national commander - axpownational commander robert w. fletcher ex-pow bulletin september 2007 3...

national commander

Robert W. Fletcher

Ex-POW BulletinSeptember 2007

3

Fellow Former POWs, FamilyMembers, and Friends,

The annual convention is comingsoon, so I want to devote most ofthis column to that event. As youknow, it will be held in Springfield,Illinois. I hope that many of youare able to travel and are planningon attending.

I have taken several actions relatedto the Board of Directors meetingat the convention. By the time youread this column, I will have sentout a more detailed letter to all ofthe Department and Chapter Com-manders explaining what I havedone and why. However I know myactions have generated many ru-mors, so I want to discuss themwith you as well.

As you probably know, AXPOW hashad a negative budget balance fora number of years. We have beenable to get by because we had ex-cess funds when our membershipwas higher. However our invest-ments have been cashed in and wehave no more financial cushion.

If AXPOW is to survive, it is timefor the Board to make some harddecisions. And these decisionsneed to be made while consideringall of our income and expenses atone time rather than piecemeal ashas been done in the past. Our big-gest single expense is for person-nel. As the size of the organiza-tion has shrunk, our number ofpaid personnel has remained thesame. Therefore I have notified allof our employees whose contractsexpire this fall that their contractswill not automatically be renewed.I have also terminated, as of thisfall, a contract that was to run an-other year.

Does this mean that these employ-ees have been fired? No, it doesnot. What it does mean is that itwill be up to the Board to decidewhether all, some, or none of thecontracts should be renewed, andif so, under what terms. The Boardmay decide that positions shouldbe combined or that it would bemore cost effective to hire personsoutside of AXPOW to do some orall of the work.

There have also been concernsabout the Bulletin. My intent isNOT to stop publication of the Bul-letin. Clearly our members dependupon the Bulletin to keep updated

and in touch as they are less ablephysically to travel.

The Budget Committee will bemeeting early in August. They willbe looking at all income and ex-penses line by line, and will bemaking recommendations to thewhole Board. It will then be up tothe Board to decide whether to fol-low the recommendations.

My objective is to keep AXPOW fi-nancially viable, not to spend untilwe are broke. If you agree, you maywant to share your thoughts withyour National Director before theBoard meeting.

On another matter, one of the pro-posals that will come to a vote atthe convention is for the NationalCommander to have a chance torun for a second term. If it is ap-proved I will not be eligible to runfor another term - only the Com-manders who serve after me willbe affected. However I do supportthe proposal for the sake of conti-nuity in the organization. It is veryhard to accomplish long-term goalswhen you are in a position of lead-ership for only one year.

I want to close by saying my wifeand I had a delightful time at theWest Virginia convention. I at-tended the Iowa convention andparticipated in a lively debate aboutwhat is best for the future of ourorganization. We also planned tovisit Vermont, but unfortunatelythat did not work out. We will beattending the Korean War Ex-POWconvention early in August. It isimportant to AXPOW’s survival thatwe try to establish closer links withthat group. I also plan on visitingseveral other state conventions.

As always, please feel free to con-tact me with your questions, com-ments, and concerns.

Candidates forNational Office

Grover L. SwearingenNational Director/Chairman -Nominations Committee

Commander Charlie HillSVC Kenny Hanson

SVC Warren KingJVC East Charlie SusinoJVC Central Morris BarkerJVC West Frank BurgerND Northeast Laura McIntyreND E Central NoneND Southeast Lloyd PateND North Central Carroll BogartND Mid Central Ed KazierczakND South Central James LollarND Northwest Bonnie SharpND Northwest Gwen WarrenND Southwest Milton Moore, Jr.ND Southwest Ralph Kling

as of August 7, 2007

axpow officers & directors 2006-2007National Headquarters - Clydie J. Morgan, Adjutant

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

William J. Richardson5125 Lake Valley DriveFayetteville, NC 28303(910) 864-7318; (910) 487-5100 fax(910) 867-0359 [email protected]

Southeast RegionEdward L. DeMent8735 Doral Oaks Dr., #1617Temple Terrace, FL 33617(813) 985-3783; (813) 989-8871 [email protected]

Ray Van Duzer14157 89th Ave. NSeminole, FL 33776(727) 593-1813(727) 319-5914 [email protected]

North Central RegionCarroll Bogard726 N. Carolina PlaceMason City, IA 50401(641) 424-4870

Larry Dwyer814 Woodlawn Ave.Muscatine, IA 52761(563) 263-5249

Senior Director, Gerald Harvey1504 West 5th St.Sedalia, MO 65301(660) [email protected]

National CommanderRobert W. Fletcher1331 S. ZeebAnn Arbor, Michigan 48103734-663-8649; 734-663-4960 fax

[email protected]

National Senior Vice CommanderCharlie Hill729 Olive StreetColumbia, SC 29205-1853(803) [email protected]

National TreasurerSonnie Bill Mottern279 Huckleberry RoadBluff City, Tenn. 37618(423) [email protected]

National Judge AdvocateGeorge Coker1145 Wivenhoe WayVirginia Beach, VA 23454-3047(757) [email protected]

National ChaplainJohn Romine1609 S. 23rd StreetRogers, AR 72756(479) 636-2287

Jr. Vice CommandersWarren G. King, Sr. - Eastern Zone1015 Mitchell Rd.Nashville, TN 37206-1113(615) 226-7811

Kenny H. Hanson - Central Zone9401 Lyndale Ave. S #228Bloomington, MN 55420(952) [email protected]

Frank Burger - Western Zone9500 Harritt Road #197Lakeside, CA 92040(619) [email protected]

Mid-Central RegionGrover L. Swearingen408 Fair Park AvenueWest Union, OH 45693(937) 544-2459 phone & [email protected]

Ed ‘Kaz” Kazmierczak3754 Elvera LaneWarren MI 48092(586) 268-1954

South Central RegionMorris Barker710 Chapel ViewWaco, Tx [email protected]

Howard Ray7507 Legend RockSan Antonio, TX 78244(210) 661-5911; (210) 661-8837 [email protected]

Northwest RegionHerbert C. Kirchhoff2910 Fernan Ct.Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814(208) [email protected]

Gwen Warren3235 99th Ave NEBellevue WA [email protected]

Southwest RegionRalph Kling15895 Puesta Del Sol LaneRamona, CA 92065-5600(760) 789-3339 phone & [email protected]

Lawrence Strickland35109 Hwy 79 South #63Warner Springs, CA 92086(760) [email protected]

DirectorsOfficers

Committee addresses appearwith their columns

EX-POW Bulletin (ISSN 0161-7451) is published nine times annually (Jan. Feb. Mar./Apr. May June July/Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov/Dec.) by the American Ex-Prisonersof War, 3201 E. Pioneer Pkway, Arlington, TX 76010. Periodical postage paid at Arlington, TX and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes toEX-POW Bulletin, AXPOW Headquarters, 3201 E. Pioneer Pkwy. Suite 40, Arlington, TX 76010-5396. Founded April 14, 1942, in Albuquerque, NM, then knownas Bataan Relief 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 endorsement bythe American Ex-Prisoners of War of the product or service advertised. The publisher reserves the right to decline or discontinue any such advertisement.

© 2007 American Ex-Prisoners of War

PublisherPNC F. Paul Dallas916 Bingham Drive

Fayetteville, NC 28304

EditorCheryl Cerbone

23 Cove View DriveSouth Yarmouth, MA 02664

(508) 394-5250(508) 760-2008 [email protected]

Deadline for the Nov/Dec 2007issue is Oct. 1, 2007.

Please send all materials to theeditor at the above address.

Commander 3Directors/Officers 4On Capitol Hill 6Outreach/Success 8NSO 9MedSearch 10Andersonville 12NamPOW 13POW-MIA 14Civilian 15Events, Info/News 16Members Forum 17Convention 18Feature Story 20News Briefs 22Contributions 25TAPS 26Chaplain 29New Members 30Raffle/Ads 31Application 33Quartermaster 34

September 2007table of contents

Ex-POW Bulletin

September 2007

5

On August 11 or 12, 2007, AXPOW’s National Headquarters was broken intoand all computer hard drives were stolen, along with several days of mail,checks and cash awaiting deposit and assorted paper files and records. Theserecords include service officer work.The Arlington Police Department, IRS, Department of Veterans Affairs - Cen-tral Office, the United States Federal Attorney in Dallas, the USPS Postal In-spector and the FBI have all been contacted and are investigating the break-in.Because the membership database was on the hard drives your personal datahas been compromised. Please be alert for any fraudulent activities concern-ing your finances.If you have mailed anything to National Headquarters since August 1, andhave not received a response (e.g. merchandise ordered, membership cardsor a general reply) please contact us. We do not know what was in the mailthat was taken and we do not have a listing of the checks that were stolen.We are deeply and sincerely sorry this has happened. In the 25 years I havebeen National Adjutant there has never been a breach of security concerningyour database. We have never given it away or sold it to anyone. It has beenused to send you this Bulletin and direct mails programs to support theorganization. I thought it would be secure in an office with deadbolts on thedoors.Please accept our apologies and please call us if you have any questions.Clydie J. Morgan, National AdjutantMarsha Coke, Sally Morgan, Donna Watson

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

On the cover: 2007 National POW MIA Recognition Day Poster

HONOR THEIR SERVICE……..FULFILL THEIR TRUSTSeptember 21, 2007 will be proclaimed by President George W. Bush as Na-tional POW/MIA Recognition Day. Over the past several years, all or most ofthe 50 states have proclaimed POW/MIA Recognition Day in conjunction withthe national effort.

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

The Oct. issue of the Bulletin will again contain a list of all the candidateswe have to date who are running for national office. Grover L. Swearingen, National Director/Chairman - Nominations Committee

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

MEA CULPAIn the July/August issue, the inside front cover featured Memorial Day cer-emonies in Washington, DC. There were photos of our National Commanderand the Commander in Chief of the United States, President George Bush. Iam so sorry that President Bush wasn’t given special recognition at theamphitheatre at Arlington Cemetery. Thank you to Ruby and George Gray ofStanley, VA for pointing out that as President, he deserves this respect.

on capitol hillLes Jackson, Executive Director

National Capitol Office

1722 Eye Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20421

PO Box 30324, Bethesda, MD 20824

(202) 530-9220; (202) 223-8818 fax

703/352-1038 home; e-mail: [email protected]

Charles Stenger, Ph.D, Legislative Co-Chairman

5709 Brewer House Circle, Rockville, MD 20852

(301) 231-7555

Mary Rolen, Legislative Co-Chairman

7450 Spring Village Dr. CC510

Springfield, VA 22150

(703) 923-9444

Ex-POW Bulletin

September 2007

6

Hearings are a primary tool for con-gress to write legislation. It givesthem the opportunity to hear vary-ing views, beliefs and opinions ona subject, and question witnesseswho are presenting their positionon an issue. Hearings require muchplanning by the congressional com-mittees and those who will testify.They are normally scheduled wellahead of time; however, the oppor-tunity to testify can be thrust uponyou with little time to respond orprepare.

Case in point: Norm Bussel receiveda call from his Congressman, JohnHall (D-NY), inviting Norm to tes-tify before the Sub-committee onDisability Assistance and MemorialAffairs. Congressman Hall apolo-gized for such short notice, thehearing was in two days, on June19, 2007. Without hesitation,Norm said “We’ll be there.” He andhis wife, Melanie, jumped in theircar and started driving south toWashington, writing testimony andstrategy as they went down thehighway. They called our officeand spoke to Mary Rolen, who ar-ranged hotel accommodations. Histestimony was written, printed andcopies hand delivered to the com-mittee prior to the hearing date asrequired, thanks to Mary’s assis-tance.

Norm’s reputation as a VeteransAdvocate preceded him to the wit-ness table. He was introduced byRepresentative Hall. He thankedthe committee for the opportunityto appear in support of H. R. 156

that is of vital importance to asmall but select group of Ameri-can citizens, widows of formerprisoners of war, in their eighties,and in need of assistance now. Hefurther said that this legislation is“time critical” to these survivors ofPOWs who died on or before Sep-tember 30, 1999. Prior to that date,a POW must have died of a serviceconnected disability, or have beenrated 100% disabled for a mini-mum of 10 years before his deathin order for his spouse to qualifyfor DIC.

The purpose of this bill is to amendthe code for the payment of DIC tothe survivors of former prisonersof war who died on or before Sep-tember 30, 1999, under the sameeligibility conditions as apply topayment of DIC to the survivors offormer prisoners of war who dieafter that date. The POW wouldonly have to have 100% for oneyear-not 10. He closed by saying theamount of funds needed to correctthis injustice is trivial... “ This billdeserves your approval becausePOW widows cannot survive onSocial Security. No one will live lav-ishly on DIC benefits of $1,067 permonth, but to POW widows, it canmean the difference between wor-rying about paying the light bill orthe rent, and living out their finalyears without constant anxiety.POWs suffered enough anxietywhen they were captured whilefighting for their country. Theywould be happy to know that theirwidows were being taken care of.Please, pass H. R. 156- in theirmemory.”

This is a terrific example of actiontaken by a fellow member on be-half of this organization.

Thanks, Norm

Norman Bussel recently steppeddown from his position as Presi-dent of the Former POW ServiceFoundation to concentrate on writ-ing his memoir, “LiberatedBody...Captive Mind”, soon to bereleased. A gifted author, he hascontributed many stories and ar-ticles to publications. A recentstory about Norm on the subjectof PTSD appeared in the May/Juneedition of the Vangard, the VAMagazine. He is an active NationalService Officer and frequentspeaker on various veterans sub-jects, particularly the captive expe-rience he knows so very well.

Les

Our June days were extremely busyand now it is July 25th and the dead-line for our September column.Things have been happening forsure! On June 27th, the Senate Vet-erans Affairs Committee called anearly mark-up for all members todiscuss their proposed bill S1315.In this proposed bill, Sec 601:

Addition of osteoporosis to dis-abilities presumed to be ser-vice-connected in former pris-oners of war with post-trau-matic stress disorder.” Section1112(b)(2) is amended by add-ing at the end of the followingnew subparagraph: “(F) Os-teoporosis if the Secretary de-termines that the veteran wasdiagnosed with post-traumaticstress disorder (PTSD).”

As you can see, our Diabetes con-dition was omitted. However,AXPOWs have always said, “We will


7

on capitol hillcontinued...

take what we can get now, and trylater.”

As of today, word from the Com-mittee is that they do not plan togo to the Senate floor with their“Veterans Benefits for 2007” untilafter the August recess. They willdo so upon their return in Septem-ber!

On July 17th, Rep. Bob Filner, Chair-man, House Veterans Affairs Com-mittee called a mark-up meetingfor all members to introduce hisproposed bills for review:

HR 760, HR2623, HR2874, HR1315and HR23.

The news coming from this meet-ing is that it was very “heated” andit was probably the longest mark-up ever with a great deal of dis-agreement! I understand from thematerial which I have received,however, our Osteoporosis was leftin Title HR760 – Managers Amend-ment, Section 10. I also learned thatthe Committee may go to the floorbefore the August recess. We willsee!

You must understand, now, why Icannot speculate on what may hap-pen to our bills. I will stay on topof this and let you know as soonas possible the action taken by theCommittees. I will say, however,the other VSOs are greatly dis-turbed with the proposed bills. Wewill just hope for the best for ourbills!

Our National Convention plans arein the making for our legislativeprogram on Thursday afternoon,Oct.18th at Springfield, IL. See youthere – God Bless you.

Mary

BILLS CURRENTLY BEFORE CON-GRESS

HR1197: Prisoner of War BenefitsAct of 2007 (Introduced in House).S848: Prisoner of War Benefits Actof 2007 (Introduced in Senate).

Co-sponsors:Representatives: ChristopherCarney (PA); Sam Johnson (TX);Timothy Walz (MN); Bart Gordon(TN); Jeff Miller (FL).Senators: Sherrod Brown (OH); Ber-nard Sanders (VT).

HR156IH: To amend title 38,United States Code, to provide forthe payment of dependency andindemnity compensation to thesurvivors of former prisoners ofwar who died on or before Septem-ber 30, 1999, under the same eli-gibility conditions as apply to pay-ment of dependency and indemnitycompensation to the survivors offormer prisoners of war who dieafter that date.

Co-sponsors:Rep Altmire, JasonRep Bishop, Sanford D., Jr.Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z.Rep Boswell, Leonard L.Rep Brady, Robert A.Rep Carney, Christopher P.Rep Carson, JuliaRep Cohen, Steve

Rep Cole, TomRep Emanuel, RahmRep English, PhilRep Fattah, ChakaRep Gerlach, JimRep Gonzalez, Charles A.Rep Grijalva, Raul M.Rep Hare, PhilRep Hooley, DarleneRep Jackson-Lee, SheilaRep Johnson, Henry C. “Hank,” Jr.Rep Jones, Stephanie TubbsRep Kaptur, MarcyRep Marshall, JimRep McNerney, JerryRep Murphy, TimRep Murtha, John P.Rep Norton, Eleanor HolmesRep Peterson, Collin C.Rep Poe, Ted

Rep Rahall, Nick J., IIRep Schakowsky, Janice D.Rep Scott, Robert C.

S.71.IS: To amend title 10, UnitedStates Code, to authorize certaindisabled former prisoners of warto use Department of Defense com-missary and exchange stores.

HR1710. IH: To modify the calcu-lation of back pay for certain per-sons who were approved for pro-motion as members of the Navyand Marine Corps while interned asprisoners of war during World WarII.

HR 1570 IH: Samuel B. MoodyBataan Death March CompensationAct.

S. CON RES. 27 ES: Whereas thePurple Heart is the oldest militarydecoration in the world in presentuse; Supporting the goals and ide-als of ‘National Purple Heart Rec-ognition Day’.Resolved by the Senate (the Houseof Representatives concurring),That Congress—(1) supports the goals and idealsof ‘National Purple Heart Recogni-tion Day’;(2) encourages all people in theUnited States to learn about thehistory of the Purple Heart and tohonor its recipients; and(3) calls upon the people of theUnited States to conduct appropri-ate ceremonies, activities, and pro-grams to demonstrate support formembers of the Armed Forces whohave been awarded the PurpleHeart.Passed the Senate July 16, 2007.

H. CON RES. 90 IH: Recognizing thededication and honorable serviceof members of the Armed Forceswho are serving or have served asmilitary nurses.

VA Outreach

S*O*O*N

Before it’s too late

NSO Fred Campbell, Chairman 3312 Chatterton Dr.San Angelo, TX 76904325-944-4002; [email protected] members:NSO Frank Kravetz (412) 824-2674;ND Bill Richardson (910) 864-7318


8

Outreach Below!People are Working!

Outreach Orientation was the pur-pose as 18 interested folks gath-ered June 7, 2007 for a three hourevening session let by GingerRaney, POW Coordinator of theWaco, Texas VA Regional Office.

It was a good way to begin the 2007AXPOW State Department Conven-tion in San Antonio, with skill-re-freshing for NSOs Charles & StellaWebb, Jorge Guerra, Howard T. Ray,Dr. W.T. Jones, Betty Harlan andFred Campbell, as well asOutreachers Shirley Fontes, SallyMorgan, Clydie Morgan, MarshaCoke, Debbie Lyon, Mary Boyett,Leander & Jo Pflughaupt, EdnaAmes, Sina Chandler and JackFischer. For me as Outreach Chair-man, it was indeed inspiring.

Already AXPOW Headquarters’Marsha Coke has provided up-to-date addresses and phone numbersfor Texas Gulf Coast and RioGrande Valley areas, and GulfCoast chapter commander Leanerand wife Jo Pflughaupt, Edna Amesand Shirley Fontes are checking

benefit status of all 250 members.Jorge Guerra on the Rio Grande iscalling those in that chapter. AndMarsha has provided the Louisianalist, so that former Red Stick chap-ter members Charles & Stella Webb,now of Ballinger, Texas are pro-ceeding to call all those members.All of this to make sure all areaformer POWs and widows havetheir VA benefits. This sort of Out-reach needs to happen all over thecountry.

Find members in your AXPOWchapter who are willing to do thisOutreach in your own group, tomake the necessary calls. Yournewsletter won’t get this done. Itwill take personal contact. If youhave a caring chapter, it can bedone, and you will do it. Keep Con-tact. Keep Caring. Know YourMembers!

Networking makes for amazingOutreach. NSO Betty Grinstead callsfrom Iowa. She’s helped unawareformer POW Bill B get a 100% dis-ability rating, and has gotten 2more of Bill’s unaware buddiestheir 100%; now 3 others unawareof VA’s POW benefits are pending.

One, Archie who lives in Asheville,NC, does not have 100% and Bettywants contact help. I call POW Co-ordinator David George in WinstonSalem VARO and he says, “Thatman has 80% and should have100% due to unemployability; buthe hasn’t returned the necessaryVA form.”

I called NSO Paul Dallas inFayetteville, NC and he has madethe contact to send another formto the Asheville former POW withproper urging, so he can get his100% VA rating.

Thanks to Betty and Paul and veryhelpful POW Coordinator DavidGeorge in Winston-Salem, NC, net-working has done it again.

Isaac of Castor, Louisiana, died May7, 1972. Thirty-five years later, on

January 15, 2007, his daughtercalls me to see if her mother mightbe eligible for a VA benefit. FormerPOW husband Isaac had died of aheart attack, so I proceeded withthe widow’s benefit claim to theNew Orleans VARO.

Result: Retroactive check for over$20,000 came in early July. Isaac’swidow was pleasantly surprised.And so was I, for her award wasmuch more than the standard ben-efit. Then I saw a copy of the awardletter. Isaac had had his 100% VAdisability rating for over 8 yearswhen he died in 1972. When hedied, his VA checks stopped. Butnobody told his wife she was theneligible for a widow’s benefit!

She should have had this 35 yearsago! How so? POW Presumptiveshad not been legislated by Con-gress then. Our AXPOW system oftrained National Service Officershad not been established. There arestill no NSOs in Louisiana and else-where. They are needed more thanever. Castor is 11 miles west ofLucky, LA.

We have no NSOs in Oklahoma, soin 2004 as Outreach Chairman, Istarted calling as many as I couldin Oklahoma, using our 2003 AX-POW Directory. Many got their ben-efits. One, Mrs. F, said her husbandhad a 10% rating and died of pros-tate cancer, with congestive heartfailure as contributing cause. I toldher neither were presumptivesTHEN, so she wasn’t eligible for thewidow’s benefit.

On Oct. 7, 2004, a new ruling madechanges; heart disease and strokebecame presumptives. On July 6,2007, Mrs. F called me. She readthe Ex-POW Bulletin and wonderedif she might be eligible. Yes, NOWshe should be eligible and her claimis on its way to VARO in Muskogee.

WIDOWS! If you have been deniedyears ago, you just might be eli-gible now. Call, find out!

nso

Doris Jenks

National Service Director1120 Daleside Lane

New Port Richey, Fl. 34655

(727) 372-7238 - Home

(727) 319-5914 - Office

[email protected]


9

outreach cont...

NSO Committee

Beth Brooks – Assistant

Fred Campbell

Walter Peterson

Larry Dwyer

Eugene Inman

Leon Horowitz, MD –Medical Advisor

Many National Service Officershave received or will be receivingletters from law firms referring tothe new law H.R. 5549 whichpassed recently.

The letter a few of us have receivedalready is the following:

H.R. 5549: Veterans’ Choice ofRepresentative Act 2006

“Dear Service Officer:

As you may be aware, a new

statute went into effect on June

20, 2007, giving claimants the

right to hire an attorney after

filing of a Notice of Disagreement.

Prior to this new statute,

claimants were not able to hire anattorney in the early

administrative stage of their VA

claims, but only after a denialfrom the Board of Veterans’Appeals.

The Veterans Law Group is a law

firm that has successfullyrepresented veterans and their

dependents for more than sixteenyears. Having represented over

thousands of claimants with bothphysical and psychiatricdisabilities, the Veterans Law

Group is one of the most respectedadvocates in the field of veterans’

disability law.

We ask you to consider our lawfirm in referring your claims forattorney representative followingthe filing of their Notice ofDisagreement.”

I caution all Former Prisoners ofWar National Service Officers tocontact me or other members ofour committee before turning overa claim to any law firm. The lawfirms will take 30% of any awardgranted.

As you know, we work for free, soevery award we get approved, ourclients keep every dollar. Bycontacting a member of the NSOcommittee, we may be able toresolve the disagreement in theirlocal VA Regional offices. Manyof our Former POWs and theirwidows need every dollar they areawarded

Thank you.

Doris Jenks

SUCCESS

NSO Don Lewis in Philadelphia areagets a call from former POWCarlton Jones in Bradford County,PA, near NY state line. A New Yorkstate service officer had submitteda claim for him, but VA had denied,with a zero rating. Discouraged, hegave up.

After two years, the BradfordCounty PA Veterans Service OfficerGene Osmun persuaded Carlton toapply again, and knowing of DonLewis’ VA claim successes there, heasked Don to help with the claim.

Don found the claim had beenpoorly prepared, citing several non-service disabilities but failing toclaim several POW presumptivedisabilities Carlton suffered. Aftermany phone conversations withCarlton, Don Lewis sent a newclaim, with careful explanation ofbotched previous claim, to thePhiladelphia VARO. Shortly afterhis VA physical exams, Carlton got100% disability rating, going backto the date of the denied claim twoyears before.

Result, retroactive first check cameto $37,000. Carlton Jones, a de-lighted veteran, very thankful forhelp provided by AXPOW NSO DonLewis.

Another testimony that AXPOW’sNational Service Officers often pro-vide unique advocacy to the VA forformer POWs and their widows.

pow medsearchND Lawrence Strickland, Chairman

e-mail: [email protected]

35109 Hwy 79 South #63

Warner Springs, CA 92086

(760) 782-0538

Packet #5 (What Every POW’s Wife Should Know Before She is Your Widow) has been updated again, with much time and efforton the part of Marlene Agnes, to include the most recent laws and benefits published. The packet may be purchased from NationalHeadquarters. Cost of the updated packet is $15.00~includes S/H.


10

Eating Well As We Age

Many older people have trouble eat-ing well.Here we tell you why. Thengive ideas on what you can do aboutit. Using the food label is one way

to eat well. There are others.

Problem: Can’t chewDo you have trouble chewing? If so,you may have trouble eating foodssuch as meat, fresh fruits, and veg-

etables.

What to do: Try other foodsInstead of: Fresh Fruit; Try: fruitjuices and soft canned fruits, suchas applesauce, peaches and pears.

Instead of: Raw Vegetables; Try: veg-etable juices and creamed andmashed cooked vegetables.Instead of: Meat; Try: ground meat,eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt and foodsmade with milk, such as pudding andcream soups.Instead of: Sliced Bread; Try: cookedcereals, rice, bread pudding and soft

cookies.

Problem: Upset stomachToo much gas and other stomachproblems may make you stay awayfrom foods you think cause the prob-lem. This means you could be miss-ing out on important nutrients, suchas vitamins, calcium, fiber, and pro-

tein.

What to do: Try other foodsInstead of: Milk; Try: foods that maynot bother you, such as cream soups,pudding, yogurt and cheese

Instead of: Vegetables such as Cab-

bage and Broccoli; Try: vegetable

juices and other vegetables, suchas green beans, carrots and pota-toes.Instead of: Fresh Fruit; Try: fruitjuices and canned fruits.

Problem: Can’t shopYou may have problems shoppingfor food. Maybe you can’t driveanymore. You may have troublewalking or standing for a long time.

What to do:Ask the local food store to bringgroceries to your home. Somestores deliver free. Sometimesthere is a charge.

Ask your church or synagogue forvolunteer help. Or sign up for helpwith a local volunteer center.

Ask a family member or neighborto shop for you. Or pay someoneto do it. Some companies let youhire home health workers for a fewhours a week. These workers mayshop for you, and do other things.Look for these companies in theYellow Pages of the phone bookunder “Home Health Services.”

Problem: Can’t cookYou may have problems with cook-ing. It may be hard for you to holdcooking utensils and pots and pans.Or you may have trouble standing

for a long time.

What to do:Use a microwave oven to cook TVdinners, other frozen foods, andfoods made up ahead of time by thestore.

Take part in group meal programs,offered through senior citizen pro-

grams. Or have meals brought to

your home.

Move to a place where someoneelse will cook, such as a familymember’s home or a home for se-nior citizens.

To find out about senior citizengroup meals and home-deliveredmeals, call (800) 677-1116. Thesemeals cost little or no money.

Problem: No appetiteOlder people who live alone some-times feel lonely at mealtimes. Thisfeeling can make you lose yourappetite. Or you may not feel likemaking meals for just yourself.Maybe your food has no flavor ortastes bad. This could be causedby medicines you are taking.

What to do:Eat with family and friends.

Take part in group meal programs,offered through senior citizen pro-grams.

Ask your doctor if your medicinescould be causing appetite or tasteproblems. If so, ask about changingmedicines.

Increase the flavor of food by add-

ing spices and herbs.

Problem: Short on moneyNot having enough money to buyenough food can keep you from eat-ing well.

What to do:Buy low-cost food, such as driedbeans and peas, rice, and pasta. Orbuy food that contain items, such assplit pea soup, canned beans, and

rice.


11

medsearch continued... POW MEDSEARCH PACKETSPacket 1VA Claim Information $8.00Packet 2Stresses of Incarceration & After Effects Extreme Stress-Covers theafter effects on the nerves and body organs $8.00Packet 3After Effects of ImprisonmentCovers arthritis, alcoholism, visual, ulcers, varicose veins, impotency,brain damage, etc $8.00Packet 4After Effects of ImprisonmentPart 1 - the heart, arteries and veins; Part 2 - cancer $8.00Packet 5What Every Wife Should Know Before She Is Your Widow - SocialSecurity, insurance, burial procedures, allowances, etc. including whatpathologist should look for in an autopsy $11.00Packet 8The European Story, History of POWs in Germany, and after-effects ofincarceration $8.00Packet 9The Korea Story, History of POWs in Korea, and after-effects $8.00Packet 10The Japanese Story History of POWs in Japan, and after-effects $10.00Packet 11NSO Director Answers Your Questions $11.00Presentation Set (Packets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10) $60.00The Modern Day Tragedy - medical & claims evidence in supportof PL 97-37 $4.00POW: The American Experience - overview on POW experience; reviewsvitamin deficiencies, infectious diseases and service-connected statis-tics $6.00Map of Location of German POW Campsshows location of 76 camps $3.00Map of Location of Japanese POW Camps21" x 32" with camps featured in red $4.00

Check packets you wish to order and send, with payment, to:American Ex-Prisoners of War

MEDSEARCH, 3201 East Pioneer Pkwy.,#40, Arlington, TX 76010

Name Phone ( )

Address

City, State, Zip

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

*Shipping / Handling fees: In U.S.A.; 1-3 packets, add $6.00; 4 - 6 pack-ets, add $9.00; 7 or more packets, add $12.00. In Canada; 1-3 packets,add $9.00; 4 -6 packets, 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

Use coupons for money off on foodsyou like. Buy foods on sale. Also buystore-brand foods. They often costless.

Find out if your local church or syna-gogue offers free or low-cost meals.

Take part in group meal programs,offered through local senior citizenprograms. Or have meals brought toyour home.

Read Food LabelsLook for words that say somethinghealthy about the food. Examplesare: “Low Fat,” “Cholesterol Free,”and “Good Source of Fiber.”

Also look for words that tell aboutthe relation of food to a disease. Alow-fat food may say: “While manyfactors affect heart disease, diets lowin saturated fat and cholesterol mayreduce the risk of this disease.”

Most food labels tell what kinds andamounts of vitamins, minerals, pro-tein, fat, and other nutrients are infood. This information is called “Nu-trition Facts.”

Find the % Daily Value. The numbersunderneath tell how much of eachnutrient listed is in one serving.About 100% of each nutrient everyday is usually healthful. If you’re ona special diet, such as a low-sodiumor low-fat diet, use the % numbersto pick low-sodium and low-fat food.

For More InformationIf you have questions, you can callyour nearest FDA office. Look for thenumber in the blue pages of thephone book. Or call the FDA’s toll-free number: 888-463-6332.

The Food and Drug Administrationis an agency of the U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services thatmakes sure foods are safe, whole-some, and honestly labeled.

Department of Healthand Human ServicesFood and Drug Administration5600 Fishers Lane (HFI-40)

Rockville, MD 20857

Andersonville

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


12

Archeology reveals

Andersonville Clues

to the PastBy Chuck Lawson

Archeologists, Boy Scouts, and vol-unteers have descended on Ander-sonville National Historic Site, intentupon gathering details of what lifewas like both inside and outside ofthe walls of the infamous prison.

John Cornelison, an archeologistwith the National Park Service’sSoutheast Archeological Center, isleading the team of researchers asthey search for evidence of “she-bangs,” makeshift structures thatUnion prisoners dug into the groundto escape the heat and beating sunwithin the walls of the prison. “Ar-cheology has a long history at Ander-sonville Prison,” said Cornelison. “Inthe 1980s, excavations at the prisonsite identified the buried remains ofthe prison’s main gate and portions

of the stockade walls. Because thoseprevious excavations establishedthe locations of the major architec-tural elements of the prison, we arenow able to look to the area withinthe stockade walls, in hopes of

learning more about the day to daylives of the prisoners held here.”

To aid in their search, the archeolo-gists brought a variety of computer-ized instruments and geophysicalprospecting devices with them. Theyroped off an area approximately thesize of two football fields and sur-veyed the ground surface using agradiometer – an instrument thatmeasures minute variations in theearth’s magnetic field caused by bur-ied archeological features – andground penetrating radar. The ra-dar and gradiometer readings areslowly collected by walking the ma-chines back and forth in a series oflines, after which the collected datais processed using a computer toproduce maps of the surveyed areathat show the location of buried ar-cheological features. “The results ofthe ground penetrating radar surveyfrom Andersonville have been fan-tastic,” Lawson continued. “We haveidentified over 120 likely house pitswithin the survey area and canclearly see the buried remains of thestockade wall.”

The archeologists have put the re-sults of the geophysical survey toquick use. Using the map producedby the ground penetrating radar,they have begun excavating two ar-eas where the she-bangs are thoughtto have been located. The digging isslow, painstaking work as earth ismoved level by level out of one-meter-square blocks to a nearby areawhere it is screened and artifacts arerecovered.

Cornelison is sharing what he knowsabout Andersonville and archeologywith about two dozen Boy Scoutsfrom Georgia and Florida. The scoutshave come to the dig in hopes oflearning more about the history of

the prison and earning their Arche-ology Merit Badge. They are learningabout the importance of preserva-tion of historic sites and are beingtaught proper archeological excava-tion techniques. They have been dig-ging alongside archeologists in thetest units and helping to recover ar-tifacts in the screens. “We found partof a pocket watch and buttons froma Union soldier’s uniform,” said oneeleven-year-old scout. “The scoutshave been a blessing to the project,”said Cornelison, “they have helpedus get a lot more work done than wecould have without them.”

The project has also enlisted the as-sistance of volunteer metal detectoroperators in a survey of a nearbywooded area. The archeologists hopeto recover metal artifacts that couldhelp them pinpoint the location ofone of the Confederate Guard campsthat was known to have been con-structed outside the prison walls.Though historic maps indicate thegeneral location of the camp, actualphysical evidence of its location haseluded historians. The archeologistswill carefully map the locations ofany artifacts recovered during themetal detecting survey, and thenexamine both the artifacts and wherethey came from to determinewhether or not the camp was identi-fied. “Historic documentation andmaps are useful tools in understand-ing the past,” says Lawson, who isdirecting the metal detecting survey,“but, sometimes the life experiences

of individuals can be left out of suchresources. Hopefully, archeologycan help to fill in those gaps. That’swhy we’re here; to learn about thelives of the Union soldiers insidethe prison, and about those of theConfederate guards in the campoutside the prison walls.” Lawsonalso noted that archeological re-sources are finite and irreplaceable,and that metal detecting within theboundaries of the National Park isa serious crime if not done with theblessing of the Park Service.

Picture: SEAC Archeologists JohnCornelison, Christina Jones, and

Megan Hewitt working in two of thepartially excavated Andersonville

shebangs.


13

NamPOW news

Paul E. Galanti804.675.5213 (o)804.675.5218 (fax)804.389.1668 (cell)[email protected]

Back

to the Future

This article stems from a 2004AXPOW Bulletin column but itstarted long before that when theformer AXPOW foundation denieda grant request to develop a com-puterized aid to the claims processwith the somewhat cavalier com-ment that, like Jose Jimenez, “It’snot my yob, Man.”

We’d asked that foundation for$80,000 to build a prototype totake to the VA as a fait accompli.Never happened. Mostly due to thesentiment that somebody elseought to do this - we don’t wantto.

TurboPOWer was the name chosenfor a soon to-be-developed soft-ware application that allows easybut secure access to all files in theDepartment of Veterans Affairs onany disabled veteran who has beenrated or is in the process of beingrated by the Department.

So the requested funds were de-nied by the Foundation. What wasTurboPOWer? A simple internetbased application similar in opera-tion to TurboTax that would auto-matically pull together all the in-formation needed for a POW or afamily member or a service officerto file a claim leaving no stoneunturned. Period.

After we took it to the VA, the“techies,” the same stalwarts wholose laptop computers with mil-lions of patients’ personal informa-tion, said there’s no need becausewe’re already dong it.

Say what?

Fast forward to 2007. The term,TurboPOWer is gone since POWsapparently weren’t interested inmaking the process easier andseemed more concerned with inter-nal food fights. TurboVet is in!Heartily endorsed by the VirginiaBoard of Veterans Services,TurboVet is being developed atlightning speed, the pilot programwill be ready for prime time whenthe issue of the Bulletin hits thestreet.

More details as they become avail-able but the process which ourformer “foundation” declined tosubsidize will revolutionize theway Virginia’s veterans will havetheir claims processed. Severalother states have shown interest inthe TurboVet concept and the con-cept is envisaged to assist in manyother areas of state government inaddition to Veterans Services.

TurboVet will bring to the VA thesame efficiencies that TurboTaxbrings to harassed taxpayers and,in fact, to the IRS. Title 38 CFR, thelaw and regulations for the Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs, is verycomplicated making it extremelydifficult for deserving veterans tofile claims. If a service center or acompetent, qualified service officerisn’t easily accessible, it is virtuallyimpossible for a disabled veteranto file his own claim.

The IRS code is much more com-plicated than the VA’s laws andregulations yet, with each of sev-eral different consumer computersoftware programs, filling out andsubmitting tax forms has becomemuch easier, quicker and more ac-curate than before. It should be

quite easy for the Department ofVeterans Affairs to implement anequivalent program for its constitu-encies particularly since its modelis being developed at the grassroots level. The program could bepaid for by having to hire manyfewer data entry clerks since, inmost cases, the information willalready be in the possession of theVA or will be entered by the claim-ant.

Meanwhile, the leadership of thisorganization insists on throwingdarts at our very excellent nationalHQ staff while declining to hint atwhat the alleged problems are. Itabsolutely made my day when theCommonwealth of Virginia recog-nized what many nay-sayerscouldn’t. Observing that the systemis broken, the Virginia Board ofVeterans’ Services elected to try tofix its systemic problem and simul-taneously make it easier on the vet-erans who are the Department’s“customers.”

So a tip of the hat and hand saluteto the innovative staff of the Vir-ginia Department of Veterans Ser-vices (and to the other states whoare supporting this plan). And thishumble, ink-stained wretch is hav-ing a difficult time not gloating tothe nay-sayers, “I told you so.”

But <gloat>, I told you so.

pow-mia

PNC John Edwards,

Chairman889 Randall Road

Niskayuna, NY 12309-4815

(518) 393-3907 phone & fax


14

AMERICAN ANNOUNCEDAS ACCOUNTED FOR

There are now 1,779 personnellisted by the Department of De-fense as missing and unaccountedfor from the Vietnam War. Theidentification of the remains ofthree Americans previously miss-ing and unaccounted for has notyet been publicly announced; how-ever, the statistics are includedhere.

The identification of Corporal JimE. Moshier, USMC, CA was an-nounced. CPL Moshier was listedas LIA/BNR on July 11, 1967, inSouth Vietnam. The accounting forthese four US personnel brings to804 the number of previously miss-ing US personnel returned since theend of the Vietnam War in 1975.Over 90% of 1,779 still listed asmissing were lost in Vietnam or inareas of Laos and Cambodia underVietnam’s wartime control.

UPDATE ON OPERATIONS

The 100th period of Joint FieldActivities (JFA) in Laos, the fourth30-day JFA this year, began June26th and is expected to concludeJuly 31st. Again comprised ofsome 50 US personnel, four teams

are focusing on incident excava-tions. A Change of Command oc-curred on July 2nd, during whichLTC Brandt Deck, USA, replacedLTC Wade Owens, USA, as Detach-ment 3 Commander. Both are Spe-cial Forces officers, as is JPAC’sDetachment Commander in Hanoi,LTC Jim Saenz, USA.

The 89th JFA in Vietnam is ongo-ing and will continue over a 45-dayperiod until July 25th. The roughly100 US personnel are dispersedamong one Research/InvestigationTeam (RIT), one Investigation Team(IT), one Phase 2 Testing Team(P2TT) and five recovery Teams(RTs).

The last JFA, March 8th- April 21st,was extended to include an Under-water Investigation Team (UIT) thatincluded the Navy’s Mobile DivingSalvage Unit #1 (MDSU1), operat-ing along the coast of northernVietnam, though without the USNavy ship as earlier agreed.

Worldwide, a survey and investiga-tion of a WWII loss on the island ofIwo Jima took place June 17-27th,and an investigation is ongoing inSouth Korea June 1-30th.

While conducting the investigationof a possible burial site identifiedby an eye witness in the Republicof Korea, the US team recoveredpossible remains and other mate-rial evidence; therefore an imme-diate recovery operation was un-dertaken to prevent the possibilityof disturbance by nearby SouthKorean personnel.

A JPAC historian recently returnedto Hawaii after a brief visit to theNetherlands to observe salvageoperations of a possible US aircraftand conduct interviews related toa WWII incident.

Finally, excavations on two WWIIsites in Hungary and Austria areongoing and expected to concludeon August 15th.

POW/MIA Day

The 2007 National POW/MIA Rec-ognition Day will be commemo-rated on September 21, the 3rd Fri-day in September. The Pentagon’sceremony will be held at 11:00 amon that day, and especially at mili-tary installations around the world,some commands will do recogni-tions and programs thru-out thatweek..

The Secretary of the Navy contin-ues to carry Navy Captain MichaelScott Speicher, Gulf War, as “Miss-ing, Captured” which is the sameas the term “prisoner of war.” To-day, there is no new informationon this case, and all officials fromSaddam’s former regime have notshed any light on him or his pos-sible whereabouts.

As of this writing, the Army Secre-tary is statusing four soldiers as“Missing - Captured.” The onelongest in this status, captured, inApril 2003, just after the overthrowof Saddam, is Army Staff SergeantMatt Maupin, followed by Special-ist Altaie, Specialist Alex Jimenez,and Private Byron Fouty. Also, aswith Captain Speciher, no new evi-dence/information regarding Ser-geant Maupin’s whereabouts orcondition.

A video passed shortly after hiscapture from which he has beenclearly identified and he is clearlyalive and in enemy hands; however,a short time following receipt ofthat video, a second video that wasshot in poor light and was verygrainy — it was a close up of a manbeing executed at close range —that it was Maupin being executed;however, the Army Secretary is notfirmly convinced the execution isthat of Maupin,and thus, continuesto carry him in a missing, capturedstatus (POW).

These men, most assuredly, will bepart of the POW/MIA RecognitionDay purpose.

civilians

Ex-POW Bulletin

September 2007

15

Ted Cadwallader - Chairman9501 Nut Tree Ct. Elk Grove, CA 95624(916) [email protected]

September 21, 1944

Nearly Three Years after

the Fall of Corregidor,

American Airpower

Returns to Manila

By Curtis Brooks132 Pioneer Peak PlaceLas Vegas, NV [email protected]

After the terribly somber defeatsof 1941/1942, the war movedthousands of miles from the Phil-ippines. For us civilians in the SantoTomas Internment Camp in Manila,there followed years of waitingunder ever more trying circum-stances. We hoped, and wonderedand waited some more. Hungerbecame our constant companion.By the middle of 1944, there wereclear signs the Japanese were pre-paring the city for possible air

raids. But the wait, and hunger,went on.

On the morning of September 21,1944 we students went to class inthe camp school as usual in thelaboratory facilities on the 4th flooron the Main Building. These occu-pied part of what was essentiallythe roof of the building. The morn-ing was marked by the intermittenttest firing of an antiaircraft gunover the bay that we had experi-enced before. We paid it no heed.About 9:30 in the morning, in ge-ometry class with the popular andeffective Father McSorely asteacher, we suddenly heard thewhoop of one of the city sirens. Just

a whoop. Just one. It was enough,though, to cause some of the kidsin the back of the class to startchattering about going downstairsas was the drill for any air raidwarning. As Father McSorelystarted to calm the class, we be-came aware of the drone of manyairplanes overhead. I looked outonto the roof of the building andjust outside our classroom an in-ternee was looking skyward withan expression of mixed surpriseand awe. I became aware also thatthe AA fire was now continuing.

I rushed onto the roof where theinternee was standing and lookedup. The sky was full of single-engined airplanes, rapidly crossingthe city headed for the bay area,weaving among themselves. I saw,also, there were now AA puffs overthe city itself. There was pandemo-nium among us students; FatherMcSorely bellowing to one and allto get downstairs. We stampededdown the narrow stairwell that ledfrom the lab area to the third floor.I ran for the front entrance, racingdown the halls and down the mainstairwells of the building. As I ran,I puzzled over and over how theJapanese could let so many air-planes arrive overhead without anywarning at all. At this stage of thewar, such a complete surprisehardly seemed possible.

When I reached the lobby at thefront entrance there was pandemo-nium anew; it looked as if half thecamp was trying to get out to seewhat was going on, while the otherhalf was trying to get inside to getunder cover. I was small and wiryand wiggled my way though thecrowd until I reached the door. Ilooked out over the bay area; Icould see no planes but the sky wasspeckled with puffs of flak. Justthen, four planes came into view,directly overhead, diving in a long,shallow fast dive toward NicholsField, the large military field at thesouthern edge of the city. I staredintently at those planes and won-dered, can these really be Ameri-

can planes after all this time? Wasthis just a big drill on the part ofthe Japanese? As I watched, puffsof flak began appearing in the skynear the diving planes. No ques-tion, the Americans had returned.

In the afternoon we watched firesburning at the oil storage facilityon the Pasig river known asPandacan; we saw low flying planespass over the bay and watched asbombs fell from them, though wecould not see what the targetswere. In the evening, with the at-tacking planes finally gone, the cityhad the air of a disaster zone. Wa-ter pressure was very low, fireswere burning at the port area, andwe could hear the distant boomingof explosions out in the bay. Thecamp was in a fever of excitement;we all told stories of what we hadseen, and some, I am sure, of whatthey thought they had seen. Aftercurfew, and after nightfall, I sat onthe small balcony of our room, lis-tening to the distant rumble of ex-plosions. Suddenly the city was litup nearly as bright as day by ahuge, brilliant flash. A Japanesesoldier, seeing in the light of theflash, an internee outside where heshould not have been, began shout-ing in the hoarse guttural angrytone we had grown accustomed to.Just then came a terrific boom,shaking the building. The shoutingstopped. We had no idea what hadexploded, but I remember feelingnervous about the possibility ofdebris landing in the camp.

So the Americans had returned, farmore devastatingly that we hadthought possible. They hadachieved complete surprise and allday had dominated the skies overManila and its Japanese bases. Wewere awed, almost stunned by theskill, bravery and effectiveness ofthe waves of planes as they cameover the city. It was a day none ofus ever forgot.

events and information

events


16

Sept. 4-8, 2007. The 106th Div.Assoc. 61st Annual Reunion will beheld at the Crown Center, KansasCity MO. For more info, contact JohnKline - 952-890-3155.

Sept. 12-16, 2007. The Third In-fantry Division’s 88th Reunion willbe held at the Sheraton ColoradoSprings Hotel. For reservations, call719-576-5900. For reunion info,contact: Linda Irvine, 360-663-2521; [email protected].

Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 2007. The 45th In-fantry Division (Thunderbirds) willbe holding their annual reunion. Forfurther information, please contact:Raul Trevino, 2145 NE Street, Okla-homa City, OK 73111; 210-681-9134.

October 2007. The SecondSchweinfurt Memorial Association,Inc. (SSMA) will be celebrating the64th Anniversary Reunion of “BlackThursday” (8th Air Force - Mission115 over Schweinfurt, Germany onOctober 14, 1943) in Schweinfurt,Germany. (Tentative location for2008 — Savannah, Georgia). Formore information, pleasecontact Julee and BobMacDonald at 720-254-7418 [email protected].

Feb. 2-4, 2008. The next CivilianPhilippine Liberation Reunionweekend will be held at the MarriottHotel in Walnut Creek, CA. Plansare in progress for this activity andadditional information will beforthcoming. Please join us nextyear. We look forward to your at-tendance at this informative andfun gathering celebrating libera-tions in the Philippines in early

1945. For information contact:Sascha Jansen, [email protected].

lookingforI am Lawrence Carastro, an Ex-POW, and am looking for afriend, Frank H. Glass, 0-669701,2nd BG, 49th BS, whose plane wasshot down February 24th. 1944.somewhere over Germany. I havesearched for one of the last survi-vors of our group for a long time,but have no further informationabout him. I do know he was aPOW. I hope that someone willremember 1st. Lt. Glass U.S. AirForce. Thank you, Lawrence T.Carastro, 1240 S. W. 84th. Court,Miami, Fl. 33144. Telephone (305)264-9092; [email protected].

My father, Oscar Thomas Gibbs,Jr., was a prisoner of war in Ger-many during World War II. Iwanted to get some information onhis comrades who endured thePOW camps in Germany. If youcould send me information on hiscamp and any information on sur-viving veterans for the sake of apossible reunion for my father, it

would be greatly appreciated. Heis now 82 years old and is not inthe best of health, but this wouldbe my tribute to him. Please, anyinformation on his outfit, his POWcamp, or any information, wouldbe most helpful. With kind regards,Darrell Gibbs; (864) 855-3929;(864) 421-3378 cell.

I would like to get as much infor-mation as I can for my dad aboutmy grandfather. His name wasHugo A. Forte. He passed awayabout 10 years ago, leaving my dadwith many questions, because mygrandfather was a quiet strongman. I know he suffered a heartattack while a prisoner and sub-

jected to many harsh things as I’msure everybody was. He was cap-tured on Dec. 22, 1944 while serv-ing in the Infantry in Belgium. Iknow my father has been trying torecover misplaced awards such asthe Purple Heart and POW medalsand has had no luck. I hope youcan help or point me in the rightdirection. I would be up most grate-ful! I hope to hear from you soon.Thank you Jason Forte, 585 4133326 office; 585 305 3021 cell;[email protected].

My name is Amy Dunn and I amthe niece-in-law of a World War IIveteran named Norman Nissen. Iwas doing research for him regard-ing his forced march through Ger-many as a POW in the waning daysof WWII when I came across theaccount of Albert Sidlovsky in thebiographies posted on yourwebsite. Their accounts were re-markably similar. Uncle Normanbelieves he was acquainted withMr. Sidlovsky and would like tocontact him or his family. Thanksso much in advance, Amy Dunn,312 Chanticlair Dr., Apex, NC27502; [email protected];919-362-7143.

I am looking for some history onmy uncle who was a POW in Ger-many in WWII. His name is MarionO. Heilman, S/Sgt tail gunner,bailed out of his B-17,(Los AngelesCity Limits) on Oct 7, 1944 and wasliberated April 26,1945 by the104th Infantry. His serial numberis 37002856, and he was in StalagLuft IV and was on the death marchfor 86 days about 605 miles. I amtrying to find out if he was in La-ger C, Barracks 4, and room 12. Ithink his POW number is either4004 or 4045 but I can’t find any-one to confirm that. I am writ-ing history about his experiencesfor our family in honor of his pass-ing in 1988. email address is: [email protected]. JerryKernick, 22 King Rd, Weaverville,NC 28787; 828-645-6718.

Ex-POW Bulletin

September 2007

17

Members’

forum

Dear Cheryl:

I am Edward F. Martel, TSgt USAF(Ret).

From 1946, I was awarded lessthan 10% disability and thereforeno credit for same, although Ihave survived the four monthsof warfare by the Japanese, in-cluding the initial bombing bythem on Dec. 8, 1941 in thenorthern central part of LuzonIsland, Philippines. I also madethe infamous Bataan DeathMarch and was sent to campO’Donnell and then CabanatuanCamps 1, 2 and 3, then to BilibidPrison in Manila. I then boardeda ship to Kyushu Island to workin the coal mines at Camp 17.After the liberation, I was capableof continuing active duty as aPersonnel Technician and retiredafter 24 years of service. Iworked as a police officer, nightguard and in some restaurantsafter retirement.

An active administrator of AX-POW had me request a VA dis-ability medical hearing whichwas done at Bldg 135 at theNorth Chicago VAMC on Feb. 13,2007. The result from that hear-ing was 100% disability, whichwill help me a great deal to covermy costs and medical trips, hous-ing, etc. I am fortunate in havingadequate quarters with mydaughter and family.

This is my chance to state howgrateful I am to have the NorthChicago VAMC and doctors. I es-

pecially would like to point out Dr.Lipson and the Eye Clinic personnel.They are always doing follow-ups andtake time with each person to answerall questions with a smile. I also wishto state that the Pharmacy does amarvelous job in filling and mailingmy prescriptions with great care. I am88 years old and have seven pills,both AM/PM and 3 types of eye dropsnow. I want to say thanks to the staffof the VAMC.

Edward F. MartelLife Member, AXPOW

Dear Cheryl,

What a heart-warming story! “An Ex-traordinary Extended POW Family” byAlice Booher in the June issue. Sucha beautiful and honorable tribute forLori Ann Piestewa. To see how afriendship connected peoples fromdifferent cultures and backgroundinto a “family”. What we humans arecapable of.

In the Members’ Forum of the sameissue, Edward Cadwallader’s letter toNC Fletcher suggesting that we ex-POWs take a stand against torture ofprisoners seems a natural. We knowfrom our experience that it doesn’twork. In addition, it gradually “twiststhe soul” of the torturer (from ThePhenomenon of Torture by WilliamSchulz). No one wins. I don’t believethat our nation was founded uponsuch dehumanizing and degradingbehavior. Senator McCain expressedfrom his experience why it doesn’twork. Do we want to teach our chil-dren that this is an acceptable wayto treat one another? Might is notright. Would we be willing or want toadmit to the child we are raising thatwe condone or would be willing totreat another person that way? Let usAmericans return to our ideals. Letus find our moral compass and moralcourage!

Leanne Blinzler NoeLife Member, AXPOWSanto Tomas Internment CampManila, Philippines

Dear Editor:

I am disgusted by the Members’Forum letter to CommanderFletcher from Edward F.Cadwallader asking the organiza-tion to condemn the current admin-istration in Washington, DC withreference to the use of torture ofprisoners held under the regula-tions, (Quote: “of the so-called waron terror”).

Denying a war of terror is beingconducted against the US and theUK in Afghanistan and Iraq is aninsult to the fine American andBritish troops, and others fromsmaller countries, fighting theTaliban and Moslem insurgents,including Al Qaeda, in those coun-tries.

While there is speculation in me-dia reports that some terroristsprisoners have been held and se-cretly tortured by some foreigngovernments in camps outside theUS, there has been no hard evidencepresented by anyone these storiesare actually true.

[We should not give license for ad-vocating the organization becomeinvolved in condemnation of the USGovernment’s policy in handlingterrorist prisoners. At least, I havenot seen any of those prisonersbeing beheaded on TV, as were anumber of prisoners, including atleast one American, by JihadistMoslems, so who should we feelsorry for?

Donald E. BartonLife Member, AXPOWPortland, Oregon

Editor’s Note: This is obviously ahot button issue, and nearly im-

possible to edit sufficiently to

leave out personalities. These will

be the last comments published

on the subject.


18

59th ANNUAL NATIONAL CONVENTIONOct. 17-21, 2007Springfield, IL

“Land of Lincoln”Convention Registration

Registrant’s Name_________________________________ Nickname______________________

Spouse’s Name (if attending)________________________ Phone _________________________Address_________________________________________ E-mail ________________________

City_________________________________________State__________Zip__________

Special Needs (Wheel chair, oxygen, etc.) _______________________________________________

Unit When Captured___________________Theatre_________________Camps__________________REGISTRATION (per person) until September 3 ~ $65.00 after Sept. 3 - $70 no refund after Sept. 7Payable to: 2007 Convention FundMail to: Marylou Andersen1244 Red Oak CtElgin, Illinois 60120847-717-0343

60th National ConventionOctober 17-21, 2007

AGENDA

Tues. Oct. 16National Service Officer TrainingToursWed. Oct. 17National Board of Directors MeetingThurs. Oct. 18Opening CeremoniesNational Legislation ProgramMedsearch SeminarCommander’s ReceptionFri. Oct. 19Men and Women’s WorkshopsEducation SeminarLadies/PNCs LuncheonsNational Convention Call to OrderReunion NightSat. Oct. 20Continuation of General AssemblyBanquet & Installation of OfficersSun. Oct. 21National Board of Directors Meeting

AD ORDER FORMOverall page size is 8 ½” x 11”

AD PRICINGFull page……..$200Half page…….$125Quarter page………$75Business card…… …$35Deadline for submissions: Sept. 1, 2006

Name_________________________Organization (if applicable)__________________Address_______________________City___________________________State_____________Zip___________Telephone______________________Ad Size___________Amount Enclosed $_______

Make Checks or Money Orderspayable to:

2007 CONVENTION FUND

Mail order form withad materials and check to:

AXPOW Convention-Program AdBob Foster

14 Conestoga DriveAuburn, Illinois 62615

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:

There will be entertainment eachnight of the convention, includingthe Springfield Capitol Area Band,The Springfield Municipal Bandand the St. Andrews society Pipesand Drums.

The PNC Luncheon is scheduled forFriday, Oct. 19th.

Reunion Night will be Friday, Oct.19th.

Saturday Night BanquetThe “Airmen of Swing” will be our en-tertainment for the Banquet. They area full swing orchestra who perform forveterans’ groups. They come from Mil-waukee, WI. Diane Ayers, our very help-ful NOK fundraiser suggested them andthey accepted. Danceable music, etc.Choice:Boneless Breast of Chicken ________Traditional London Broil _________(Choose One)Registration Total: $ ___________Ladies Luncheon, Friday Oct. 19th

“Hats off to the Ladies”40s and 50s fashion showBring your vintage chapeau!$25.00pp $___________

Grand Total: $ ___________

American Ex-Prisoners of War


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60th National Convention

October 17-21, 2007

HOST HOTEL ~ Springfield Hilton

700 East Adams, Springfield, IL 62701

217-789-1530

Name __________________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip ___________________________________ Phone _____________

Arrival Date______________________________Departure Date_________________

Number of Beds in Room 1 2 Smoking Non-Smoking

Circle One: Visa MasterCard American Express Discover Diners Club

Credit Card # _________________________________ Exp Date ____________Special Needs ____________________________________________

ROOM RATES: $79 PER NIGHT~Ask for AXPOW Convention RatePlease make your reservations prior to Sept. 3, 2007.

Check in time is 3:00PM ~ Check-out time is 12:00 Nooncomplimentary breakfast, airport shuttle.

Valet parking $10.00 per day

Things to do while

you’re in Springfield

Sightseeing

Over one million visitors a yearcome to see Springfield’s historicLincoln sites, which include theAbraham Lincoln Presidential Mu-seum and Library, the LincolnHome and Neighborhood, Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, LincolnTomb, Lincoln’s New Salem, andmore.

Other attractions include the Dana-Thomas House, the Old State Capi-tol, the Illinois State Capitol and theExecutive Mansion.

Year-Round Festivals

Springfield offers hundreds of ex-citing events throughout the year,including: the Old Capitol Art Fairin May, the International CarillonFestival in June, the Illinois State

Fair in August and First NightSpringfield on New Year’s Eve, justto name a few.

Shopping

From charming, one-of-kind bou-tiques to nationally recognized, bigcity department stores, Springfieldoffers something for everyone.

The city’s westside offers WhiteOaks Mall, (the largest central Illi-nois indoor shopping facility), na-tional discount shopping centers,home improvement stores, state-of-the-art computer and home en-tertainment stores, fashion bou-tiques and more.

The historical downtown area is

brimming with specialty shops, an-tique stores, bakeries, art galleriesand much more.

The legacy of America’s greateststatesman, Abraham Lincoln, canbe traced to Springfield,Illinois…the city he loved andproudly called his home. As youwalk through the streets of historicSpringfield, you’ll feel as thoughyou’ve stepped back in time…andare experiencing Springfield as Lin-coln knew it.


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...by Alice A. Booher

The Women in Military Service toAmerica (WIMSA) Memorial, dedi-cated on October 18, 1997, cel-ebrates its 10th Anniversary on 1-3 November 2007. WIMSA’s pri-mary mission is to identify andhonor the 2,000,000+ women whohave served in the U.S. military.Located at the ceremonial gate toArlington National Cemetery,WIMSA operates a Memorial Edu-cation Center; manages a world-class archive; conducts a world-wide education program for chil-dren and adults; operates a speak-ers’ bureau; and hosts a variety ofseminars, programs, and activitiesat the Memorial. Since 501(c)(3)Foundation incorporation in 1985by Brig Gen Wilma Vaught, USAF(Ret), WIMSA has made an aggres-sive, open and enthusiastic com-mitment to recognizing the specialcontributions of America’s femalemilitary former POWs.

Ceremonies/Participation: ManyPOW women generously contrib-uted to the $22 million fund rais-ing. WWII POWs Hattie R. Brantleyand Sally Blaine Millett and MaryHarrington Nelson attended the1997 Dedication, along with sev-eral POW brothers from WWII andVietnam POW Giles R. Norrington.A keynoter at the 1997 Dedicationwas Persian Gulf POW RhondaCornum, who participated in theribbon cutting ceremony; then, theonly one to do so alone, tossed rosepetals into the Memorial fountain’sreflecting pool for all former POWs.Cornum has since returned pri-vately to the Memorial. Familymembers of Reba Whittle Tobiasonreceived her POW medal at theArmy reunion at the WIMSA Dedi-cation. Many WWII female POWswere buried pre-1997 at Arlington,some in the Nurses’ Section; hun-dreds at the WIMSA Dedicationtrekked up the hill to honor them.There are special ceremonies atWIMSA each Memorial Day andVeterans Day which always em-brace POWs.

Recognizing the special affinity totheir loved ones, POW families havefocused on WIMSA for activitiesassociated with theirmemorialization at ArlingtonNational Cemetery [Doris Kehoe,Ruby Bradley, Ethel “Sally” BlaineMillett and Dorothy Still Danner].Millett herself stood next to thiswriter on the WIMSA terrace andpointed out the site of her lateAirborne hero husband’s plotwhere she wanted to be buried. At

Millett’s burial there several yearslater, before her family and friends,Brig Gen Barbara Goodwin, USAF(Ret) and WIMSA’s Vaughtpresented the traditional longstemmed streamered red, whiteand blue POW flowers. DorothyStill Danner’s family (on 8/31/01)combined her and her latehusband’s joint full military honorsburial with a celebration of her lifeand that of other POWs. Severalhundred attended gravesideservices including WWII POW’s Pauland Nikki Reuter, Leon andMaureen Berkovsky, Harold andDot Jefferson, and Neal Harrington.BG Connie Slewitzke and RADMMary Nielubowicz presented theflowers on behalf of all womenPOWs. Other Danner-serviceactivities included a ceremony inthe WIMSA theatre, and reception/hosting the end of a summer longexhibit “Guests of the Emperor”, oilpaintings of the Navy women POWsand their captivity by retired Navyphysician, R. Thomas McLaughlin,M.D. [with funding from AXPOWsand others]. Dr. McLaughlin’spaintings featured/honored POWsCobb, Chapman, Evans,Gorzelanski, Nash, O’Haver, Paige,Pitcher, Still and Todd. BG ConnieSlewitzke, with the help of SEN

WIMSA at 10 Years: A Firm Commitment to POWs


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Daniel Inouye, and notarizedstatements from other POWs,secured posthumous award of theDSM to the family of POW (andChief Nurse at Santo Tomas)Maude Davison at a high profileceremony/reception at WIMSA’sHall of Honor on 5/3/01.

Exhibits/Outreach: In WIMSA per-manent, rotating or temporary ex-hibits, The “Overseas with the Mili-tary: WWII” exhibit has photos anduniforms of POW Doris Yetter; POWwomen’s photos are featured in theWWII exhibit; Cornum and MelissaRathbun-Nealy Coleman are in theDesert Shield/Storm exhibit;Johnson, Lynch and Piestewa in theOIF; The “Early Years” exhibit hasphotos and the handsome Dr. MaryWalker cane; OIF POW Lori Piestewais featured in the “Native AmericanMilitary Women” exhibit; her fam-ily attended its opening and herfolks contributed her uniform, and“Faces of the Fallen”, a 2-year ex-hibit which closed 6/20/07 anddrew 700,000 visitors, featured in-dividual portraits by 200+ re-nowned American artists to honor1,319 American men and womenwho died in Afghanistan and Iraqincluded Piestewa. General Vaughtand LTC Marilla Cushman, who

speak and travel widely on behalfof WIMSA are quick to focus on andreach out to the female militaryPOWs, particularly when near theirhomes and in a special bond withthe Piestewa/Whiterock family.

Site: “The qualities that are mostimportant in all military jobs –things like integrity, moral courageand determination – have nothingto do with gender”, is the quotefrom POW Cornum etched into oneof the huge glass panels that per-mit natural light into the memorial.The 3 WWII women POWS who at-tended the 1997 Dedication arenow deceased, but they and thenames of their POW sisters arelogged into the Hall of Heroes. ThePOW flag stands in that Hall (andis moved to the auditorium for allceremonies) with the American andthe flags of all services and states.The film running every 10 minutes,“In Defense of a Nation”, featuresphotos and interviews with severalPOWs. DoD and DVA educationalevents at WIMSA include data onPOWs.

Gift Shop: located in the Memorialand online, has many unique itemsfor sale on military women, post-ers, stamps, etc., including copies

of both readily available and sev-eral hard-to-find books by andabout POW women; WIMSA hashosted several POW-related booksignings. WIMSA produces an an-nual fund raising calendar and hasincluded Dr. Walker on the cover;POWS Brantley, Millett and Earlyn“Blackie” Harding in San Antoniowith an American flag from SantoTomas; photos of POW Nash in cap-tivity; Dedication POW participa-tion; photos of all the POWs on re-lease in 1945, and OIF POW womenwith photos and quotes.

Researchers: Curator BrittaGranrud keeps close watch on apriceless, world class collection ofprimary and secondary sourcematerials, [bought, gifted, on per-manent or temporary loan], to in-clude a large book, tape and DVD/CD library which is available for useby bone fide researchers with per-mission. Many one-of-a kind docu-ments, fascinating memorabiliaand first-hand accounts reflect thePOW experiences. Several POWshave “Named Collections” [e.g.,Ullom, Yetter, Durrett (Farmer),Redmon (Hipps), Oberst, (Whitlow)Greenfield, Nash, Danner] includ-ing scrapbooks, diaries, clippings,photos, orders, correspondence, ortelegrams. Unique artifacts includea clothes pin whittled by an En-glishman from bamboo and etchedwith her name from the MadelineM. Ullom Collection; and a silverboatswain’s mate whistle engraved


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News

Briefs

“Doz Woz” given by the sailors ofthe USS Henderson to Dorothy StillDanner. Individuals have donatedmaterials and memorabilia, muchhas been donated by the POWs ortheir families, and entire collectionshave been promised for the futureto WIMSA.

WIMSA’s “The Women’s MemorialOral History Collection”, launchedin 2000 is now integrated into theLibrary of Congress Veterans His-tory Project, but individual tapedsegments concurrently go to theWIMSA collection which also con-tains POW tapes from other sourcesincluding press conferences, thedocumentary “We All Came Home”,Andersonville POW Museum oralhistories, “The Faces Behind theFile” POW video made by the DVA,and the only known taped interviewby the late ETO POW Rose Etue.

Register: On the interactive com-puterized WIMSA Register arenames and data on 300,000 Ameri-can military women of whom 104are POWs. All women veterans areencouraged to register or be regis-tered; and as other women militaryPOWs are firmly confirmed, particu-larly from WWII ETO and Civil War,these will be added.

If you have additional data on anyAmerican military women POW,please contact me or WIMSA andshare your information so that itmay be suitably preserved for thefuture. And next time in Washing-ton, visit WIMSA, take your spouseand grandkids, sign the guestbookand please identify yourself as aformer POW acknowledging thatyou appreciate WIMSA’s efforts.

PHOTOS: WIMSA at 1997 dedication;Persian Gulf POW Rhonda Cornum andWWII Pacific POW Mary HarringtonNelson at the dedication; WWII ArmyPOWs Sally Blaine Millett and Hattie R.Brantley; WIMSA POWs in exhibits.

Veterans’ Benefits

CommissionNavy Times report July 19th: Thecongressionally appointed veter-ans’ benefits commission decided,by a one-vote margin, to recom-mend ending the much-despisedrestrictions on granting full mili-tary retired pay and full veterans’disability pay to anyone eligible forboth payments, regardless of dis-ability rating. Specifically, the com-mission proposed expanding eligi-bility for Concurrent Retirementand Disability Pay (CRDP) to retir-ees with 10 to 40% disability rat-ings and implementing full pay-ment immediately (putting an endto the ongoing 10-year phase-in pe-riod). But the concurrent receiptrecommendation passed by thecommission would not protecttroops who receive compensationfor combat-related disabilities un-less they served more than 20 yearsbefore becoming disabled. As such,it would leave out troops placed onmedical disability retirement shortof 20 years of service. The 13 com-mission members, meeting inWashington, also decided that it isunfair that the family members oftroops who paid for a Survivor Ben-efit Plan (SBP) annuity, to replacethe service member’s income afterdeath, should have any of that pay-ment offset by the amount of aseparate monthly Veterans Affairsbenefit paid if the troop died whileon active duty under certain cir-cumstances.

Vietnam Veterans

Memorial FundThe Vietnam Veterans MemorialFund is hosting the Reading of theNames of 58,256 service membersinscribed on the Vietnam VeteransMemorial in Washington, D.C. as

part of the special activitiesplanned to commemorate TheWall’s 25th Anniversary.

The Reading of the Names will takeplace at The Wall for 65 hours overa four-day period beginning withan opening ceremony on Wednes-day, November 7, 2007 at 3:00p.m. Volunteers will read namesfor approximately eight hours from4 p.m. on November 7 to 12 a.m.on November 8. Participants willthen read the names for 19 hoursdaily from 5 a.m. until 12 a.m. onNovember 8, 9, and 10.

The Reading of the Names tookplace in Washington, D.C. just threeother times in The Wall’s history. In November 1982, the names wereread aloud at Washington NationalCathedral as part of a week-longNational Salute to Vietnam Veter-ans. The names were read at TheWall during the 10th Anniversarycelebration in November 1992 andduring the 20th Anniversary cel-ebration in 2002.Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund1023 15th Street NW2nd FloorWashington, D.C. 20005

VA Secretary ResignsSecretary of Veterans Affairs, JimNicholson announced 17 JUL hehas tendered his resignation to

President George W. Bush, effectiveno later than Oct. 1, 2007. Duringhis tenure as chief of the agency,Secretary Nicholson faced criticismover issues relating to the releaseof the personal information ofthousands of veterans and multi-billion dollar shortfalls relating tohealthcare for US servicemembers.Under Nicholson’s leadership, theDepartment of Veterans Affairs(VA) continued its evolution as aleader in health care innovations,medical research, education ser-vices, home loan and other benefitsto veterans. He transformed theVA health care system to meet theunique medical requirements ofthe returning combatants from Iraqand Afghanistan.

Ex-POW Bulletin

September 2007

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The Members of the Brooklyn “Key” Chapter, AXPOWbelieve in our slogan:

“We Exist to Help Those Who Cannot Help Themselves”

In the last 12 years we have raised – and spent $500,000.00 to help ALL VETERANS

Several years ago, we purchased two new DELL computers for the National Service OfficeWe have donated $4,000 to help the EX-POW Bulletin

We furnished two rooms for families of veteran-patients staying overnightWe purchased rehabilitation equipment, televisions and more

We now ask every chapter with money to buy space in our Bulletin. We need this wonderful publication – MedSearch,TAPS, Stories of the past and other news and articles. The Brooklyn “Key” Chapter is the busiest, most productive chapterin the country. We know most can’t do what we have done, but we ask your help in keeping our EX-POW Bulletin alive.

If you want to help, call Lee at 718-642-7647.THANK YOU!

American Ex-Prisoners of War Website Biographywww.axpow.org

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

NameNicknameAddressCity/State/Zip TelephoneEmailConflict and Theater of OperationBranch of Service UnitWhere were you captured? Date captured

POW camps you were held inHow long were you a POW? Date liberatedMedals receivedJob in the militaryAfter the warBiography (please type or print one or two paragraphs.)Submit 1 or 2 photographs (color or black and white).

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

Please include your check for $65.

If you have any questions, please contact Clydie Morgan, National Adjutant,at 817-649-2979; [email protected]


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Please send donations to:National Headquarters, 3201 EastPioneer Parkway, Suite 40,Arlington, TX 76010. You can alsomake a donation with a creditcard (MasterCard or Visa). Just call817-6492979. Thank you!

Contributions are not tax deductible

contributions

GENERAL FUND

In honor of Frank Kravetz, by FrankBrunnerIn memory of Chuck Williams, byPaul E. GalantiIn memory of Annabelle Grow, byMid-Iowa ChapterIn memory of Cleo Jackson, by John& Phyllis HutchinsIn memory of Cleo Jackson, byRobert & Thelma Lucille KlineIn memory of Cleo Jackson, Allen &Florence UngerIn memory of Cleo Jackson, byJeanne ThrockmortonIn memory of Cleo Jackson, by Art &Judy PetersonIn memory of Cleo Jackson, byRalph & Susan HammersIn memory of Cleo Jackson, by Dave& Lynn McDonoughIn memory of Cleo Jackson, by StanTuhoskiIn memory of Cleo Jackson, byJoseph & Lillian CucarolaIn memory of Cleo Jackson, by Neal& Virginia PrussmanIn memory of Cleo Jackson, by Carol

Gulley-GrievesIn memory of Cleo Jackson, byElmer & Dorothy Shipman

In memory of Cleo Jackson, byWalter & Alma SchenemanIn memory of Cleo Jackson, byNortheast Colorado ChapterIn memory of Dario Gerola, by

Catherine MarrsIn memory of Dario Gerola, by theO’Toole family

In memory of Dario Gerola, by theRockholtz FamilyIn memory of Dario Gerola, by Susie& Steve SilstonIn memory of Dario Gerola, by

Lauretta Morton

In memory of Dario Gerola, byGregory MalikIn memory of Darlen Kearbey, byCatherine SimmonsIn memory of Darlene Kearbey, byCatherine SimmonsIn memory of Edwin ‘Bud’ Huson, byJim & Lynn LatchowIn memory of John Pavlovich, byFrank & Anne KravetzIn memory of Melvin ‘Sam’ Faber, bySW Iowa ChapterIn memory of Melvin ‘Sam’ Faber, bythe Southwest Iowa ChapterIn memory of Milford Beldt, by theGolden FamiliesIn memory of Milford Beldt, byThomas LaFolletteIn memory of Milford Beldt, byBonita SchultzIn memory of Milford Beldt, byBonnie LynchIn memory of Paul Trost, by Mid-Iowa ChapterIn memory of PNC RichardThrockmorton, by Paul & JoanHermsenIn memory of Stewart Livingston, byLorna LivingstonIn memory of Stewart Livingston, byMichelle ThayerIn memory of Stewart Livingston, byLaVaun WhitnahIn memory of Stewart Livingston, byWallace RypkemaIn memory of Stewart Livingston, byBetty RumerIn memory of Stewart Livingston, byGrace GroggelIn memory of Walter Wenger, byGeorge SheehanIn memory of William B Murray, byNorma Jean MurrayDonald J Kropp, Bella Vista ARJoseph Bauman, Boca Raton FLM Leota Strother, Stringer MS

Ralph & Doris Neal, Knoxville TNRobert Rivers, Orcutt CAIn honor of Rev. Fred & PeggyCampbell, by Harold & BessieGournay

In memory of Dario Gerola, bySandy & Brenda FerreroIn memory of Dario Gerola, by the

Schacter’sIn memory of Dario Gerola, by Peg &Norm EllisIn memory of Dario Gerola, by theErnie Dossa Family

In memory of Dario Gerola, by John& Janice RockholzIn memory of Dario Gerola, by

Theresa YonskyIn memory of Dario Gerola, by MarySue Engle

In memory of Dario Gerola, byIn memory of Donald DeLucas, bythe Ocean County Chapter, NJIn memory of Donald Trone,by theHeart of Illinois ChapterIn memory of Dorothy LaManna, bythe Ocean County Chapter, NJIn memory of Emil Giovanetti, bythe Ocean County Chapter, NJIn memory of Frank Ragazzo, by theOcean County Chapter, NJIn memory of Glen Morgan, byRocky Mountain ChapterIn memory of James & KatherineBauer, by the Ocean County Chapter,NJIn memory of Karen Packer, by Mid-Iowa ChapterIn memory of Leroy Bowman, byJoyce WilliamsIn memory of Martin Jay Olson, byAdeline RobinsonIn memory of Milford William Beldt,by Earl Stratton Jr.In memory of Milford William Beldt,by Arthur & Karen HansenIn memory of Milford William Beldt,by Helen AshbaughIn memory of Milford William Beldt,by Family Chiropractic ClinicIn memory of our chapter’s departedExPOWs, by the Cochise ChapterIn memory of Robert Bedell, by theOcean County Chapter, NJIn memory of William Messler, bythe Ocean County Chapter, NJ

LIFE MEMBER DONORS

Arlee Hamby, Lubbock TXJames McGahee, Van TX

MEDSEARCH FUND

In memory of Agnes Roberts, byGarden State Chapter #1In memory of Marie Stoeppler, bythe Greater St Louis Chapter

In honor of Patricia Miller, for herloving care, by Frederic MillerIn memory of William & MargeryNichols, by Garden State Chapter #1North Central Ohio Chapter

In memory of Bert Redmon, byNorthwest Central Ohio ChapterIn memory of Doyt Hanthorn, by

Northwest Central Ohio ChapterIn memory of Emil Raimondi, by theDepartment of MassachusettsIn memory of Robert ‘Bob’ Suvada,

by Carroll & Bernice Wyman

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


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ALEXANDER, Edward L. Jr., ofBrighton, NY passed away March 22,2007 at the age of 84. Ed was shotdown in 1943 and held in Frankfurt,then taken to Luft III. Survivors in-clude his wife, Dotti, 2 sons, 1 daugh-ter and 3 grandchildren. The familythanks the Canandaigua VA Hospi-tal for their exceptional care.

AVILA, Joseph Frank, of MorganHill, CA died Sept. 24, 2005. He was84. Joseph was captured at AnzioBeach and held POW for 1 ½ yearsuntil liberation. He leaves his wife,Rose.

BRADAC, Joe, member of the YellowCreek Chapter, AXPOW died Sept. 16,2006.

BECKLEY, John William, member ofthe Yellow Creek Chapter, AXPOWdied Nov. 30, 2006.

BROOKS, Forrest, of Boulder City,NV died Oct. 5, 2006. Forrest was aformer resident of The Woodlandsand member of the East Texas Chap-ter, AXPOW. His wife, Alice, surviveshim.

CALKINS Julie, of Cameron Park, CApassed away on June 4, 2007. Shewas the widow of Cullen E. Calkins,Pacific Theater POW, a former survi-vor of the Bataan Death March andthe Palawan Massacre. Julie was amember of the 49ers Chapter, Sac-ramento, CA.

CARINI, Ignazio, of Hawthorne, NJ,member of Garden State Chapter #3passed away recently.

CAWTHORN, Alfred E., Sr., memberof the Yellow Creek Chapter, AXPOWpassed away Sept. 7, 2006.

CHEATHAM, Robert L, of Asheboro,North Carolina, died in July, 2007.He was in the 26th Infantry Regi-

ment of the 1st Division and wascaptured in the Kasserine Pass(North Africa) on Feb. 20,1943. Hespent most of his time in Oflag 64 inPoland. In January of 1945, was partof the 350 mile forced march to astalag near Hammelburg, Germany,where he remained until Patton’s 3rdArmy arrived on April 29, 1945 toknock down the prison gates. Survi-vors include nieces, nephews, andcousins.

COBLENTZ, Wilferd, of Mount Mor-ris, Illinois, died June 9, 2007. He washeld in Stalag 2B. He was an AXPOWlife member since 1982.

CUNNINGHAM, Donald B., memberof the Yellow Creek Chapter, AXPOWdied April 24, 2007.

DAVIS, William Wesley, of Augusta,GA died March 10, 2007. DuringWWII he served in the Army. He wassent to Bataan in Nov. 1941 and wascaptured there in April. After cap-ture, he was shipped to Korea, thento Mukden, Manchuria. Survivors in-clude two daughters, one grandsonand numerous nieces and nephews.

DONOHUE, Robert G, ofWethersfield, Connecticut, died July4, 2007. A life member of AXPOWsince 1983, he served with the 493rd

Bomb Group and was held in Luft 1.He is survived by his wife of 61 years,Wanda.

DUFF, Deloit A, 82, of SacramentoCA passed away June 24, 2007. Heserved with Co. H, 12 Reg., 4 Inf. inWWII. He landed on Omaha Beachduring the Battle of the Bulge,marched across France, waswounded in Belgium, and capturedin Luxembourg. He escaped after 4months by going over the wall andburying himself in a railroad car ofsugar.

DUNLAP, Robert, of Anderson, INdied on June 14, 2007 at the age of82. During WWII, he served as amedic with the 28th Div., 112th Inf.

He was Commander of FL StateChapter #1 twice. He leaves his wifeof 48 years, Doris, and one daugh-ter.

ELLSWORTH, Robert I. died June 23,2007. He entered the Army Air Corpsin 1942 and served his country for31 years. He was a pilot of the B-17in England during WW II and shotdown on his 28th mission in Ger-many by enemy fighter planes. Allhis crew members were able to para-chute to safety; when captured, hewas sent to Barth, Stalag Luft I. Bobwas Commander of the Inland Em-pire Chapter in California for twoyears and always carried the flag atmilitary programs. He is survived byhis wife of 63 years, Patricia, one sonand one daughter.

ETUE, Rosalou (Rose) Freedman,former Captain, USANC, was born inNew Orleans in 1920. She graduatednursing school in 1941, joined theArmy on 12/8/41, and waded in atUtah Beach a few days after D-Day.She was assigned to a medical unitfollowing Gen. Patton’s 3rd Armywhen the hospital team came underfire by SS troops. One of two now-known women American WWII mili-tary POWs in the ETO, she and oth-ers were forced to treat Germantroops until the arrival of additionalUS soldiers when the German troopsfled. She received her Bronze Star(with a V) directly from Gen. Patton,who is described as jumping out ofhis jeep to decorate their group. Shemarried James Etue and moved toSeattle in 1952; they had 10 kids. Shedied on Jan. 30, 2005 and was bur-ied with full military honors.

EUBANK, Harold E., age 82, of Wil-low Hill, IL passed away June 1, 2007.Harold served with the 83rd Inf. Div.,330th Reg., Co. M. He was capturedand held in Germany for five months.Harold was a life member of AXPOWand of the Kickapoo Chapter. Heleaves his beloved wife of 54 years,Velda, 1 son, 1 daughter and 6 grand-children.


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taps continued...

FANCHER, Herman Richards, ofBessemer, AL passed away May 22,2007 at the age of 81. He served withthe 8th AF, 351st BG during WWII. Hewas shot down and captured in Ger-many. Herman was a member ofAXPOW and the Alabama Chapter #1.He is survived by his beloved wife of61 years, Melba, 1 daughter, 2 grand-sons, 1 brother and a host of lovingfamily members and friends.

FARRER, Harold, 82, member of theSan Diego Chapter, AXPOW diedJune 3, 2007. He was a Tail Gunneron a B-17 in the 781st BS, 465th BG,15th Air Force, flying out of Italy. Hewas shot down twice; captured thesecond time and held in Luft IV. Heis survived by his wife, Barbara, 3sons, 2 daughters, 7 grandchildrenand 2 great-grandchildren.

FELITTO, Joseph, age 82, of Brook-lyn, NY passed away May 16, 2007.He was captured while serving withthe 325th Glider Infantry, 82nd Air-borne Div. He was held in Moosburguntil liberation. Joe was a memberof the Brooklyn “Key” Chapter, AX-POW. His loving wife, Theresa, 2 sonsand 2 grandchildren survive him.

FURCA, Tess, of Garfield, NJ, mem-ber of Garden State Chapter #3passed away recently.

GETZ, Carl H., 81, life member of AX-POW, passed away April 30, 2007 athis home in Rogue River, OR. He washeld by the Japanese at Santo Tomasfrom early 1943 to early 1945. He isgreatly missed by his wife of 57years, Dorothy; also by his 4 sons, 1daughter, 15 grandchildren and sis-ter.

GROVE, Joseph E., 83, of Florence,AL passed away April 28, 2007. Heserved in the AAC and became a POWas a result of a mid-air collision overHolland. He was held at Luft IV. Sur-vivors include his wife of 60 years,Mary, 4 children and 4 grandchildren.Joseph was a member of the Shoalesarea chapter, AXPOW.

GRUBB, Clyde M., member of PACapital City Chapter, AXPOW, diedJune 29, 2007. He was a resident ofHighspire. He was captured whileserving in the Army during WWIIduring the Battle of the Bulge. Heleaves four sons, two sisters, sevengrandchildren and eight great-grand-children.

HARRELL, Ann, 83, of St Pauls, NCpassed away June 23, 2007. Ann andher husband, J.D. were life membersof AXPOW and were active membersof the Greater Fayetteville ChapterNo.1. Ann is survived by her hus-band, J.D., (who was a POW in Ger-many) and one daughter and family.Ann’s smiling face will be missed byher many POW friends and family.

HIBBS, Richard G., Sr. “Hibbs” , ofShreveport, LA died Feb. 26, 2007 atthe age of 85. He was captured whileserving with the Marines on Bataan;survived the Bataan Death March and3 ½ years of slave labor. He was amember of the Ark-LA-Tex Chapter,AXPOW. Hibbs is the first to be in-terred at the new Northwest Louisi-ana Veterans Cemetery. His latewife, Dorothy, had her ashes interredwith his. Survivors include one sonand one daughter and families.

HUSAK, Victor, 82 of Cameron Park,CA passed away March 6, 2007. Hewas a member of the 49ers Chapter,AXPOW, Sacramento, CA, and a life-time AXPOW member. Victor was agunner on a B-17, 8th United StatesAir Force, in WW II and he servedwith pride. After his aircraft wasshot down he parachuted into enemyterritory and was held as a POW fornine months. He endured a severe600 mile winter march during hiscaptivity. Victor is survived by hiswidow Harriet, two surviving chil-dren, five grandchildren, and twogreat-grandchildren. A daughterpreceded him in death.

KINLEY, Lloyd, of Hastings, Ne-braska, died June 19, 2007. He wasthe current Senior Vice Commanderof the Cornhusker Chapter. Kinleyserved in the 12th AF, 86th FighterGroup, as a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot;he was captured and held in Luft 1.He is survived by his wife of 61 years,

Mabel, 2 daughters, 3 sons, 7 grand-children, 6 great-grandchildren and1 sister.

LOVELLO, Angelo, of Union, NJ,member of Garden State Chapter #3passed away recently.

MADDUX, Jim “Bud”, of Cookeville,Tennessee, died June 12, 2007. Heserved in the 82 AB, and was a POWin Stalag 4B and worked in the coalmines. He was a founding memberof the Wolverine Chapter, ofDearborn, Michigan. He is survivedby his wife, Mary.

MARTINEZ-SANTIAGO, Abraham,of New Haven, CT died May 26, 2007at the age of 77. He was capturedwhile serving in Korea. He leaves hiswife of 53 years, Antoina, 3 daugh-ters and 4 grandchildren.

McCANN, John died June 3, 2007.He was 82. John joined the Army at

age 17, was sent to the Philippinesand was captured on the Island ofCorregidor. He spent 3 years and 4months in a variety of POW Campsin the Philippines and Japan. Twoyears were spent building air fieldsfor the Japanese on the Island ofPalawon. He is survived by his wife,Carla, 5 children, 16 grandchildrenand 1 great-grandchild. He was amember of the San Diego POW Chap-ter.

McCORMICK, JAMES R. “Bob”, ofCashacton, Ohio, died June 6, 2007.Bob served in the Army Air Corpsduring WWII. He was a tail gunneron a B24 Liberator and was a POWheld in Luft 4. He is survived by hiswife, Esther.

McGORY, Thomas J., 92, of Ithaca,NY died June 26, 2007. He was shotdown over Hamburg and held in LuftIV for 9 months. Tom leaves his be-loved wife, Carolyn, 3 sons, 8 grand-children and 1 great-granddaughter.He was loved by all.

McLAUGHLIN, Charles D, of Hono-lulu, Hawaii, died in February, 2001.


28

taps continued...

‘Mac’ was with the 95 BG, 334 BS andwas held in Dulag Luft 3, Stalag 7Aand 17, from July 28, 1943 to May 2,1945. He is survived by his wife,Marilyn.

MENSCHING, W. H. “Chick”, ofChula Vista, passed away June 12,2007. He served in the Marines for30 years; he was a veteran of WW IIand the Korean War. He was a POWin the Pacific for 3 1/2 years. He issurvived by his wife of 61 years,Hazel; one daughter, one brother, sixgrandchildren and two great-grand-children. He was a member of theSan Diego Chapter, AXPOW.

MORGAN, Glenn L., passed awayJune 30, 2007, one week before his90 th birthday. During WWII, heserved in the Army with the 333rd Inf.Reg., 84th Div., Co. F. While servingon the Siegfried Line, he was cap-tured and held in Stalags XIB and IIIB;he was liberated Apr. 22, 1945. Glennleaves his loving wife, Mae, 2 daugh-ters, 3 grandsons, 3 great-grandchil-dren, 2 sisters and their families.

MORRIS, Mary Frances Miller, ofHurt, VA died May 6, 2007. She wasthe loving wife of ex-POW Earl GreyMorris. She was an active member ofthe Central Virginia chapter, AXPOW,where she served as commander andadjutant. Her gracious spirit will begreatly missed by the members ofthe chapter.

MOSS, Wilford A., 89, of Tyler, TXpassed away Feb. 11, 2007. He servedin the Army during WWII and wascaptured by the Japanese in the Phil-ippines. He spent 3 ½ years in vari-ous prison camps. Survivors includehis wife of 61 years, Minnie, 1 son, 3daughters, 2 brothers, 7 grandchil-dren and 10 great-grandchildren.

MOTTOLA, Paula J., 80, of Brooklyn,NY died March 31, 2007. Paul wasthe beloved wife of Ralph – former

Commander and present Adjutant ofthe Brooklyn “Key” Chapter, AXPOW.In addition to her husband, she issurvived by 2 sons and 2 grand-daughters.

NEILL, John, of Chula Vista, CA diedMay 9, 2007. He was a member ofthe San Diego Chapter, AXPOW.John served in the Army Air Corpsas a B-17 pilot in the 303rd BG. Hewas shot down over France and heldfor two years in Stalag Luft III wherehe almost single-handedly built theauditorium and the 250 seats of RedCross boxes. He is survived by wifeEmma, son John and 3 daughters.

NOONAN, Paul, 87, of Wintersville,OH passed away Apr. 21, 2007. Heserved with Co. E, 168th Inf. Reg., 34th

Div. He was wounded in Africa in1942; he was a POW in Germanyfrom Feb. 1943 until liberation. Paulleaves his wife of 29 years, Shirleyas well as 4 daughters, 12 grandchil-dren and 9 great-grandchildren.

OLBINSKI, Bob was a member of theAmerican Ex Prisoners of War andAgua Fria Chapter, Arizona. While inthe service Bob flew with the 387th

BG and 454th BS. He was capturedand spent his time in Luft 3. Bob diedJune 30, 2007. He leaves his wife,Grace, and children.

OLHEISER, John A. of Dickinson, NDpassed away March 16, 2002.OLHEISER, Dorothy S. passed awayMarch 10, 2007. John was capturedwhile serving with the AAF; he was aPOW in Germany. When he returnedhome, he married Dorothy and to-gether they raised 11 children. Theyare also survived by 19 grandchil-dren, 10 great-grandchildren, 4brothers and 3 sisters.

OOLMAN, Everett, of Fulda, MNpassed away April 1, 2007 at the ageof 90. While working on Wake Islandin 1941, he was captured by the Japa-nese and held for 44 months inprison camps in Japan and China.Everett was a member of thePrairieland Chapter, AXPOW. Survi-vors include his wife, Arlene, 9 chil-dren, 15 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

PATTERSON, Eleanor Anne Frank,86, passed away June 16, 2007. Shewas the widow of former POW Har-vey D. Patterson. She was a memberof the James L. Hale Memorial Chap-ter, AXPOW. She is survived by abrother, 1 son, 2 daughters, 1 grand-child and 2 great-grandchildren.Family, friends and POW buddies willmiss her.

RICHARS, Edward H., of Rome, GApassed away May 26, 2007. He leaveshis loving wife, Beauton.

RYAN, Robert E., member of theWestern NY Chapter, AXPOW, diedMarch 28, 2007. He was taking pris-oner at Rapido River in 1944 while

serving with the 141st Inf., 35th Div,Co. G. He is survived by his wife, Juliaand two daughters.

SCHWARTZ, Edmund F., member ofthe Western NY Chapter, AXPOW,died May 23, 2007. During WWII, heserved with the 1st Armored Div., 27th

Bn. He was captured in Germany andheld prisoner for 2½ years in Stalag4B. He leaves his wife, Lucille andtwo daughters.

SINGLETON, Elma B., of Mantica, CApassed away Oct. 28, 2006. She was90. Elma was the widow of ex-POWClaude; they were both members ofthe San Joaquin Valley Chapter, AX-POW. She leaves 3 sons.

SMYTHE, James , of HasbroukHeights, NJ, member of Garden StateChapter #3 passed away recently.

STEPHENS, David A., age 84, of PortAngeles, WA died May 26, 2007. Dur-ing WWII, he served with the 15th AF.He was a POW for 15 months – in ahospital, then in Lufts IV and VI.Survivors include his devoted wife of60 years, Betty, 2 daughters, 4 grand-daughters and 4 great-grandchildren.

STEPHENS, Hazel S. , 88, ofFayetteville, NC, widow of formerPOW Herman Stephens, passed awayJuly 14, 2007 in North Richlands,Texas. Hazel was a life member ofAXPOW and a member of the GreaterFayetteville Chapter No. 1. She issurvived by two sons and two daugh-ters, eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild and one brother. Hazel


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chaplain’s corner

National Chaplain

John Romine1609 S. 23rd Street

Rogers, AR 72758

(479) 636-2287

Let’s start by recognizing that mostpeoples hate unpleasant truths. Weall shield ourselves against it. Notonly do we do this as individuals,but we do this as a people, as anation. That’s why “shooting themessenger” became such a popularsaying. Every prophet has realizedthat nobody loves you for being theenemy of their illusions. Every

prophet has realized that most ofus want peace at any price as longas the peace is ours and somebodyelse pays the price. That is why theprophet Jeremiah said, “‘Peace,peace,’ they say, when there is nopeace.” I can assure you, this ol’servant of the Lord will continueto do his best to represent the Lordas long as his health will allow himto draw a breath. This is a job I havedone as National Chaplain for morethan 31 years – with love for myfellow ex-POWs and out ofgratitude for my escape from thehellishness of war and myconfinement. I will continue tocomfort our very special POWs atfunerals, memorial services and indevotionals. The Lord has beenvery good to me so I ask that youtake a good look back at your lifeand you will find that His blessingson you here on earth are far toonumerous to count.

Let us pray: Lord God Almighty,may we bow before you in praise

and worship, giving thanks for allthat has come to us from Your holythrone. Please Lord, continue tobless us, our unique organizationand very special people, our greatnation. May there be peace on earthand good will toward all people andnations. Bless those standing inharm’s way and remember thosestill listed as POW/MIAs. Forgive uswhen we fail to recognize andhonor You for all good and greatthings that come our way each andevery day. In the name of our Lordand Redeemer. AMEN.

Thought for the month: A goodtraffic rule on the road of life: whenyou meet temptation, turn to theright.

will be missed by her many friendsin Fayetteville and Texas.

TOMPKINS, Raymond , 86, ofMarengo, IA passed away March 11,2007. He was captured on Wake Is-land in 1941 while serving in theMarines; he spent 3 years and 9months working in the coal mines ofJapan. Ray was a member of AXPOW.He leaves his wife of 66 years, Helen,1 son, 1 daughter, 4 grandchildrenand 5 great-grandchildren.

TURGEON, Leo P., 86, of WestYarmouth, MA died June 24, 2007.He was the husband of the lateRegina R. Turgeon, who died in 1997.They had been married for 52 years.Leo was shot down while serving inthe AAF during WWII; he spent 2years in Germany as a POW. He wasa member of AXPOW. Survivors in-clude two daughters and their fami-lies, one sister, two grandchildren,four great-grandchildren and severalnieces and nephews.

WALKER, Lloyd D., of EastPennsboro Township, Camp Hill, PApassed away July 5, 2007. He wascaptured while serving in the Army;he was a member of the PA CapitalCity Chapter, AXPOW. He leaves hiswife of 59 years, Faye, 2 sons, 1brother, 1 sister, 2 grandchildren and8 great-grandchildren.

WILKINS, Jack, of Quinlan, Texas,died in July, 2007. He served with the31 Inf. and was held in Bilibid,Malabalay, Kawasaki and Hitachi af-ter capture.

WILMETH, LB, 74, of Tyler, Texasdied June 12, 2007. He served inKorea and Vietnam. He was capturedin Korea and held for 32 months inCamps 5 and 3. His wife, Peggy sur-vives him; he also leaves 3 childrenand 6 grandchildren. He was pastcommander of his local chapter andpast member of the N. Central Chap-ter, AXPOW.

WOOD, William Arthur, of Auburn,AL passed away May 19, 2007. Hewas captured after his plane was

shot down in Germany and held for14 months. William was commanderof his local chapter, AXPOW formany years. He is survived by hiswife of 65 years, Sally, one brotherand several nieces and nephews.

YARUSH, John J., of Springfield, ORdied Jan. 13, 2007. During WWII, heserved with the 351st BG, 511 BS, 8th

AF. He was shot down, captured andheld in 17B until he managed to es-cape while being moved out of camp.He leaves a wife, 4 sons, 1 daughterand their families. He also leavescrewmate and friend Henry C. Gater.

ZIMMERMAN, Andrew Allen “Al”Jr., 82, of Albuquerque, NM died May7, 2007 surrounded by family andfriends. He became a POW while

serving with the 8th AF during WWIIas a tail gunner. Because of Al’sgregarious and kind nature, he wasloved by all who knew him.

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

new members


30

New Annual Members

“Welcome Home”

Paul A EngelN. Mankato, MNSon of Roland Engel, ETO

William L. ShirkDeeFayetteville, NCARMYCamps 5 & 3 KOREA

Linda SweetJamesMarble Falls, TXDaughter of Charles Rosenauer,ETO

John J RogersAnnapolis, MDUSAACBarth, Luft 1, North 1 Barracks 7,Room 11

Ralph Adam SulekDaisy MLincoln Park, MI103 Div Co L 411 Reg5A 13C1/19/45-5/8/45

New Life Members

“Welcome Home”

* depicts new member to AXPOW

Melvin W. SteffesHarriet 38618 39317San Clemente, CA8 AF 351 BG 511 BSLuft 19/15/44-5/13/45

Robert E. Willson 39318Dallas, TXAACLuft 3, 7A6/44-4/45

Dorothy J Mosher 39319Garland, TXWidow of Francis MosherCabanatuan 3 & 2, Bilibid, Moji,Lipa

Isabelle Simpson 39320Des Moines, IAWidow of Russell E SimpsonCamp 66, Camp 5912/42-9/43

Dayna R Plummer 39321Bella Vista, ARDaughter of Ray Dorrel, ETO

Charlene Clanton 39322Dallas, TXWidow of Herbert J ClantonBuchrest, Rumania

Delmar L SwyersDorothy M *39323 39324Hood River, ORUSAACParis Hospital, 7A, 3B, 8B, 17B12/20/42-5/45

Vincent SaccoJoan *39325 39326Montville, NJ94 Inf 302 BN Co G5A3/6/45-liberation

Ernest P HoveyMary L *39327 39328Mesa, AZUSAAFLuft 1, 312/10/44-5/7/45

Fred O Scheer 39329Atlanta, GA5 infDiv4B, Adolf, Germany, transit camps7/27/44-liberation

Robert William Saurin *39330Mesa, AZ15 AF 451 BG 427 BSBulgaria6/44-9/44

Constance Kolich *39331Kansas City, KSDaughter of Anthony Kolich, ETO

Charles A SusinoCeleste *39332 39333Piscataway, NJSon of Charlie Susino, ETO

Diane HarringtonTheodore *39334 39335Stockton, NJDaughter of Charlie Susino, ETO

Arthur J HelmbreckDorothy J *39336 39337Albion, PA106 Inf Div 423 Anti-tank9B 12/19/44-4/5/45

Jack W RiesEvelyn H 39338 39339Jamestown, PACO K 168 Inf Reg 34 Div7A, 3B, Kmdos #1-5 Arb Bns Farm2/17/43-5/1/45

The 106th InfantryDivision Association

Organized atCamp Lucky Strike 1945 active

since 1946

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

are eligible for membership in the Association.Annual Dues $10.00 < > LIFE Membership $75.00

The CUB Magazine has been published everyquarter since August 1946.

Annual Reunions held yearly since 1947.

http://www.mm.com/user/jpk/membership.htmOr contact John Kline, Membership Chairman

Past President ‘97-’98; Editor, The CUB since 1987M Co., 423rd Inf Regiment

11 Harold DriveBurnsville, MN 55337-2786

Phone: 952-890-3155Email: [email protected]

106th Home Page: http://www.mm.com/user/jpk

50/50 drawingLatest winners drawn in Washington, DC

March, 20071st Place $922.72 Russell Kaufman

Mentone CA2nd Place $692.04 Dorothy Farrell

Killeen TX3rd Place $461.36 Gerald & Marylou Andersen Elgin IL4th Place $230.68 Alland Grossman (Mrs.)

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 determined after all donations are received.You do not have to be present to win. Please make copies ofthe tickets on the other side and offer them to your Chaptermembers, family and friends. We are asking $5.00 for 6 tickets.These donations are not tax deductible. Fill out the ticketsand send them and your donations to:National Headquarters ~ 50/50 Drawing3201 E. Pioneer Pkway, #40Arlington, TX 76010-5396.Thank you for your support of this very worthwhile project

Ex-POW Bulletin

September 2007

31

HELL & BEYOND,A DIARY OF WAR ANDCAPTIVITY

by Josiah Wistar Worthington, Col. V.C., U.S.ACompiled & edited by Frances Worthington Lipe(Full map of all Japanese POW Camps included)

Send check to: WORTHINGTON BOOKS153 Lake Front DriveBoerne, TX 78006

$50.00 per book (plus $4.13 tax [if applicable] & $5.50 s&h), Total $59.14

“The mostengrossing andscholarly epic Ihave ever seen . . .This is the mostunique accountever written aboutthe wartime ordealof a BataanSurvivor.

You may haveread other journalsand diaries, butnever one likethis.”

RAdm. Charles D. Grojean USN (Ret.) Exec. Director,

Admiral Nimitz Foundation

From Among the ManyDepression Soldier Prisoner of War

The journey that led through manytraumatic and joyful experiences.

This book is a true life story of one person whohas lived 84 years as part of a unique group – some-times called the Greatest Generation. I lay no claimto greatness, but I’ve lived among heroes. I believethis story parallels the life experiences of many ofmy generation.During WWII, I served as a soldier with CompanyL, 157th Inf. 45th Div. I participated in 5 campaignsand 1 invasion; I was a prisoner of war for 3 ½months.My purpose for writing this book is to share sometrue history, bring back memories and remindpeople of the time when our country was in oneaccord. It has been well received by those who haveread it.

$17.00 (inc. S/H)Send check or money order to:Wayne L. Watts, 4624 Ashley Hill Circle,Tuscaloosa, AL [email protected].

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.



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





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.Ex-POW Bulletin

September 2007

32


33

Order Your Personalized Autographed Copies of

Chicken Soup for the Veteran’s Soul! For every book you purchase 20% will be donated to the American Ex-Prisoners of War Organization

For more info call: 888-387-6373, fax: 888-387-6373, e-mail: [email protected]: Veterans Stories, Inc., 95 Uno Lago Dr., Juno Beach, FL 33408 ~ www.vetstories.com

Whether you are a veteran yourself, are related to one or simply enjoy the rights that they fought so hard todefend, this remarkable book will leave you with a heightened admiration for our nation’s best.

Order Personalized Autographed Copies

Name: ______________________________________________________

Mailing Address ______________________________________________

Phone: __________________________ Email:_____________________

Name of Person(s) to Autograph book to: ___________________________

Is this Person a Veteran? Yes: _______ No: ________# of books ________ X $14.50 + $2.50 shipping/handling per book = _________

Credit Card: (circle one) Mastercard Visa Discover

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__________________________________________Phone:______________________________

Make checks payable to: Veterans Stories, LLC, 95 Uno Lago Dr., Juno Beach, FL 33408 Questions? Call 888-387-6373

request for membership application

American Ex-Prisoners of War

Name: _________________________________________ Address:________________________________________ City/State/Zip:___________________________________

Membership is open to US Military and Civilians captured because of their US citizenship.

Do NOT send dues with this request Life Membership Rates for an application Under 35 $360

36-50 $300 Mail to: 51-60 $180 American Ex-Prisoners of War 61 & over $120 3201 East Pioneer Parkway, #40 Spouse of life member $ 40 Arlington, TX 76010-5936 Annual Membership Rates

Single Membership $ 40 (817) 649-2979 voice Husband & wife $ 50 (817)649-0109 fax e-mail: [email protected]

AXPOW Vest Order Form(For members only)Name________________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________________

City, State, Zip ________________________________________________

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

Long, Regular or Short_________________________________________

Name on front of vest __________________________________________

Chapter Name (back of vest) _______________________________

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

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

Official AXPOW Cap (specify size) 25.00Maroon AXPOW Sport Cap 8.00Eagle Sport Cap 9.00Vinyl Cap Bag 3.00Barbed Wire pin 2.50Life Member pin 4.00Crossed Flags Lapel pin 4.00Brooch pin 4.00EX-POW pin (goldtone) 4.00Logo pin 4.00POW Stamp pin 2.50Past Chapter Commander pin 4.00Past Department Commander pin 4.00Eagle pin w/Barbed Wire 7.00 (specify gold, silver or antique gold)Necktie w/logo woven in fabric 20.00 (specify regular or pre-tied)AXPOW Logo Bolo Tie 15.00U.S. Flag Bolo Tie 18.50Mini POW Medal Bolo Tie 20.00Goldtone Bolo Bezel w/cord 9.00Logo Necklace & Pierced Earrings 10.002” Medallion (for plaque) 4.00

Vest Chainguard w/eagles 7.00Travel Alarm Clock with case 10.00

3” Blazer Patch 3.504” Blazer Patch 3.508” Blazer Patch 10.00

CLOTH STRIPES (specify which title) 2.00Life Member · Chapter CommanderPast Chapter Commander · Chapter Adj/Treas ChapterAdjutant · Chapter TreasurerState Department CommanderPast State Dept. Commander · Department AdjutantDepartment Treasurer · Sr. Vice CommanderJr. Vice Commander · Chaplain · HistorianService Officer · Legislative OfficerPast Chapter Officer · Past Department Officer

12x18 inch American Flag 5.0012x18 AXPOW Graveside Flag 10.003x5 ft. AXPOW Flag w/3-color logo with fringe, indoor use 60.00 with grommets, outdoor use 60.00

AXPOW Metal License Plate Frame 7.00Aluminum License Plate 4.003” Vinyl Decal 1.003” Inside Decal 1.008” Vinyl Decal 5.0012” Vinyl Decal 10.00Bumper Sticker “Freedom Is Happiness” 2.00Bumper Sticker “Freedom – Ask us” 2.00Magnetic Ribbons 5.00Memorial Seals3 sheets, $1.00; 10 sheets, $3.00; 20 sheets, 5.00AXPOW Daisies (dozen) 1.50 In lots of 12, (ie , 24, 36, 48, etc.-per dozen) 1.25Wall Clock (battery included) 20.00AXPOW Notecards (pkg of 25) 5.00Special Prayer Cards (pkg of 25) 5.00AXPOW Prayer Book 2.00Ladies Prayer Book 1.00POW Medal Poster Print 5.00AXPOW By-Laws 5.00POW Videotape – ETO or Pacific 11.00“Speak Out” Education Packet 6.00Canvas Totebag w/4” logo 15.00

QUANTITY ITEM SIZE / COLOR PRICE

For orders up to 7.99, add $3.00; For orders 8.00 to 24.99, add $7.00For orders 25.00 to 49.99, add $10.00; For orders 50.00 to 99.99, add $13.00For orders over 100.00, add $18.00 Checks/Money Order/Credit Card Accepted.

For credit card orders: Card # _________________________________ Expiration: _________

(Check one) Master Card ___________Visa____________

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Shipping/Handling/Insurance:

Total: $

MAIL TO:AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR

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

[email protected]

We accept Master Card/Visa

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

PLEASE PRINT:Name __________________________________________Line 1 __________________________________________Line 2 __________________________________________

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

City/State/Zip ______________________________________

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

national commander - axpownational commander robert w. fletcher ex-pow bulletin september 2007 3...

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