jr633 Redwood StreetHarrisburg PA 17109717-737-1345

Pittsburgh Area ChapterFrank A Kravetz105 Elizabeth AveEast Pittsburgh PA 15112412-824-2674

PENNSYLVANIASouthern AllegheniesChapterGabriel Bruno5720 Shearsburg RdLeechburg PA 15656724-845-7526

Susquehanna ChapterRalph Ammon215 Market StMifflinburg PA 17844717-966-2550

Tri-State ChapterVincent R Kane


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Departments/Chapters4406 Bond AveDrexel Hill PA 19026610-449-5939

RHODE ISLANDRhode Island Chapter #1Roland Stumpff82 Beach Point DrRiverside RI 02915401-433-0752

SOUTH CAROLINADept of South CarolinaGene Newton637 Oakwood LaneRock Hill SC 29732803-328-2065

Catawba Chapter of SouthCarolinaGene Newton637 Oakwood LnRock Hill SC 29730-3732864-328-2065

Emerald ChapterJack H Simmons202 Hillcrest DrGreenwood SC 29646803-227-8923

Low Country ChapterPaul Hollen3-43rd AvenueIsle of Palms SC 29451843-886-6562

Palmetto ChapterThomas E Grove200 Darby WayColumbia SC 29170803-796-7717

Piedmont Chapter of SouthCarolinaHarold S Penland440 Pierce Cook RdWoodruff SC 29388-8695864-439-8976

Upstate ChapterRoy McJunkin3707 State Park RdGreenville SC 29609-6848864-244-5943

SOUTH DAKOTADepartment of South DakotaSteven S FousekPO Box 37Rapid City SD 57709605-343-0940

Sioux Land ChapterWilliam F Vermillion404 W Main

Beresford SD 57004605-763-2475

TENNESSEEDepartment of TennesseeBonnie Weatherford212 Oostanali WayLoudon TN 37774865-599-8428

Alvin C York ChapterWarren G King1015 Mitchell RdNashville TN 37206615-226-7811

Chattanooga ChapterEarl Cline4714 Privateer RoadChattanooga TN 37343423-902-0660

East Tennessee ChapterGeorge Hatcher738 Grove AveErwin TN 37650423-743-6852

Middle Tennessee ChapterTom Caroland117 Shepherd Hills DrMadison TN 37115615-859-0961

Mid-South ChapterRalph E Franklin8446 River Glen DrGermantown TN 38139901-755-4293

Smoky Mountain ChapterBonnie Weatherford212 Oostanali WayLoudon TN 37774865-458-3125

West Tennessee ChapterMcCall Lewis1680 Davis RdLexington TN 38351-7604901-968-0054

TEXASDepartment of TexasJames L Lollar292 VZ County Road 3727Wills Point TX 75169-6907903-560-1734

Capitol City ChapterSina J ChandlerPO Box 57Bastrop TX 78602512-237-2744

Cen-Tex Chapter #1Ruby Williams1306 N 4th StTemple TX 76501-2013254-773-3542

Concho Valley ChapterCharles Webb218 Co Rd 459Ballinger TX 76821325-365-5306

Dallas Metroplex ChapterJames L Lollar292 VZ CR 3727Wills Point TX 75169903-560-1734

East Texas Chapter #1Peggy Wilmeth4500 Richmond RdTyler TX 75703903-581-5466

Fort Worth ChapterMel Stevens1101 Arbrook #209Arlington TX 76014817-773-9986

Texas Golden Triangle Chap-terBroughton HandPO Box 604Anahuac TX 77514409-267-3253

Texas Gulf Coast ChapterEdna Ames7575 Willowchase Blvd#3103Houston TX 77070281-955-0162

Texas Panhandle ChapterEarnest E McAlpine5214 S Milam StreetAmarillo TX 79110-3206806-355-5574

VERMONTVermont Chapter #1Richard H Hamilton63 Hughes RoadBrattleboro VT 05301-7970802-464-5470

VIRGINIADepartment of VirginiaRobert O Gray5233 Archer DrRoanoke VA 24018540-343-8737

Bill Rolen Memorial ChapterJerry Wolf6915 Spelman DrSpringfield VA 22153703-644-0822

Blue Ridge PiedmontChapterDoris M Murphy990 Madison DrEarlysville VA 22936434-973-3792

Bob Frakes ShenandoahValley ChapterHenry S Flowers100 Ridgecrest CourtWinchester VA 22602540-662-9334

Hampton Roads ChapterGeorge T Coker1815 Tree Line RdVirginia Beach VA 23454757-481-9578

James L Hale MemorialChapterEdward Wallace431 Winterhaven DrNewport News VA 23606757-930-1440

Paul Frazier MemorialChapterJames BeaverPO Box 2103Abingdon VA 24212276-623-0875

Peninsula Jimmy HaleMemorial ChapterM M Turner8041 Tarpon PlNorfolk VA 23518804-587-3907

Roanoke Valley ChapterRobert O Gray5233 Archer DrRoanoke VA 24018-8601540-343-8737


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Suitable for framing, thiscertificate of captivity,printed on 8½” x 11”quality paper, proudlydisplays your history asa prisoner of war. Eachcertificate background ispersonalized to thetheater of operation. Toreceive this certificatefrom AXPOW, pleaseorder from NationalHeadquarters. If you areordering at Convention,you can place your orderin the Merchandise Room.We will need your name,service number, branchof service, unit whencaptured, POW number (ifknown), camp names andlocations. You can call817-649-2979 or email:[email protected] may include apicture with your order.

Certificate of Captivity

Departments/ChaptersWASHINGTONDepartment of WashingtonGeraldine Roth, Treas.Box 80Clyde Park MT 59018-0080406-686-4677

Christmastown USA ChapterThomas C Nelson13838 Tomcat Ln SEYelm WA 98597360-894-5868

Evergreen ChapterFrank Gadwa7207 68th Ave NEMarysville WA 98270360-659-1638

Fourth Corner ChapterJoseph Moser2428 Pine DrFerndale WA 98248-9273360-380-3334

Kitsap ChapterTom Goins729 NE McWilliams RdBremerton WA 98311-3102360-373-8557

Seattle ChapterJack Jones1318 98th NEBellevue WA 98004425-454-1972

Spokane-Inland EmpireChapterHerbert C Kirchhoff2910 Fernan CtCoeur D’Alene ID 83814

Tacoma ChapterMaurice S Sharp9716 54th St Court WestUniversity Place WA 98467-1118253-565-0444

Tri-Cities ChapterLloyd Gabriel211 Ranchette LnSelah WA 98942-9542509-697-3355

WEST VIRGINIADepartment of West VirginiaWillie J Lewis505 King AveMadison WV 25130304-369-3204

Barbed Wire MountaineerChapterAnnette Smith621 Front StBrownsville PA 15417724-366-1231

Ohio Valley Barbed WireChapter #1John Chernenko1601 Pleasant AveWellsburg WV 26070304-737-1626

WISCONSINBadger ChapterDonald Heiliger2442 County Rd ABMcFarland WI 53558608-873-8613

Coulee Region ChapterEdward Wojahn1553 West Young DrOnalaska WI 54650608-783-3670

Milwaukee Barb Wire ChapterWilliam C Holmes1725 N Prospect Ave Apt103Milwaukee WI 53202414-277-0267

Wisconsin IndianheadChapterJane Lindblad120 Gilbert AvenueEau Claire WI 54701715-833-2064


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NewsBriefs

Purple Heart

Forever Stamp

The U.S. Postal Service continues tohonor the sacrifices of the men andwomen who serve in the U.S. militarywith the issuance of the new PurpleHeart Medal Forever stamp.

First issued as a 37-cent First-Classstamp in 2003, this new ForeverStamp differs from the 2011 ForeverStamp design displaying a slightlylarger image of the Medal on a purewhite background.

Available nationwide in sheets of 20,the stamps can be purchased onlineat usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24 (800-782-6724).

“The Postal Service salutes America’sveterans for their selfless sacrificein defending our great nation,” saidStamp Service Manager StephenKearney. “We hope Americans willbuy and use these Forever stampswhen corresponding with loved onesand friends to honor these coura-geous men and women, who in manycases gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

World’s Oldest Military DecorationThe Purple Heart is awarded in thename of the President of the United

States to members of the U.S. mili-tary who have been wounded orkilled in action. According to theMilitary Order of the Purple Heart,an organization for combat-woundedveterans, the medal is “the oldestmilitary decoration in the world inpresent use and the first award madeavailable to a common soldier.”

Established by General George Wash-ington during the Revolutionary War,the badge of distinction for merito-rious action — a heart made ofpurple cloth — was discontinuedafter the war. In 1932, on the 200thanniversary of Washington’s birth, thedecoration was reinstated and rede-signed as a purple heart of metalbordered by gold, suspended froma purple and white ribbon. In the cen-ter of the medal is a profile bust ofGeorge Washington beneath his fam-ily coat of arms.

Awards

The Marine Corps Heritage Founda-tion is now accepting submissionsfor its annual awards program. Eachyear the Marine Corps Heritage Foun-dation presents awards honoring theoutstanding, creative work of indi-viduals in preserving and promulgat-ing the Marine Corps’ history, tradi-tions and culture. Marines and civil-ians alike may submit their own en-tries or the distinguished work ofothers for award consideration.Awards will be presented at theFoundation’s annual ceremony onApril 20, 2013. Submissions dead-line is January 9, 2013. For informa-tion, please contact: Susan Hodges,703-640-7961.

Ride Home 2012by Alice A. Booher

Each year the traditional Ride Homeprogram (founded by the RollingThunder from Florida and Georgia)in honor of National POW/MIA Rec-ognition Day, seems to get better andmore inclusive. For the September20-23, 2012 event, for the secondyear, the Vietnam Traveling MemorialWall set up shop at Georgia South-western State University (GSW) inAmericus, GA. The Rolling Thunder“and friends” parade made networktelevision as it passed in front of thehistoric Windsor Hotel in Americuson its way to the MIA Wreath LayingCeremony at the Andersonville Na-tional Cemetery. Some activitieswere held at Warner Robbins AirForce Museum Hanger, but many ofthe weekend’s activities were heldat the spacious GWU Storm Domeincluding the “Keeping the Promise-We Shall Not Forget” program withmyriad former POWs (from many eras)as honored guests, each recognizedwith a red, white and blue ribbon andmedallion. In addition to the Candle-light and Recognition ceremonies inthe Storm Dome, and with the co-sponsorships of GSU, theAndersonville National Historic Siteand Friends of Andersonville, theannual Convocation was held in GSWPerformance Hall.

F e a t u r e dspeaker wasDavid W. Millswho enlisted inthe Army on Oc-tober 6, 1952,and was soonsent to Korea.A rifleman withF Co., 2nd Bat.,15th Inf., 3rd Inf.


26

news, continued

Div. holding at forward position, Out-post Harry, near Surang-Ni acrossfrom the Iron Triangle, Mills contin-ued hand to hand combat, and shoot-ing his weapons until they were in-operable, and was taken prisoner.At age 17, the new POW had 2 woundsto the head, 6 to the legs and 1 inthe arm. His company had experi-enced 72 casualties out of 88 men;the statistics called him MIA, thenKIA, and finally, POW. Mills wouldbe held as a Chinese POW for 4months during which time he re-ceived no treatment for his wounds.Repatriated August 2, 1953, heserved the remaining term of enlist-ment as a military policeman. On re-turn to civilian life, Mills graduatedWharton School of Business and be-came a senior financial adviser withMedical Centers in NY, FL and PA,and retired from his final positionas CEO of the Odd Fellows Home ofPA (1980-2001). In his Ride Homepresentation, Mills related somecombat stories, but perhaps mostfascinating was recollection of meet-ing up more than once with anotherOutpost Harry survivor, WarrenSettles, who had become personallyacquainted with the chief interroga-tor for the 74th Chinese Infantry Di-vision. Mills told Settle, when he nextreturned to China, to tell him: “Firstgive him my regards. And secondly,thank him for not killing me”. Millstold this story in the context of faithon both sides of the conflict, notingthat the interrogator had been edu-cated at a missionary school.

Fisher House

FoundationBreaks Ground on New Fisher Houseat Tennessee Valley HealthcareSystem-First House in State ofTennessee to be Completed in 2013

Tennessee Valley Healthcare SystemDirector Juan A. Morales joinedFisher House Foundation PresidentDavid Coker to break ground on anew 12-room Fisher House, the firstin the state of Tennessee.

“Every Fisher House is special, butwe’re always excited when we buildin a state we’ve never been to be-fore, because we know we’re reach-ing a new community,” said Coker.“When they need it most, our militaryfamilies will be able to count on thishouse as a place to find refuge whentheir world has been turned upsidedown.”

“This is an exciting time for VATVHS,” said Morales. “Veterans andthe community have worked for thisproject for quite some time and tosee it become a reality demonstratestheir commitment to Veterans andtheir families,” he said.The 10,000 sq.-ft. “comfort home” willjoin the network of Fisher Housesoperating in the United States andGermany, and will be gifted to theTennessee Valley Healthcare Systemupon completion. The house consistsof 12 suites, each with a private,handicapped-accessible bathroom,and common areas including a well-appointed kitchen; large communalliving, dining and family rooms; andpatio.

VA Mental Health

Care ToolkitThe Department of Veterans Affairshas developed a new online Commu-nity Provider Toolkit available athttp://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/communityproviders aimed at deliv-ering support, therapeutic tools, andresources to community providerstreating Veterans for mental health

concerns. “Many Veterans seek men-tal health care at VA, yet many alsochoose to go to providers in theircommunity,” said Secretary of Veter-ans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “VA iscommitted to helping Veterans wher-ever they may seek care. This toolkitwill enable those community provid-ers who treat Veterans to better un-derstand the specific issues Veter-ans face and help them access VAresources.” The goal of the Commu-nity Provider Toolkit is to furtherenhance the delivery of mental healthservices to Veterans through in-creased communication and coordi-nation of care between communityproviders and VA. It not only pro-vides information about accessing,communicating with, and, if needed,making referrals to VA, but also pro-vides effective tools to assist Veter-ans who are dealing with a varietyof mental health challenges. TheCommunity Provider Toolkit also in-cludes sections intended to increaseproviders’ knowledge about militaryculture.

Mayaguez’ Marine

Hero MIA Finally

Comes Homeby Alice A. Booher

In international waters off Cambo-dia, in May 1975, many historians ret-rospectively characterized it as thelast battle of the Vietnam War. Thevessel had been launched in April1944 as SS WHITE FALCON; afterWWII she was renamed the SANTAELIANA. In 1960, after serious re-furbishing, she was converted intothe first U.S. flag all container shipdevoted to foreign trade, with a ca-pacity of 382 containers below and94 above deck. She was renamed


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news, continuedSS SEA in 1964 and SS MAYAGUEZin 1965. In that year, she began sail-ing a regular route for Sea-Land Ser-vice in support of American forcesin Southeast Asia: Hong Kong-Sattahip, Thailand-Singapore. OnMay 7, 1975, she left Hong Kong fora routine voyage.

The MAZAGUEZ was in a regularshipping lane about 60 miles fromthe coast of Cambodia but onlyabout 8 miles from Poulo Wai (KaoWai), an island claimed by Cambo-dia, Thailand and Vietnam. She wassurrounded by small gunboats, shotswere fired across her bow and aMayday message sent. Since the fallof Cambodia, gunboats were con-trolled by the Khmer Rouge whoboarded the MAYAGUEZ and even-tually forced Captain Charles T.Miller to follow the gunboats intoKampong Saom (formerlySihanoukville) on the mainland. Atabout noon on May 13, anchored offKaoh Tang, a small island 30 milesoff the coast, American planes,watching over the vessel, saw smokecoming from the smokestack. In theconfusion, and with obvious move-ments of men to the island, it wasthought that the crew had been takenashore. President Gerald Ford de-nounced the seizure as an “act ofpiracy”, demanded immediate re-lease, and ordered military action.

A Marine Corps detachment fromSubic Bay was given the assignment,the first boarding of a ship at seasince 1826. The Military SealiftCommand’s (MSC) Admiral SamMoore asked for additional civilianmerchant mariner volunteers, to becontrolled by the U.S. Navy. The 3-pronged Marine attack plan was: (1)overpower the Cambodian soldiers

and allow the MSC men to prepareand sail the ship to safety; (2) Ma-rines in helicopters were to make amamphibious assault on Kaoh Tangisland; (3) Navy aircraft from the USSCORAL SEA were to strike militarytargets on the mainland. Howeverwhen the 48 Marines off the USSHOLT landed on the ship, they foundno one aboard. Nonetheless, theMSSC men boarded, got the emer-gency diesel generator running, theMarines raised the American flag,and the USS HOLT began the tow.

In the meantime, they needed to re-trieve the missing American crew. TheMarines met heavy fire near KaohTang from the Khmer Rouge, heavilyentrenched in jungle bunkers. U.S.helicopters became few, and lessthan the full contingent of the Ma-rines second wave landed, but theMAYAGUEZ crew was safe on theUSS WILSON, and the Marinesplanned their withdrawal. The crew’srelease was unexpected and unex-plained, but some said it may havebeen due to intervention by China orIsrael and/or cooperation via variousintelligence agencies.

As the last helo left the island, ahead count showed 3 Marines hadbeen left on the island. There hadbeen a total of 15 U.S. troops killed,50 wounded, 3 missing plus 23 non-combat deaths (due to mechanicalfailure of a Combat Security PoliceSquadron helo in Thailand). In 1999,a DoD investigator found that oneof the Marines had been killed bythe Khmer Rouge a few days laterwhile trying to get food, and theother two Marines had been cap-tured, executed while POWs and bur-ied on Kaoh Tang island.

One of those gallant Marines on therescue mission was Pfc. Richard W.Rivenburgh, Jr., age 21. Some 40years later, his remains were recov-ered in March 2008 [with the helpof locals and through efforts of theJoint POW/MIA Accounting Com-mand], and identified in January2012. Rivenburgh, a Marine assignedto the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regi-ment, out of the 3rd Marine Divisionat Camp Pendleton, CA, was on oneof the 11 Air Force CH-53 helicop-ters shot down as they neared theisland with 26 men onboard. Halfwere rescued at sea, leaving 13 miss-ing. In 1995, all but 4 of those wererecovered. Rivenburgh was born July1953 in Schenectady, NY. His familymoved to San Diego in the early1960’s where he graduated MadisonHigh School. He had joined the Ma-rines in October 1974 in an effort tomake a positive change in his life.On August 7, 2012, RichardRivenburgh was welcomed home,buried with full military honors on awindswept bluff overlooking the Pa-cific in the presence of his siblingsand other family and dozens of vet-erans, mostly of the Vietnam Era,some from his old unit (including thecurrent commander with Iraq service,Lt Col Thad Trapp), and many bikersfrom Patriot Riders. There were men


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news, continuedwho served on the USS CORAL SEAwhich helped launch the rescue ef-fort [Ronald Falls, Sr., 56 said theycall themselves the Koh Tang BeachClub] and one, Tim Trebilm, a retiredMinneapolis police officer, who hadbeen onboard the ill-fated CH-53 butwas rescued from the ocean off Cam-bodia.

The veterans held American flags atattention for the wooden flagdraped casket carried by six Marinesin dress blues. Newspaper accountsdescribe the hum of Naval aircraftin the background mingling with the21 gun salute. His family memberswore dog tags made by Robert,Richard’s baby brother, age 6 whenRichard died, who had put his bigbrother’s picture on them. The MIAMarine’s remains now rest in agravesite at the Rosecrans Cemeterywhere his headstone has waited forhim for years. Richard Rivenburgh’sname was one of the last engravedon the Vietnam Veterans MemorialWall in Washington.

VA Lung Cancer

Screenings

The U.S. Department of Veterans Af-fairs said it would embark on a“phased implementation” of CT lungcancer screening for veterans aftertaking inspiration from a nationaltrial that found the scans could helpsave lives among certain high-riskpopulations. The department said theprogram would begin at six yet-to-be-named VA hospitals as a clinicaldemonstration project. A departmentspokeswoman said she could notgive a start date for the project asit’s still under development. The pro-gram was inspired by the NationalLung Screening Trial, a landmark na-tional screening trial that ended lastyear and found that after threerounds of screening, high-risk pa-

tients — in this case, current orformer heavy smokers — were 20percent less likely to die if they werescreened with lung CT scans ratherthan simple chest X-rays. “The expe-rience of veterans who undergoscreening will be closely monitoredto gather information about out-comes from the screening and fol-low-up,” the VA said in its e-mailedstatement. “Patients also will beasked about their experience withthe process to help VHA understandthe potential harms of screening,such as anxiety, fear, inconvenienceand pain.”

Posthumous Medal of

Honor Awarded to

Vietnam-era SoldierBy Karen ParrishAmerican Forces Press Service

President Barack Obama paid trib-ute on May 16, 2012 to a man whodied defending his fellow soldiers42 ½ years ago, and who the com-mander-in-chief said represents ageneration’s honorable and underval-ued service.

During a White House ceremony, thepresident awarded a posthumousMedal of Honor for conspicuousgallantry, recognizing Army Spc.Leslie H. Sabo Jr., a rifleman with the101st Airborne Division who waskilled in eastern Cambodia duringthe Vietnam War. Sabo’s widow, RoseMary Sabo-Brown, accepted theaward. His brother, George Sabo, alsoattended the ceremony.

Sabo is credited with saving the livesof several of his comrades in Com-pany B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infan-try, when his platoon was ambushednear the Se San River in eastern Cam-bodia on May 10, 1970. Saboshielded a comrade from an enemygrenade and silenced a machine-gunbunker before he was killed.

“Some 50 American soldiers werenearly surrounded by some 100North Vietnamese fighters,” the presi-

dent said, adding that other soldiersthere that day remembered the en-emy as “everywhere behind trees[and] up in the tress, shooting down.”

Obama said, “Les was in the rear, andhe could have stayed there. But thosefighters were unloading on his broth-ers.”

The president described Sabo’s lastmoments: “Despite his wounds, de-spite the danger, Leslie did some-thing extraordinary. He began tocrawl straight toward an enemy bun-ker with machine guns blazing. ... [he]kept crawling, closer to that bunker,even as bullets hit the ground allaround him. Then he grabbed a gre-nade, and he pulled the pin.”

Sabo’s fellow troops have said heheld the grenade as long as he could,“knowing it would take his own life,but knowing he could silence thatbunker,” Obama said. “And he did.”

The day he died, Sabo was 22 yearsold, part of a campaign in Cambodiaaimed at preventing North Vietnam-ese forces from launching Attacksinto Vietnam from there. The Armytold his Hungarian immigrant parents,his brother, and his bride of eightmonths — all waiting for his returnto Pennsylvania — that he had beenkilled by an enemy sniper while onguard duty.

Though Sabo’s leaders recommendedhim for the Medal of Honor after thatday’s fighting, the paperwork wasnever processed, Obama noted. In-stead, another 101st Vietnam veteran,Alton “Tony” Mabb, discovered theaward packet in 1999, during a visitto the National Archives.

Mabb sought to find answers, Obamasaid, and the result is that “Today,four decades after Leslie’s sacrifice,we can set the record straight.”

The nation’s highest military honor,the Medal of Honor is awarded forrisk of life in combat beyond the callof duty. Sabo’s medal is the 247thawarded, and the 155th presentedposthumously, for action during theVietnam War.


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The Great War &Armistice Day

Though theTreaty ofVersailles wassigned on June28, 1919, No-vember 11 re-mained in thepublic imagina-tion as the datethat marked theend of the Great

War. In November 1918, U.S. PresidentWoodrow Wilson proclaimed Novem-ber 11 as the first commemorationof Armistice Day. The day’s observa-tion included parades and publicgatherings, as well as a brief pausein business activities at 11 AM. OnNovember 11, 1921, an unidentifiedAmerican soldier killed in the warwas buried at Arlington NationalCemetery in Washington, D.C.; the U.S.Congress had declared the day a le-gal federal holiday in honor of allthose who participated in the war.On the same day, unidentified sol-diers were laid to rest at WestminsterAbbey in London and at the Arc deTriomphe in Paris.

On June 4, 1926, Congress passed aresolution thatthe “recurringanniversary of[November 11,1918] shouldbe commemo-rated withthanksg iv ingand prayer andexercises de-signed to per-petuate peace through good will andmutual understanding between na-tions” and that the president shouldissue an annual proclamation callingfor the observance of Armistice Day.By that time, 27 state legislatures hadmade November 11 a legal holiday.An act approved May 13, 1938 madeNovember 11 a legal Federal holiday,

“dedicated to the cause of worldpeace and to be hereafter cel-ebrated and known as ‘ArmisticeDay.’” In actuality, there are no U.S.national holidays because the statesretain the right to designate theirown, and the government can onlydesignate holidays for federal em-ployees and for the District of Co-lumbia. In practice, however, statesalmost always follow the federallead.

From Armistice Dayto Veterans DayAmerican effortduring WorldWar II (1941-1945) saw thegreatest mobili-zation of theU.S. Army, Navy,Marines and AirForce in thenation’s history(more than 16million people); some 5.7 millionmore served in the Korean War (1950to 1953). In 1954, after lobbying ef-forts by veterans’ service organiza-tions, the 83rd U.S. Congressamended the 1938 act that hadmade Armistice Day a holiday, strik-ing the word “Armistice” in favor of“Veterans.” President Dwight D.Eisenhower signed the legislation onJune 1, 1954. From then on, Novem-ber 11 became a day to honor Ameri-can veterans of all wars.

The next development in the story ofVeterans Day unfolded in 1968,when Congress passed the UniformHolidays Bill, which sought to ensurethree-day weekends for federal em-ployees—and encourage tourismand travel—by celebrating four na-tional holidays (Washington’s Birth-

day, MemorialDay, VeteransDay and Colum-bus Day) onMondays.

The observationof Veterans Daywas set as thefourth Monday

in October. Thefirst VeteransDay under thenew law wasMonday, Octo-ber 25, 1971;confusion en-sued, as manystates disap-proved of thischange, and

continued to observe the holiday onits original date. In 1975, after it be-came evident that the actual date ofVeterans Day carried historical andpatriotic significance to many Ameri-cans, President Gerald R. Ford signeda new law returning the observationof Veterans Day to November 11thbeginning in 1978. If November 11falls on a Saturday or Sunday, thefederal government observes the holi-day on the previous Friday or follow-ing Monday, respectively.

CelebrationIn the United States, an officialwreath-layingceremony isheld each Veter-ans Day at theTomb of the Un-knowns in Ar-lington NationalCemetery, whileparades andother celebra-tions are held in states around thecountry. Veterans Day is not to beconfused with Memorial Day—acommon misunderstanding, accord-ing to the U.S. Department of Veter-ans Affairs. Memorial Day (the fourthMonday in May) honors Americanservicemembers who died in serviceto their country or as a result of in-juries incurred during battle, whileVeterans Day pays tribute to allAmerican veterans—living or dead—but especially gives thanks to livingveterans who served their countryhonorably during war or peacetime.

Veterans Day


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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 issue.

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 #

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 76010

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

Checks must be made payable toAXPOW or American Ex-Prisonersof War You can also make adonation with a credit card(MasterCard or Visa). Just call 817-649-2979. Thank you!

contributions


31

GENERAL FUND

Frank Dunkerly, Rockaway NJJean McLane, Mesa AZWillis T Jones, Baytown TXIn memory of Joyce Sha, byHarold & Gloria BrickIn memory of Louis J.Staudenmeier, fellow crew mem-ber, by Herman StreitburgerIn memory of Betty Agler, by theNorthwest Central Ohio ChapterIn memory of Bill Jolliff, by theestate of Violet JolliffIn memory of Charles V Webb, byWallace & Bobby BrownIn memory of Hayes Barton’sgrandfather, Dr Leon Horowitz, byJudith Horowitz Barton and Fam-ilyIn memory of Herbert Wells, byJoanne MiccileIn memory of Herbert Wells, byJohn Smith and Patricia TengelIn memory of Herbert Wells, byKatherine BollesIn memory of Herbert Wells, byRichard & Nancy HardickIn memory of John Hutchins, bythe Mile High ChapterIn memory of Leonard Deranleau,by Daphne HullIn memory of Leonard Deranleau,by Roland & Ileen SchultzIn memory of Leonard Deranleau,by Ernie & Dotie VerlindeIn memory of Leonard Deranleau,

by amy DeranleauIn memory of Marsha Conklin, byIrving LernerIn memory of Myra Greenberg, byHarold & Gloria BrickIn memory of Ruth LucilleLerner, by Irving Lerner

BULLETIN FUND

In memory of Friends and Com-rades, by Lincoln & MaryHanscom

LEGISLATIVE FUND

In memory of Alvin Blair, by theDepartment of MarylandIn memory of Dr GeorgeEconomos, by the Department ofMarylandIn memory of John Andrew“Andy” Teano, by the Departmentof Maryland

MEDSEARCH

In memory of Charles ‘Blackie’Blocksotn, by the Department ofMarylandIn memory of PNC HermanMolen, by Joanne MolenIn memory of PNC HermanMolen, by the Las Vegas 7-11ChapterIn memory of Ruth Vecchione, bythe Department of Maryland

VOLUNTARY FUNDING

Armano Sambrano, El Paso TXDavid Goldstein, Westfield NJDelores Congdon, Houston TXDept of PennsylvaniaDoris Martin, Surfside Beach SCFrank & Mae Koehler, Toms RiverNJGeorge Sheehan, Bay Shore NYH D Pressel Jr, York PAHarry & laura Fornalczyk, Erie PAIrving laufman, Monroe TownshipNJLincoln & Mary Hanscom,Somersworth National Headquar-tersLincoln & Mary hanscom,Somersworth NHMary Lou & Edward Regan, S

Setauket NYPatricia Mohrmann, St. Louis MOPatrick Quinn, Burbank ILSteve Glowacki, Piscataway NJTacoma Chapter, WAIn memory of Albert E Puckett,USMC, by Virginia PuckettIn memory of ClarenceAckermann, by KathleenAckermannIn memory of deceased Past Na-tional Commanders, by PNC Jack& June WarnerIn memory of Irene Scaglione, byJoe Scaglione

The Legacy of your lovecan live on after…

An important way you can helpensure that the American Ex-Pris-oners of War is always there forreturning POWs, their familiesand their dependents is throughyour will or living trust.

It’s very simple to make a be-quest to the American Ex-Prison-ers of War. Just add the follow-ing to your will or living trust: “Igive, devise and bequeath to theAmerican Ex-Prisoners of War,3201 E. Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40,Arlington, TX 76010, the sum of$_______ or ______percent of therest, residue and remainder ofmy estate.”

Please take a few minutes of yourtime to help.


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

new members

New Members“Welcome Home”

From theAwards Committee:Do you know a member who hasdone an outstanding job for AX-POW? Or a non-member who al-ways gives that extra bit to helpex-POWs? Submit their names andgive a short explanation of whyyou think they should receive anaward. Send in your requests toJVC Bill Jeffers, 3522 Milbrook WayCr., Green Acres, FL 33463. 561-969-6036.

From theStrategic Planning Committee:All members are encouraged tosend in your ideas for the nationalorganization. They may be ideasto help the organization’s fi-nances, long-term planning or op-erations. Please send yourthoughts to ND Lew Sleeper, 6636E Villa Dorado, Tucson, AZ 85715;520-751-9628; [email protected].

From Choir Director DeanieSchmidt:THANKS AGAIN TO OUR NEXT-OF-KINThe Next-of-Kin Chorus, which en-tertained their parents at theCommander’s Reception in Ar-lington, Texas turned out to be an-other successful venture.

Robert A SchultzRuthBuxton NCSon of Arthur Edward Schultz,ETO

Kenneth WhiteArlington VASon of Mondell White, Pac

Director Deanie Schmidt, whomade this happen the first timein Albany, GA , wants to thank allwho participated. She was onlysorry she had to miss this event.In her absence, they sang theirhearts out and brought the 1960sto life for their parents. Get yourkids to come join you at Conven-tion in Arlington next year andwe’ll have even more to entertaineveryone.

From the NOK Committee:One of our main objectives is tohelp all of our next of kin to be-come familiar and become a partof the American Ex-Prisoners ofWar.

The more serious side of ourcommittee will be to help out thePOW’s whereever we’re needed.And we’re playing a bigger part ofdoing the business part of the or-ganization. We are doing this tohelp our POWs. We would verymuch like for your children tojoin our group.

If you don’t know if you qualifyas Next of Kin (NOK), if you are aspouse, child, grandchild or aspouse of any of these you are aNOK. I would love to hear fromanyone who has ideas on thethings they would like to see done,including things you would liketo see or do while at convention.

If I can answer any questions foranyone about the organization orthe NOK Committee please feelfree to call me or email me.Pam Warner Eslinger,Jr. Vice Commander - CentralHome phone 580-473-2783Email: [email protected]

From the Editor:2013 schedule of Bulletindeadlines:Jan./Feb. issue due Dec. 1.March/April issue due Feb. 1.MayJune issue due April 1.July/Aug. issue due June 1.Sept./Oct. issue due July 25.Nov/Dec. issue due Oct 1.

2013 HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

All AXPOW Offices will be closedon the following dates:

New Years Day January 1MLK/Civil Rights Day January 21Presidents Day February 18Memorial Day May 27National Convention 26-30Independence Day July 4Labor Day September 2Columbus Day October 14Veterans Day November 11Thanksgiving November 28-30Christmas December 25-31

committee notes

If you have questions for any com-mittee, please address them to thecommittee chair.

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


33

ADAMS, Howard J, of Aledo, IL, diedAugust 31, 2012. Howard was a mas-ter sergeant in the 8thAF, 384th BG,first engineer and top turret gunneron a B17 Bomber. Shot down overHolland and taken to Stalag 17B, hewas the only surviving member of theoriginal crew of ten. He is survivedby his wife of 70 years, Norma; bothhave been AXPOW life members since1981.

ADLER, Robert L. of Creve Coeur,MO passed away July 2, 2012. Hewas the beloved husband of the lateBetty. During WWII, he served withthe 390th Bomb Group and was heldin Stalag Luft 3 and 7A.

BLOOMER, Vera Ruth, 89, of RoundRock, TX passed away May 12, 2012.She was a member of the Capital CityChapter, AXPOW. She is survived byher husband, Ex-POW Jo Bloomer.

BOTTOMLEY, WILLIAM JOSEPH, ofKansas City, age 90, passed awayJuly 26, 2012. He was a light mortarinfantryman (Corporal) captured dur-ing the Battle of the Bulge whoserved with B Company, 1st Battal-ion, 377th Regiment, 95th InfantryDivision, and was in Stalag 4A.

BROWN, Kenneth Harold , ofScarborough, ME died Aug. 21, 2012at the age of 81. During WWII, heserved with Co. H, 422nd Inf., 106th

Div. He was captured in the Battleof the Bulge and held until libera-tion in Stalags 9A and 9B. Ken is sur-vived by 1 daughter, 2 sons, 3 grand-children, 3 great-grandchildren, 1brother and 1 sister.

CARLISLE, Nancy, of Houston, MSpassed away July 16, 2012. She was86. She was a very active member ofher chapter and will be missed byall her friends there. Nancy was thewife of ex-POW James for 58 years;she is survived by 2 sons, 1 daugh-ter, 1 brother, 1 sister, 9 grandchil-dren, 7 great-grandsons and manynieces and nephews.

CLARK, Rose, 87, of Colfax, IA diedSept. 18, 2012. Rose and her hus-band, ex-POW Robert, were activemembers of the Mid-Iowa Chapter,AXPOW.

COX, Mildred M, 93 passed awaySaturday, June 16, 2012. She was thewife of Ex-POW Isaac Cox who pre-ceded her in death.

CREAMER, Carl Edward “Ed” 91,passed away Aug. 23, 2012. He wascaptured while serving in the Navyas part of a crew flying in a PBY-5Athat was shot down over the BeringSea. He was rescued by a Japanesecruiser and spent the rest of the waras a POW. He was a life member ofAXPOW and a frequent guestspeaker at POW-MIA Recognitionceremonies at local military bases.Ed is survived by his wife of 57 years,Jeanette, 2 sons, 1 daughter, 10grandchildren and 13 great-grand-children.

DENNY, Donald Lee, of Clearwater,FL died September 3, 2012 at the ageof 80. He fought in the Korean Warwith B Company, 38th Inf. Reg., 2nd

Division, was captured and held inCamps 1 and 3. He volunteered atBay Pines VA Hospital for more than10,000 hours. He served the FloridaGulf Coast Chapter, American Ex-Pris-oners of War as Commander for threeyears and continued to be active inthe Chapter. He was also a memberof the Korean Ex-POW Association.He leaves Jean, his wife of 58 years,1 son, 1 daughter, a son Donald, adaughter Gayle, 12 grandchildrenand 2 great-grandchildren. He will besorely missed.

DERANLEAU, Leonard J., age 91, ofGold Bar, WI passed away Sept. 3,2012. During WWII, he served withthe 376th BG, 513th BS, based in Italy.He was shot down over Austria, cap-tured and held in Stalag Luft VI, thenLuft IV. His wife of 66 years, Amy, 4children, 4 grandchildren and 2great-grandchildren survive him.

DUNCAN, James Roy, of Tupelo, MSdied Sept. 27, 2012. He was 87. Roywas captured while serving in theArmy during WWII. He was a POWuntil the end of the war. Survivorsinclude 2 sons, 1 sister, 1 brother, 6grandchildren and 3 great-grandchil-dren.

FRUMAN, Norman, of Laguna Beach,CA passed away April 19, 2012. Dur-ing WWII, he served with the 42nd In-fantry, Rainbow Division. He wascaptured and held in Oflag 13B andStalag 7A. His wife, Doris, surviveshim.

GORMAN, Fred, of Columbus, Ohiopassed away October 2, 2012. Heserved in the ETO with the 12th Ar-mored Div. and was held in Camp13D. He is survived by 2 sons, 7grandchildren and 13 great-grand-children.

GRIFFITHS, James, 96, of Adel, IApassed away Sept. 7, 2012. He servedin the 34th (Red Bull) Division, Co. E,133rd Inf. He was captured at AnzioBeach and held until liberation. Jimwas a member of the Mid-Iowa Chap-ter, AXPOW.

GRUNIN, Jacob (Jack) of Parkland,FL died June 3, 2012. He was 89.Jack was captured while serving withthe 3rd Armored Div., 32nd Reg. atFalaise Gap. He was a POW in Stalag7B until liberation. Survivors includehis wife of 67 years, Mildred, 4 chil-dren, 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

HORTON, Cortlin Benjamin ofMeeker, Oklahoma, died Sept. 11,2011. He served with the 5th Division,2nd Infantry and was held in Stalags7A and 12A.

JINDRICH, Audrey J., of Denver, COpassed away Aug. 29, 2012. She was


34

taps continued...89. During WWII, she served in theArmy Nurse Corps. She and her hus-band, Richard (8th AF, Luft III), weremembers of the Mile High Chapter,AXPOW. In addition to her husband,she leaves 1 son, 2 daughters and 2grandchildren.

KINER/LEICHTE, Meda M., memberand treasurer of the Capital CityChapter (PA), AXPOW died in Sept.2012. She was the widow of GeraldKiner and Joseph Leichte. She is sur-vived by 3 daughters and their fami-lies, 1 brother and 3 sisters.

LAKE, Cyril H. passed away on Au-gust 26, 2012. His wife Margaret pre-ceded him in death. He served withthe 1st Armored Division and wascaptured on February 14, 1943; hewas held in Stalags 7A, 3B, and 3A.He was a past Commander of theGreater St Louis Chapter, AXPOW.

LIVELY, Henry M., of Wichita, KSpassed away Sept. 16, 2012. He was89. He was captured while servingwith the 8th AF, 445th BG, 702nd BSand held in Stalag Lufts IV & VI andStalag 11A, then marched until lib-eration. Henry was a life member ofAXPOW and member of the Air Capi-tal Chapter. Survivors include hiswife, Nina, 1 daughter, 2 grandchil-dren and 1 great-grandchild.

LOWE, Evelyn (widow of Charles“Charlie”) passed away on July 14,2012 in Colonial Heights, VA. Shewas a member of Capitol City Chap-ter in Austin, TX, her former resi-dence.

McKALIP, Kenneth Sr., age 80,passed away August 4, 2012. He waspreceded in death by his wifeShirley. He was a Korean War POWand served with Tank Co., 38th Infan-try Regiment, 2nd Infantry. He washeld in Korean camps #5 & #3.

MORGAN, Ethel born Sept. 19, 1920,passed away Oct. 26, 2011. Her hus-

band, ex-POW Harold Morgan pre-ceded her in death.

PAGE, Beverly, 92, of Palm Harbor,FL, died August 8, 2012. He was inthe ETO, 8th AF, 95th BG, 336 BS. Hewas held in Stalag Luft III, VI, I andIV. He is survived by his wife of 67years, Margaret; 1 daughter and 1granddaughter. He was a member ofthe Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, AX-POW.

PETERSON, Lione E., age 80, ofClaremore, OK passed away May 18,2012. He was captured in Oct. 1952while serving with the USMC in Ko-rea during a battle in an area knownas the “Hook”. He leaves 3 daugh-ters, 2 sister, 7 grandchildren and 10great-grandchildren.

POUSH, Gene, of Nevada, IA passedaway Sept. 6, 2012. He was 98. Dur-ing WWII, he was captured while serv-ing in the Army; he spent 27 monthsin German POW camps. Gene was amember of the Mid-Iowa Chapter,AXPOW.

SAMUEL, Charles H., of Sussex, WIdied Sept. 17, 2012. He served withthe 82nd Airborne during WWII; he wasa POW for 18 months. Sam was amember of the Milwaukee Barb WireChapter, AXPOW. Survivors includehis loving wife, Hazel, 2 sons, 1daughter, 3 step-children, 5 grand-children and 5 great-grandchildren.

SCEPANIAK, Sophie M., age 83, ofSt. Stephen, MN died Aug. 31, 2012.She was a life member of AXPOW andactive member of the Central MNChapter. She leaves her husband, ex-POW Clarence, 3 daughters, 2 sons,11 grandchildren and 11 great-grand-children.

SCHMUCK, Elizabeth, of Hubbard,Ohio passed away Aug. 7, 2012 atthe age of 89. She was the widow ofex-POW Joseph (Darby’s Rangers). Sheis survived by 2 sons, 5 grandchil-dren and 7 great-grandchildren.

SHA, Joyce F., 86, of Cold Spring,MN passed away Aug. 11, 2012. Shewas a life member of AXPOW andthe wife of ex-POW Henry Sha. Joycehad been an active office since the

beginning of the Central MN Chap-ter. Survivors include 5 daughters, 8grandchildren, 13 great-grandchil-dren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.

SHAFFER, Lloyd, of New Oxford PA,died in March, 2012. “Skip” served inthe 38th Inf, 2nd Div. during the Ko-rean War. He was captured Feb 13,1951, and held for 2 ½ years, re-turned during Operation Big Switch.Survivors include his wife, Doris.

STONE, Bruce Marvin, of Frederick,MD passed away Feb. 26, 2012 atthe age of 89. He was the husbandof “Dolly” for 65 years. During WWII,he served with the 8th AF, 351st BG,511th BS. He was shot down, capturedand held in numerous POW camps.In addition to his wife, he leaves 1daughter, 3 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren and 2 sisters.

TAYLOR, Howard B., 88, of Louis-ville, KY died July 25, 2012. He wascaptured while serving with the 54th

Inf. Div. in Anzio, Italy; he was heldin Stalag VIIIB until liberation. He issurvived by his wife of 66 years,Grace, 1 son, 1 daughter, 4 grand-children and 9 great-grandchildren.

THORSON, Alvin L., of Sycamore, ILpassed away March 10, 2011. He was88. Alvin was in the Army Air Corpand a gunner on the B-24 RubberCheck, assigned to the 44th BG, 506th

BS at Shipdam, England. His crew wasshot down on April 8, 1944; he wascaptured and held in Stalag 17B inKrems, Austria for 13 months. Survi-vors include his son, Allen.

WEBB, Charles Vernon, of Ballinger,Texas died Sept 12, 3012. A B-24pilot, he was shot down July 7, 1944on his 42nd mission. He was held inStalag Luft III until being liberatedby Patton’s Army. He is survived byhis wife of 52 years, Mary Stella. Bothhave been AXPOW life members since1983. He is also survived by 2 daugh-ters, 1 son, 6 grandchildren and nu-merous great-grandchildren.

WIMMER, Jacqueline, of St. Louis,MO passed away Sept. 7, 2012. Sheand her late husband, ex-POW Will-iam (106th Div., held in Stalag IVB)were life members of AXPOW.


35

An Angel by

Any Other Nameby Alice A. Booher

Her given name was FloramundAnna but most everyone calledher “Ann”, born August 7, 1913 inChicago, IL the youngest of 13kids of German immigrantsGertrude Bertha (Stenzel) andHenry Aloysius Fellmeth. Whileshe decided to become a nurse in6th grade, actual medical adven-tures began with a nursing degreefrom Loyola University and post-graduate surgical nursing studiesat Bellevue in NYC. Entering theArmy Nurse Corps in August1936, she was assigned to Ft. War-ren, WY where she met the ser-vice pilot she would marry a de-cade later, Wallace E. Difford, Jr.Army nurses had to serve 2 yearsbefore requesting overseas dutyand when all of her friends askedfor Hawaii, she opted for ThePhilippines. On April 27, 1940,she and 4 other nurses, enlistedmen, officers and families, setsail for the 3-week trip on thetransport ship USS GRANT, car-rying huge cans of popped cornto combat seasickness. Fellownurses, Ruth Stoltz and Rose-

mary Hogan later had a very dif-ferent WWII, but all would nurseon the way over and arrived in-tact in Manila Bay on May 18,1940. Ann selected one of theavailable nursing spots at Ft.Mills Station Hospital onCorregidor while Hogan and WillaHook went to Stotsenberg Gen-eral Hospital. At Ft. Mills, Ann wasmet by WWI veteran, Chief NurseMaude Davidson and shared abathroom with Josie Nesbit. Sheworked 12 hour night shifts be-fore assuming daytime chargeover the surgical floor, Ann alsoassisted the counterintelligencegroup in passing on data andeven found time to play the leadin a play at the Corregidor Club.That Corregidor Players October1940 gig was done in hennarinsed hair, and at a later Defend-ers of Corregidor and Bataan POWreunion, someone rememberedthe natural brunette as that red-haired girl.

On the serious side, althoughfamilies and wives had been or-dered home, none really believedreinforcements would arrive torebuff the Japanese, so medicalduties involved maneuvers andfield operations and moving lit-ters, crates and boxes of suppliesfrom the hospital down to theMalinta Tunnel. After the war,Ann was speaking of that dutywith fellow nurse Hattie “H.R.”Brantley who quipped: “Well youdidn’t put enough in there”. It hadtaken the Americans 10 years tobuild the 835-foot long tunnel,24-feet wide, 18-feet high. Fin-ished in 1932, it was stocked withammunition, etc., but alsoequipped for use as a 1,000-bedhospital in case of war even whileearthquakes regularly shook theconcrete-reinforced site.

On July 1, 1941, Ann leftCorregidor for Ft. McKinley, 7miles southeast of Manila. JosieNesbit and Maude Davidson hadalready transferred to SternbergHospital on the mainland. At

McKinley while sharing a cottagewith Hattie Brantley, EarleenAllen and Mary Jo Oberst, Anntwice fell ill with dengue fever,and was hospitalized at Sternberguntil well into October when sheand Ruth Stoltz took a brief R&Rtrip to Baquio. Later that fall shemet some of the Navy nurseswho visited from Cavite to joinin some of the parties, includingEdwina Todd, with whom shewould remain friends for de-cades. In the increased prepara-tion for war, everyone was issueda WWI gasmask and helmet andmade themselves dog tags byhammering their initials intometal discs. Ann was on nightduty on December 8th when theyheard of the raid in Hawaii. Japa-nese bombing quickly com-menced at Clark Field and awak-ened nurses Brantley, Allen,Oberst and Fellmuth the follow-ing day at Nichols Air Field. Lifein the war zone became filled withnewly wounded patients, nursesexchanging the white uniformsfor men’s khaki slacks and shirts.Bombs did not strike the hospi-tal, but absent reinforcements,U.S. troops starting destroyingsupplies to keep them from en-emy hands. Ft. McKinley wasevacuated so Ann, Hattie, Earleenand the others packed into a bor-rowed car and checked intoSternberg in Manila to join fellownurses like Willa Hook in dodg-ing bombs and moving ambula-tory patients around thegrounds. Philippine Women’sUniversity was converted intoAnnex D of Sternberg, the gymset up as the surgery headed-upby Ann, and patients left nightlyby ambulance to Bataan to go toCorregidor.

Jungle Hospital No. 1 was set upby the nurses and staff at Limayon Bataan and Hospital No. 2 atCabcaben south of Bataan Field.


36

Patients diminished and on De-cember 26, when MacArthur with-drew his troops to Bataan, theygot orders to evacuate Annex Dfor Sternberg. The remainingnurses were preparing to evacu-ate when the phone rang and or-ders relayed that one nurse wasto remain. Chief Nurse O’Neillsaid nothing when asked to nameone nurse to remain, so the phy-sician present ordered Fellmethto stay while the other nurses leftfor Bataan. On 27 December, Annwas sent to Sternberg, which wasoverflowing with wounded. Anntold Josie Nesbit: “we are all go-ing to go back home…toCorregidor”. However, Josie, whohad been a party to an earliermeeting, knew better. The seniorsurgeon in Manila, Col PerryCarroll called Ann in to give herthe opportunity to volunteer forthe then secret plans to try evacu-ate as many patients as possible,working under the auspices ofthe Red Cross, to Australiaaboard a decrepit inter-island co-conut husk steamer, the Macatan.One Army surgeon and a surgi-cal nurse, 10 Philippine IslandsRed Cross nurses and 6 Filipinodoctors would accompany thewounded.

The rest of the nurses left the fol-lowing day, none knowing whyAnn was not going with them andJosie, who was carrying all of theirdocuments including 201 files,not able to tell them. In prepara-tion for the Macatan’s trip, Annwas given a document identify-ing her as a noncombatant anddescribing why she had been leftbehind. She prepared herself forbeing a POW. Little did she knowthat all of those nurses namedherein, and dozens of otherswould become just that for theduration of the war. Ann waitedvirtually alone for several daysuntil they embarked on the shipon New Year’s Eve 1941.

Over the years, the extraordinarystory of the harrowing journey ofthe Macatan to Australia has beentold in many other volumes (e.g.,Noyer’s Macatan: Ship of Destiny).During that voyage, the media,Australian, American and Japa-nese wrongly described sinkingthe vessel. Coming full circle, theAmerican Legion Auxiliary (ALA)magazine in February 2001, citedit as the single largest humani-tarian evacuation of military per-sonnel to date. The Columbiana,OH ALA chapter offered a nurs-ing scholarship in 2012 for theessay written on FloramundFellmeth Difford.

The “Angels” story has been welltold in books by several of thePOW women themselves and inBeth Norman’s We Band of Angels.But one of the most intimate anddetailed narratives including theMacatan’s month at sea in hos-tile territory comes in AnnFellmeth Difford’s own extraor-dinary 2005 book, An Angels Il-lustrated Journal, subtitled “It hastaken sixty years to explain whyshe was on the Mactan and not aprisoner”. The book also providesa detailed and otherwise unre-corded history (and some uniquephotos) of many of those takenand not taken POW, and why,Army and Navy, plus an all inclu-

angel, cont’d... sive, detailed table of all of theirnames and identifiers.

Ann herself had remained in Aus-tralia where she set up the SouthPacific Army Nursing Servicewith the huge anti-malarial pro-gram, designed uniforms and in-teracted with interesting folkssuch as Mrs. MacArthur andyoung son Arthur. In late 1944,Ann returned home and on Feb-ruary 5, 1945, married Wallace(Wally) E. Difford, Jr. to whom shewould remain married for 65years until his death. Her militaryawards included the Legion ofMerit and Bronze Star. She con-tinued her nursing, and becamethe mother of four, all of whomserved in the military. She con-tinued to keep in touch with “An-gels “, her beloved POW friendsand attended many of their re-unions CONUS and in the Philip-pines. Floramund Anna (Ann)Fellmeth Difford died on July 31,2012 and was buried with honorson August 13, 2012 at theTahoma National Cemetery, Kent,WA.


37

national chaplain

PNC Gerald HarveyPsalm 23 :The Lord is my shepherd; I shallnot want.He makes me to lie down in greenpastures; He leads me beside thestill waters,He restores my soul; He leadsme in the paths of righteousnessFor His name’s sake.Yea, though I walk through thevalley of the shadow of death, Iwill fear no evil; For You are withme; Your rod and Your staff, theycomfort me.You prepare a table before me inthe presence of my enemies; Youanoint my head with oil; My cupruns over.Surely goodness and mercy shallfollow me all the days of my life;And I will dwell in the house ofthe Lord forever.

The synagogues of Bible timesdid not have bibles, they hadhand written scrolls with a fewverses or maybe a chapter. Mostof God’s word was given to hispeople in song. The man whosang God’s word in the synagoguewas called the cantor. They didnot have the privilege of havingthe bible in hand as we do. Songsmade it easier for the people tomemorize God’s word.

I am very thankful that as a child,my parents took me to churchand introduced me to God. As achild I learned a little poem thathas stayed with me all of my life:

I will do the best I canWith what I haveWhere I amIn God’s nameToday.

I have been in bed at the VA hos-pital, and at home, for the pastmonth due to a severely infectedgall bladder, giving me a lot oftime to think about my life. Iwant to share this poem with youbecause it has guided me throughso much.

I was in high school when PearlHarbor was attacked. Although Ihad already given my life toGod’s service, I felt the need tovolunteer for military service tohelp my country. Eunice and Ibecame engaged, but decided towait till I returned from war tobe married. After training inAmerica, my crew flew to En-gland to be assigned to a base.Very soon after we arrived weflew our first mission to Ger-many and were hit over target.

When our pilot saw that we wouldnot definitely make it back tobase, he offered us the choice oflanding, or sticking with theplane as far as it would go. Weall chose to keep going. We wereonly a few minutes over the NorthSea when we knew we would haveto crash in the water. In the pro-cess of ditching the plane, we re-membered our training for thissituation. The pilot drug the tailto slow us down, but when thenose hit, it was still like hitting abrick wall at a hundred miles anhour. The plane immediatelybroke in half by the radio room,giving us about a minute beforeit sank. We were only able to re-trieve one raft for all nine crew.By the time we were away fromthe drag of the sinking plane, wewere sitting in waist deep water.It was February. We had beenwarned that if we were wet in theNorth Sea, we would only haveabout 30 minutes to live. We keptmoving our toes to keep themfrom freezing, but it was soondark leaving little hope of rescue.We all prayed that night, that insome way, God would save us.My crew told me that I slippedinto the sea a couple of times and

they had to pull me back into theraft.

When it seemed that all hope wasgone, we heard a noise and saw aflare. After 12 hours at sea, wehad drifted to the Netherlandsshore where the Germans cameout and picked us up. At thetime, we were happy to see any-one. We quickly realized that wewere now POW’s. Once, in an airraid shelter with just our crewand hundreds of Germans, ourguards told us they would dotheir best to protect us, butwould not shoot on their ownpeople. We were moved severaltimes between warehouses andprison camps on trucks andtrains. Once while crammed intobox cars, we were strafed by ourown planes, killing some of theprisoners. At the end, severalthousand of us had to walk be-tween camps. This was still win-ter, and moving was even moredangerous than being in camp.Then General Patton camethrough the gates and set us free.

God had his hand in it all. Justas the sheep totally depend on theshepherd, so we were completelydependant on God. All throughlife he is our shepherd, not justthe hard times. Read the Psalmagain and apply it to your life to-day. Don’t wait till you are sickto remember the times he hascared for you.

All through my POW experience,and the rest of my life too, thislittle poem has guided me.Maybe it will also be useful toyou.

I will do the best I canWith what I haveWhere I amIn God’s nameToday.

Gerald


38ALL CHECKS MUST BE MADE PAYABLE TO

AXPOW OR AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR

50/50 drawingJune, 2012

Arlington, TX

1st Place Helen B Petri, WV $227.80

2nd Place Joseph Zetti, OH $170.85

3rd Place Rose Tedesco, NJ $113.90donated back to AXPOW

4th Place Jason Petri, NC $56.95

These drawings help raise money needed for our operatingexpenses. They allow our members to participate in a veryworthwhile project, while giving them a chance to win. 50%of the donations will be given to the General Fund and theother 50% are awarded as prizes. The amounts are determinedafter all donations are received. You do not have to be presentto win. Please make copies of the tickets on the other sideand offer them to your Chapter members, family and friends.We are asking $5.00 for 6 tickets. These donations are nottax deductible. Fill out the tickets and send them and yourdonations 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.

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

Annual Reunions held yearly since 1947.

Harry F. Martin, Membership Chairman121 McGregor Ave.

Mount Arlington, N.J. 07856973-663-2410

[email protected]

request formembership application

American Ex-Prisoners of War

Name: _____________________________________Address:___________________________________City/State/Zip:_____________________________

Membership is open to US Military andCivilians captured

because of their US citizenship and theirfamilies.

Do NOT send dues with this request for anapplication

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]

The Battle for Snow Mountainby Donald Young

The Battle forSnow Mountainis a comic novel- based onY o u n g ’ sexperience -which gives avivid picture ofthe life of twoGI’s in a German prison camp, after their capture in The Battleof the Bulge, 1944. The story deals with their odd love affairs athome, their war experiences, accidental capture, escape from aPOW camp, and return to Paris and freedom.

“Ive never read a more powerful WWII novel than The Battlefor Snow Mountain.” (John Dizikes, former professor at theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.)“Young’s novel is an instant war classic, much like Vonnegut’sSlaughter House Five and Heller’s Catch 22” (Wallace Wood,book reviewer)

The Battle for Snow Mountain by Donald Youngmay be purchased from Pocol Press, 6023 Pocol Drive,Clifton, VA 20124 (1-703-830-5862). It can also be ordered at

www.amazon.com (ISBN 978-1-929763-48-1) $17.95$17.95$17.95$17.95$17.95

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. (6/13)



Address:_________________________________________

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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. (6/13)Ex-POW Bulletin

Nov/Dec 2012

40

(6/13)


41

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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

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.

Bronze Grave Medallionwith AXPOW LOGO

The Medallion is 4",Bronze/Brown withLacquer. Hardware formounting is included.Weight - approximately1.25 lb.

check with your localcemetery before orderingto see if medallions arepermitted.

$75.00plus $15.00 shipping/handling/insurance.Shipping costs on two or more is $20.00.

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

Documents

EX-POW BULLETIN · The January, 2013 issue will be the last one you receive if you don’t renew. Take a minute and send your 2013 dues to National Headquarters. Don’t miss out