ex-pow bulletin - American Ex-Prisoners of War

EX-POW BULLETINthe official voice of the

American Ex-Prisoners of War Volume 71 Number 5/6www.axpow.org

May/June 2014

We exist to help those who cannot help themselves

ElectionIssue!

Ballot ~inside back

cover

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

PublisherPNC Maurice Sharp

9716 54th Street CT WestUniversity Place, WA

98467(253) [email protected]

EditorCheryl Cerbone

23 Cove View DriveSouth Yarmouth, MA 02664

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

[email protected] Staff Reporter

Alice A Booher

Deadline for the July/Aug 2014issue is June 1, 2014.

Please send all materials tothe editor at the above

address.

officers/directors 4commander 5nso 6medsearch 7andersonville 11namPOW 12legislative 13outreach 14pow-mia 15civilian 16events, looking for 17camp asylum 18news 19convention info 23pawed patriots 28contributions 30new members 31taps 32chaplain 34voluntary funding 36raffle 39quartermaster 41ballot/instructions 42

table of contents

Ex-POW BulletinMay/June 2014

3

May/June 2014

© 2014 American Ex-Prisoners of War

This is the first year we will be doing voting by members and notdelegate voting as in the past. The ballot and instructions for fillingit out and mailing it in begin on page 42. Please make sure youcomplete the ballot properly. No copies will be accepted. Make sureyou return the back cover of your Bulletin (ballot and mailing address)promptly to make sure your vote is counted. Thank you!

May 26, 2014

Memorial Day wasofficially pro-claimed on 5 May1868 by GeneralJohn Logan, na-tional commanderof the Grand Armyof the Republic, inhis General OrderNo. 11, and was firstobserved on 30 May1868, when flowerswere placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Ar-lington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize theholiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all ofthe northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, hon-oring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when theholiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in theCivil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It isnow celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May(passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 -363).

Traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over theyears. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning andtraditions of Memorial Day.

To remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the“National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “Tovoluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment ofremembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doingfor a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

National Headquarters - Clydie J. Morgan, Executive Director/Treasurer, 3201 E. Pioneer Pkwy, #40,Arlington, TX 76010 (817) 649-2979 (817) 649-0109 fax [email protected]

North East RegionCharles A. Susino951 Gates Ave.Piscataway, NJ 08854(732)463-8355; (732)[email protected]

Cheryl Cerbone23 Cove View DriveSouth Yarmouth, MA 02664(508)394-5250; (508)760-2008 [email protected]

East Central RegionJudy LeePO Box 56Madisonville, TN 37354(423)442-3223; (423)442-4702 [email protected]

David Eberly205 Roger WebsterWilliamsburg, VA 23185(757) [email protected]

Southeast RegionBenny Rayborn1111 Highway 29Wiggins, MS 39577(601) [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

National ChaplainND Benny Rayborn1111 Highway 29Wiggins, MS 39577(601) [email protected]

Jr. Vice CommandersEdward L. DeMent -Eastern Zone8735 Doral Oaks Dr., #1617Temple Terrace, FL 33617(813) 985-3783; (727) [email protected]

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

Alice Gollin -Western Zone37231 Turnberry IslePalm Desert, CA 92211(760)610-1271;(760)610-1752 [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

Southwest RegionEdward “Ted” Cadwallader9501 Nut Tree CourtElk Grove, CA [email protected]

Committee addresses appearwith their columns

Senior DirectorCharles Susino, Jr.136 Jefferson StreetMetuchen, NJ 08840

(732) 549-5775 phone & fax

DirectorsOfficers

axpow officers & directors2013-2014

National CommanderJames L Lollar


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newsfromhq

Although I’ll have one (1) addi-tional column afterwards, this ismy last column prior to our up-coming 2014 National Conven-tion. Please take extra care onreading this issue, especially thepages relative to the “mail-in”ballot, registration form, andagenda.

Also applicable to our 2014 Con-vention, I ask all members, pri-marily the various CommitteeChairs, who have responsibilityfor budgeted line-items topromptly respond to the Budgetand Finance Committee requestsfor budget justifications. Failureto do so could result with im-proper and/or erroneousamounts being assigned to yourline-item budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal years. Your individualbudget justifications should beforwarded to NSVC Milton “Skip”Moore, Jr., Chair of the Budgetand Finance Committee (refer-ence page 4 for Skip’s mailing andcontact information).

On March 12, 2014, PNC CharlesSusino, Jr., chairman of the Leg-islative Committee testified be-fore the Joint House/Senate Vet-erans Affairs Committees on be-half of AXPOW. His testimonyfocused on funding for VA - it’simpact on the claims backlog,caregivers, the homeless. We

also asked Congress to expandthe “special groups” of veteransfrom WWI veterans to veteransof WWII, Korea , Vietnam and theCold War. The testimony can beseen on our website:www.axpow.org

Senator Bernie Sanders of Ver-mont , Chairman of the SenateVeterans Affairs Committee, hasbeen working toward passage ofS1950, the Comprehensive Veter-ans Health and Benefits and Mili-tary Retirement Pay RestorationAct of 2014. You can also logonto our website to see wherethis and other veterans bills areas they move through commit-tees and onto the floor for votes.

As with many chapters across thevarious regions, it seems we areconstantly closing and dis-band-ing due primarily to age andhealth of our membership. Forthose of you who are now “at-large” members and are still inposition to do so, I sincerely askyou to become active with an-other chapter and/or departmentof your choosing. Staying “intouch” is of the utmost impor-tance to our Organization, andmembership in existing chaptersand departments is one of thebest methods to stay abreast ofwhat’s happening when it hap-pens. Attendance at meetings isespecially relative to our NationalConventions. Not only is it agreat way to keep informed ofwhat’s going on and how it’sworking, conventions are a greatway to catch up with your friends,make new friends, and simplyenjoy the fellowship while there.

Please plan on attending the 2014National Convention at the Hil-ton Hotel in Arlington, Texas on25-29 June.

Hey, it’s convention time in Ar-lington, Texas. After a long, coldwinter, you deserve some sun-shine and fun. We have lots ofstuff for you to do around here.Take a look through this Bulletinand see what we’ve got.

The Victory from Within exhibitat the Frontiers of Flight Museumis straight from Andersonville,Georgia. The stop in Dallas is thefirst one outside of Georgia andwe are thankful they are cominghere. The Daughters of World WarII are hosting a reception for you.The Museum has in its collectionover 30 aircraft and space ve-hicles, several of which were builtin the North Texas area.

The George W. Bush PresidentialLibrary is also on the agenda. Thistour is a combination of theFrontiers in Flight museum andthe Library. It’s a longer tour butwe think you will enjoy it.

Transportation has been arrangedfor both tours. Fill out yourchoice on the registration form(page 24).

If you look inside the back coverof your magazine, you will seesomething new and different. Itis a ballot for this year’s electionof officers. It was voted on lastyear to give all members the op-portunity to vote. Please followthe instructions with the ballotand return it to National Head-quarters. If you have any ques-tions, please give us a call.

Clydie, Marsha, Donna


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Ruth Powell, Director191 Florence RoadWaltham, MA 02453781-899-0726

nso

CombinedMedSearch & NSO

PTSDTraining SeminarJune 27, 2014 at

National ConventionArlington, Texas

Some little known benefitsthrough VA

Clothing Allowance. Under Title38 United States Code (U.S.C.)1162, the VA) must pay an annualclothing allowance to eligibleVeterans. A Veteran is eligible ifhe/she has a service-connectedcondition, or a disabilitycompensable under 38 U.S.C.1151 that requires the Veteran towear or use a prosthetic ororthopedic appliance that wearsout or tears clothing (Title 38Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)3.810). The clothing allowancemay also be paid if the Veteranuses a topical cream/ointmentmedication for a service-connected skin condition that isprescribed by a physician andcauses irreparable damage to theVeteran’s outer garments. NOTE:Irreparable damages do notinclude stains that are removablethrough regular laundering ordry cleaning. BeginningDecember 16, 2011, multipleclothing allowance paymentswere payable for Veterans who1) Wears or uses more than onequalifying prosthetic ororthopedic appliance (includingbut not limited to a wheelchair)for a service-connected disabilityor disabilities;

2) Uses a physician-prescribedmedication for more than oneservice-connected skin condition;or3) Uses an appliance and amedication for a service-connected disability ordisabilities.

To apply for one or moreclothing allowances, completeVA Form 10-8678 and submit tothe nearest Prosthetics andSensory Aids Service no laterthan 1 AUG of each year. The formbe completed online anddownloaded at canhttp://www.va.gov/vaforms/medical/pdf/vha-10-8678-fill.pdf. EffectiveDecember 1, 2011, the amountfor each clothing allowanceaward is $741. For moreinformation about ClothingAllowance refer to http://w w w . p r o s t h e t i c s . v a . g o v /Clothing_Allowance.asp

Automobile Grant. VA can pay aone-time grant to help certainservice-connected Veterans andservice persons buy a motorvehicle. The grant is payable tothe seller only. Veterans/Servicemembers who receive theautomobile grant from VBA andhas an approved VA Form 21-4502, is eligible to receiveautomobile adaptive equipment(AAE). AAE assists the eligibleperson into or out of theautomobile or to safely operatethe motor vehicle. To apply orlearn more about the automobileadaptive equipment programclick on the “AutomobileAdaptive Equipment” tab on theright side of this page. The newautomobile grant rate for FY2013 is $19,505. All automobilegrants received on or afterOctober 1, 2012 may be paid atthe new rate. If the Veteran/Servicemember received anyautomobile grant requests on orafter October 1, 2012 and paid theold rate of $18,900, the Veteran/Servicemember may be entitledto an additional payment. VA can

approve a grant for almost anykind of vehicle. Call VBA at 1-800-827-1000 if you have questionsabout a particular vehicle. Formore information aboutAutomobile Adaptive Equipment,please visit http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/AAE.asp.

Guide & Service Dog Benefits.VHA published comprehensiveregulations effective October 5,2012, to include guide, hearingand mobility dogs. Theregulations provide forveterinary benefits to includeprescriptions, medical care,equipment to performspecialized tasks, and handlertraining with new guide/servicedog paid by the VA. VA is workingto provide a “pet insurance” tocover the veterinary benefits tomake it easier for Veterans toaccess medical care for theirdogs. VHA does not purchase orin any way provide a dog. Veteranswho have obtained dogs musthave approval from a VA medicalcare provider stating that the dogis an essential part of thetreatment plan for the veteran inorder to be eligible for theveterinary benefits. For moreinformation refer to http://w w w . v a . g o v / h e a l t h /ServiceAndGuideDogs.asp

If you have a general questionregarding artificial limbs/orthot-ics, automobile adaptive equip-ment, clothing allowance, durablemedical equipment, eyeglasses,hearing aids, HISA, home oxygen,wheelchairs or any other PSAS re-lated device/service contact PSASvia IRIS at https://iris.va.gov

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

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

(817) 649-2979


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What is COPD?Chronic Obstructive PulmonaryDisease (COPD) affects an estimated24 million individuals in the U.S.

COPD is an umbrella term used todescribe progressive lung diseasesincluding emphysema, chronicbronchitis, refractory (non-reversible)asthma, and some forms ofbronchiectasis. This disease ischaracterized by increasingbreathlessness.

Many people mistake their increasedbreathlessness and coughing as anormal part of aging. In the earlystages of the disease, you may notnotice the symptoms. COPD candevelop for years without noticeableshortness of breath. You begin to seethe symptoms in the more developedstages of the disease. That’s why itis important that you talk to yourdoctor as soon as you notice any ofthese symptoms. Ask your doctorabout taking a spirometry test.

What are the symptoms?· Increased breathlessness· Frequent coughing (with andwithout sputum)· Wheezing· Tightness in the chest

How common is COPD?COPD affects an estimated 24 mil-lion individuals in the U.S., and overhalf of them have symptoms of COPDand do not know it. Early screeningcan identify COPD before major lossof lung function occurs.

What are the risk factors?Most cases of COPD are caused byinhaling pollutants; that includessmoking (cigarettes, pipes, cigars,etc.), and second-hand smoke.

Fumes, chemicals and dust found inmany work environments are contrib-

uting factors for many individualswho develop COPD.

Genetics can also play a role in anindividual’s development of COPD—even if the person has never smokedor has ever been exposed to stronglung irritants in the workplace.

Here is more information on the topthree risk factors for developingCOPD:

SmokingCOPD most often occurs in people40 years of age and older who havea history of smoking. These may beindividuals who are current or formersmokers. While not everybody whosmokes gets COPD, most of the in-dividuals who have COPD (about 90%of them) have smoked.

Environmental FactorsCOPD can also occur in those whohave had long-term contact withharmful pollutants in the workplace.Some of these harmful lung irritantsinclude certain chemicals, dust, orfumes. Heavy or long-term contactwith secondhand smoke or otherlung irritants in the home, such asorganic cooking fuel, may also causeCOPD.

Genetic FactorsEven if an individual has neversmoked or been exposed to pollut-ants for an extended period of time,they can still develop COPD. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) isthe most commonly known geneticrisk factor for emphysema2. Alpha-1 Antitrypsin related COPD iscaused by a deficiency of the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin protein in the blood-stream. Without the Alpha-1 Antit-rypsin protein, white blood cells be-gin to harm the lungs and lung dete-rioration occurs. The World HealthOrganization and the American Tho-racic Society recommends that everyindividual diagnosed with COPD betested for Alpha-1. For more infor-mation about AATD and how to get

tested, visit the Alpha-1 FoundationWebsite or call 1-877-2 CURE-A1.

Because not all individuals withCOPD have AATD, and becausesome individuals with COPD havenever smoked, it is believed thatthere are other geneticpredispositions to developing COPD.

Getting TestedA person may have Chronic Obstruc-tive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) butnot notice symptoms until it is in themoderate stage. This is why it’s im-portant to ask your doctor about tak-ing a breathing test (called spirom-etry) if you are a current or formersmoker, have been exposed to harm-ful lung irritants for a long periodof time, or have a history of COPD inyour family, such as Alpha-1 Antit-rypsin Deficiency related COPD.

A spirometry test measures how wellyour lungs are working. It’s a simpleand easy test that can help diagnoseCOPD.

Who should get tested forCOPD?If you have any of these symptoms,you are at risk for developing COPD.

Anyone with the following should gettested:· Has a history of smoking· Has long-term exposure toair pollutants (including pollutionand second-hand smoke)1

· Has chronic coughing with orwithout sputum· Has wheezing· Has shortness of breath thathas become worse over time· Cannot keep up with peopleof your own age

Spirometry is a simple, non-invasivetest that is used to diagnose COPD.

medsearch cont’d...


8

When you take the test, you will beasked to blow all the air out of yourlungs into a mouthpiece connectedto a machine known as a spirometer.The machine will calculate two num-bers: the amount of air you blow outin the first second, and the amountof air you blow out in 6 seconds ormore.

These numbers are represented asFEV1 and FVC (sometimes FEV6 isused). FEV1 stands for the ForcedExpiratory Volume in the first sec-ond—the amount of air you exhaledin the first second of blowing. FVCstands for Forced Vital Capacity—the amount of air that you exhaledin one entire breath.

A spirometry test can also showyour doctor how severe your COPDmay or may not be. There are severalstages of COPD.

People with COPD have an FEV1/FEV6

(FVC) ratio less than 70%. The FEV1

percentage predicted indicates howsevere the airways are obstructed(blocked or narrowed).

Less than 80% of predicted is con-sidered moderate COPD, and lessthan 50% of predicted is severe.People with asthma will have a lowFEV1/FEV6 ratio when they are hav-ing an attack, and then will returnto normal or almost normal afterusing fast-acting medications.

Your doctor may order additionaltests to see if your symptoms arecaused by lung disorders other thanCOPD. One is BronchodilatorReversibility Testing, which deter-mines if your lung function improvessignificantly with medication.

Your doctor may also order a chestx-ray or a chest CT (high resolutioncomputed tomography), whichshows your lungs in much greaterdetail, to see if your symptoms are

brought on by other problems insteadof COPD.

Why is it important to gettested?Leaving symptoms misdiag-nosed, untreated, or undertreatedmay cause them to worsen fasterthan if they were treated withproper medication and therapy.Many adults are incorrectly diag-nosed with asthma. Providing aproper diagnosis means individu-als will receive the right treat-

ments and follow up monitoring.There’s no cure yet for COPD buttreatments are available to helpindividuals live better.

How can I get tested?Start by taking the 5-questionRisk Screener (in box), then talkto your doctor about taking aspirometry test. Early screeningcan identify COPD before majorloss of lung function occurs.

Coping with COPD

If your total score is 5 or more, this means your breathing problems maybe caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The higheryour score, the more likely you are to have COPD. COPD is often referredto as chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema and is a serious lung diseasethat slowly gets worse over time. While COPD cannot be cured, it is treat-able, so please share your answers to the five question screener with yourhealthcare professional (HCP).

If your total score is between 0 and 4, and you are experiencing prob-lems with your breathing, please share your answers to the five-questionscreener with your HCP.

Only your HCP can decide if you have COPD. Your HCP can help evaluateyour breathing problems by performing a breathing test, also known asspirometry. Don’t wait. Call your HCP today to make an appointment tosee if you may be at risk for COPD. Remember, when speaking to yourHCP, be honest and open in describing your symptoms and explain howyour breathing problems affect your activity level on a daily basis.


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medsearch cont’d...

After you have been diagnosedwith Chronic Obstructive Pulmo-nary Disease (COPD), chances are,there will be changes in your ev-eryday life. These changes may besmall, or they may have a bigimpact.

Talk with your doctor about howyou can breathe better, help slowthe progression of your COPD,lower the chances of getting sickwith breathing problems, andimprove your ability to take partin your usual—or new—activities.

Thousands of individuals withCOPD are active members of thiscommunity. By calling theC.O.P.D. Information Line at 1-866-316-COPD (2673), you and/ora caregiver can connect with thecommunity, and talk to otherswho are living well with many ofthe same challenges you face.

FAQI am struggling with quitting smok-ing. How can you help me quit, andwill it really help me breathe better?

Quitting smoking is the one thing youcan do that has been proven to slowthe progression of COPD.

I am on supplemental oxygen and attimes my saturations are okay, but Istill get very short of breath. I don’tunderstand why the supplementaloxygen doesn’t prevent me fromgetting short of breath. Isn’t that whatoxygen is supposed to do?

Low oxygen levels are actually causedby the failure of blood vessels in yourlungs to connect with the air sacs thatcontain oxygen. Your lungs may stillbe able to support that connection,but you may be short of breath dueto other factors, such ashyperinflation, retained carbondioxide, and a flattened diaphragm,increasing your work of breathing.

I was recently diagnosed with severeCOPD. How long do I have to live andwhat quality of life can I expect?

There is no time limit on how long aperson can live, even with very severeCOPD. If you exercise safely andeffectively, and pay attention to earlywarning signs of acute exacerbationof COPD—and act on those earlywarning signs—you can live a full life.

I attended pulmonary rehabilitationseveral years ago and learned theproper techniques for taking mymedications, but the medications donot seem to work as well as theyused to. Why is that, and how do Iknow that I am taking the rightmedications?

Your COPD may have progressedsince then, requiring a differentmedication regimen. Discuss withyour health care provider about tryingdifferent medications and doses.

I have had two recenthospitalizations because of myCOPD. How can I avoid these flare-ups in the future?

To remain stable and eliminate ordecrease these episodes, you mustlearn about triggers, early warningsigns of COPD flare-ups(exacerbations), and have a writtenaction plan worked out with yourhealth care provider. Taking yourmedications as prescribed will alsohelp you stay healthy.

At times, I become extremely shortof breath, anxious, and frightened.How can I avoid these panic attacks?

A trained respiratory health careprofessional can teach you techniquesto keep yourself calm, even whenyou’re short of breath. Participationin pulmonary rehabilitation is the bestway to learn and get reinforcementfor this important issue. There is alsotreatment available, so be sure tobring this up at your next health careprovider appointment.

I thought only smokers can get COPD.I have never smoked tobacco but mydoctor told me I have Alpha-1 COPD.How is this different from regularCOPD? Does this mean my childrenmay get this form of COPD too?

A person who has never smoked candevelop COPD. One of the causes isAlpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, whichis genetically inherited. There is apossibility that your children could getthis, especially if your spouse is acarrier of the gene. You should haveyour spouse and children tested

My health is not what it used to be,and COPD is not my only problem.What other diseases are associatedwith COPD? Will these otherconditions impact my overall health?

Other health problems are called co-morbidities. Because the heart andlungs work so closely together, COPDmay put a strain on your heart, soheart disease is a common co-morbidity. Of course, additionalchronic health problems call for closemonitoring, and possibly additionalmedications, but with propermanagement you may still enjoy a longlife.

My doctor keeps telling me I needto get more exercise, and now she issending me to pulmonary rehabilita-tion. How can I exercise when I can’teven catch my breath?

The staff at pulmonary rehab is spe-cially trained to work with people withsevere shortness of breath, and sig-nificant physical limitations. Even ifyou are extremely limited in whatyou’re able to do, you can improveand breathe better with pulmonaryrehab.

Learn about COPD. Understandingwhat’s happening in your lungs andlearning proper breathing techniquescan help you control your breathinginstead of letting it control you.

COPD Foundation20 F Street NW, Suite 200-AWashington, DC 20001www.copdfoundation.org866-316-COPD


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POW MEDSEARCH PACKETS

Packet 1~VA Claim Information $8.00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Packet 11~NSO Director Answers Your Questions $11.00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Name Phone ( )AddressCity, State, Zip

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

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andersonville

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


11

Living History WeekendBy Stephanie Steinhorst,Park Ranger

Over a thousand visitors partici-pated in the events and programsover the first two weekends inMarch to mark the 150th anniver-sary of the opening ofAndersonville prison in late Feb-ruary of 1864.

Warm and sunny weather blessedthe annual living history weekendon March 8th and 9th, in the midstof an unseasonably cold springin Georgia this year. Almost 100volunteers gathered togetherover two days to give historicalimpressions of the guards, pris-oners, and civilians who came toCamp Sumter in the spring of

1864. Hundreds of visitors wit-nessed scenes inside the prisonstockade, such as shelter con-struction or ration distribution,while other visitors spent timelearning about the artillery andguard details that surroundedthe prison. “Living history is atool which allows visitors to gaindirect insight into the experi-

ences of the young men held here150 years ago through interac-tions with volunteers portrayingthese individuals,” remarked Su-perintendent Brad Bennett. “Weare thankful for the great supportof the Friends of Andersonvilleand volunteers who create thisopportunity to reflect on the sig-nificant sacrifices made by

Americans toward lib-erty and justice for allcitizens.”

The park alsopremiered itsnew JuniorRanger activitybook: “Cap-tured! A Pris-oner of War

Story,” at the new JuniorRanger Station tent. Thebooklet allows kids to ex-plore the National Pris-oner of War museum,the prison site, and thenational cemetery wherethey must make calcu-lated decisions about how theymight survive Andersonville.Park staff awarded almost 70 Jun-

ior Ranger badges to childrenwho completed the program overthe weekend.

Barry L. Brown, co-authoro f Crossroads of Conflict, aguide to Civil War sites in Geor-gia, was present to speak onGeorgia’s role in the Civil War an-niversaries. His book is based on

a comprehensive survey of350 historic sites across thestate of Georgia identified bythe Georgia Civil War Com-mission.

Members of the 125th New YorkInfantry re-enactment groupfrom New York State were alsoon hand on Saturday to com-memorate the 100th anniver-sary of the dedication of theNew York monument in thenational cemetery.

Every two months during theanniversary period, the park fo-cuses on a single word theme thatrepresents the events, conditions,or emotions of prisoners duringthe war. For March and April 2014the theme is “Arrival.” The parkalso features other Civil War pris-ons, like Rock Island, Illinois anddraws on their stories to presenta fuller picture of the captivityexperience. A second Living His-tory Weekend will be held later inthe year over the weekendof October 25-26, 2014.


12

namPOWnews

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

“Where do we get such men?”- RADM George Tarrant,

played by Frederic March in the1954 movie, Bridges at Toko-Ri)

So why do people join our ArmedForces with so many options thatseem at first glance to be betterchoices? This comparatively low-paying profession is rife withdangerous tasks, long periods offamily separation, many hourson duty with no “overtime reim-bursement.” Further, our militarysystem is enveloped by a totallyseparate system of justice inwhich the majority of cases areresolved solely by “the Boss.” It’san organization wherein indi-vidual rights are stripped awayand slowly given back as “perks”and “privileges.” Why would any-body want to do it, let alone thethousands who join every year?

While there are risky civilian oc-cupations there are none wherean individual can be ordered toperform dangerous tasks withthe possibility of being killed orgoing to jail for non-perfor-mance. The worst financial man-ager in the world could do thiscost-benefit analysis in his head,conclude that it has no merit and

head back to his Microsoft Excel™spreadsheets where he’ll toil un-til 5:00 p.m. and go home.

It seems reasonable to ask, “Whatkind of idiot would join in thefirst place?” A better way to ex-plain it is “What kind of market-ing genius can convince a youngman to swap several years of hislife for such disincentives andonly a vague promise of the pos-sibility of adventure, a terrificexperience and doing somethingfor something larger than one’sself?”

Those are great questions withsurprising answers. The draftwent away more than 30 yearsago. Despite gloom and doomprophecies from “pundits” whonever wore any kind of uniform,our armed forces continue to dotheir duty and perform well.Many voluntarily join each of ourarmed forces every year. Andmany more reenlist to stay in.Voluntarily.

Despite those “experts” in Holly-wood, academia and the main-stream (sic) media who con-stantly refer to our military pro-fessionals by a derogatory “they”(as contrasted to “we,” the enlight-ened intelligentsia), morale re-mains high in the day rooms,ready rooms, bases, ships, air-craft and military vehicles of allkinds. These are far and awaysome of the happiest, proudestindividuals in the world despitenay-saying influencers’ trying todemoralize them. Morale, ironi-cally, appears much higher thanin the newsrooms of many news-papers and it was reported thusincredulously by embedded re-porters during the race acrossIraq.

These wonderful young people –and the military is a young pro-fession - are not idiots. A largepercentage falls into the upperreaches of intelligence and voca-tional aptitude tests. And this is

despite an ongoing war – two wars- that will probably last for awhile. I’d bet that the average col-lege SAT scores of military offic-ers picked at random are higherthan those of the contemporarytypical critics of the “military-industrial complex” who mightbe able to turn on a calculator –with training.

The reasons these volunteers joinare many and not intuitive to any-one who’s never served. There arecertain aspects of military servicethat have no direct civilian coun-terpart. Our service personnel aretogether in their units 24/7 oftenfor months at a time - which isnot a normal part of a civilianjob. With rare exceptions, there’sno automatic compensation forextra work and most of the mili-tary rewards are intrinsic as op-posed to buying loyalty with awad of cash.

There’s camaraderie and esprit decorps and a feeling that one is do-ing something for a purposelarger than one’s self. The bondsthat tie military units andbranches and individual servicestogether are strong and have littlecounterpart in civilian life. Forthe combat arms, there is adven-ture and the pride of being thebest at what they do. It can beseen following the annual Army-Navy football game where eachteam and the Corps of Cadets andBrigade of Midshipmen stand re-spectfully during the singing ofthe other school’s alma mater. Thismutual respect shown by teamsand student bodies who secondsbefore had been beating eachother’s brains out is an encapsu-lation of all that makes ourArmed Forces great and different.

They know that after graduationthey’ll all be playing on the sameteam - Uncle Sam’s - but with amuch more deadly set of rules.


13

legislative

PNC Charles Susino JrChairman

2013-2014 LegislativeCommittee

PNC Charles Susino, Jr.ND Charles Anthony [email protected]

House Veterans AffairsCommitteeJeff Miller, FloridaChairman336 Cannon HOBWashington, DC 20515(202) 225-4136

Gus Bilirakis, Florida,Vice Chair(202) 225-5755

Mike Michaud, Maine,Ranking Member1724 Longworth HOBWashington, DC 20515Phone: (202) 225-6306

Senate Veterans AffairsCommitteeBernie Sanders, VermontChairman332 Dirksen BuildingU.S. SenateWashington, D.C. 20510(202) 224-5141

Richard Burr, North Carolina,Ranking Member(202) 224-3154

General Contact Info:U.S. House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515(202) 224-3121

U.S. Senate Committee onVeterans’ Affairs • 412 RussellSenate Bldg. • Washington D.C.20510Democratic Staff(202) 224-9126Republican Staff(202) 224-2074

113th CongressVeterans Affairs

Committees Information

Washington is still wrestling with thecomprehensive Veteran’s Bill intro-duced by Senator Sanders in Febru-ary. Please note over this period oftime between bulletins the Bill num-ber has changed from S.1950 toS.1982, so please use S.1982 for allfuture correspondence to your Con-gressman. Despite accumulating 28co-sponsors, the Senate was 4 votesshort of passing so we continue toneed your help encouraging Senatorsto support this legislation. The Billhas so many valuable aspects to vet-erans so please refer to the March/April bulletin for details on the Billor go to govtrack.us website or Sena-tor Sander’s website.

On March 12th, Charles A. Susino andI went to Washington for the Senateand House Veterans Affairs subcom-mittee hearings. Congressconducts two hearings inMarch to receive input fromthe veteran service organi-zations on the issues con-fronting the nation’s veter-ans. American Ex-POW isone of the selected orga-nizations invited to pro-vide direct input to theNation’s top elected offi-cials. By this process, theycan better serve the veterancommunity through devel-oping laws designed tosolve the problems of theveterans and their families.In addition to providingformal written and verbaltestimony, with the large

number of Congressman and otherofficials available, it is a good op-portunity to make our presence feltand capitalize on the audience avail-able to raise our current issues withkey decision makers.

I encourage you to read the full textof the American Ex-POW written tes-timony submitted to the VeteransCongressional Committee. I drawyour attention to a long standing is-sue raised requesting Congress toupdate and expand the list of “spe-cial groups” of veterans it estab-lished in 1986 who fought in foreignwars to receive medical treatmentfrom the VA regardless of whetherthe veteran has incurred disabilitieswhile serving the country. Since thespecial groups only included veter-ans up to WWI, we continue to be-lieve the more recent warriors aredeserving and in need especially asthey get up in age.

As a final reminder,

PLEASE CONTACT YOURSENATOR TO SUPPORT

S.BILL 1982

Kevin Secor Veterans Service Organizations Liaison(DVA)with PNC/Legislative Officer Charles Susino, Jr.


14

va outreach

Bill Jeffers, Chairman3522 Millbrook Way CrGreenacres, FL 33463(561) [email protected]

VA OUTREACH #13We are seeing more and more vet-erans, including ex-POWs, encoun-tering the need for others to pro-vide their daily care and assis-tance. The range of theirdependancy varies from minimalto extensive. Some require notmuch more than a “helping hand”for some things. Unfortunately,many need much more.There are a multitude of privatefacilities offering both indepen-dent and assisted-living options.In an earlier issue, this columnaddressed not only these, butalso those operated by the VA aswell as as those under contractwith the VA.

Aside from those who choose toplace their dependance on one ofthe above facilities, there aremany who prefer, and insist, onhome-based long term care. Indefense of their position on thismatter, they have good reasonnot to leave their home and com-munity where they have lived foryears. They spent years makingit the home it is. With theirspouses, they may have raised afamily there. For them, home-

based care is the preferred op-tion, if it is financially feasible.

For situations like this, there isare several pilot VA programs.One is called Veteran-DirectedCare. This is for veterans whoneed skilled services, case man-agement, and assistance with ac-tivities of daily living (bathing,getting dressed, etc.) or instru-mental activities of daily living(fixing meals, taking medicines,etc.), or are isolated or theirspouse or other caregiver is find-ing the task too burdensome. Vet-erans in this program are givena flexible budget for services thatcan be managed by the veteran ora family member. Under this pro-gram, veterans and/or theircaregivers have more access,choice and control over the longterm care services. For example,veterans can decide what mix ofservices best meets the needs,hire their own personalcaregivers (which might includea family member or neighbor),buy items and services that helpthem live independently in thecommunity.

The maximum amount allowedper month is $1800 for one or

multiple people to help. Thehourly rate depends on the typeof job being done. A third partyhas to make out the time sheets.A spouse can do the time sheets,but she cannot receive any of thefinancial aid for the caregiving.While on this program, the vet-eran cannot also receive homehealth care from a VA contracthome health company; it’s oneor the other.

To get this program started, , orif the veteran elects to have a VAHome Health Care company tohelp, the veteran’s VA doctormust submit a request for theservice. Also, if the veteran doesnot need medical help at home,there is a respite program wherea company can send a person tostay with the veteran while theregular caregiver shops, attendsto doctor’s appointments, etc.This service has a 180 hour limitper year (unlike the medical pro-gram which does not have alimit).

For former POWs, most VA hos-pitals are now assigning an RNwho can contact the veteran’s pri-mary doctor for any of the aboveservices, prescriptions, etc.

2014 National Convention Special EventsOn Thursday, June 26, we have two very special events for you.

A visit to the President George W. Bush Library and a tour of theFrontiers of Flight museum with the Andersonville National His-toric Site’s traveling exhibit “Victory From Within: The AmericanPrisoner of War Experience”. The 1,200 square foot traveling ex-hibit is based on the thematic organization of the National POWMuseum – Capture, Prison Life, Those Who Wait, and Freedom.

A bus will take you from the Hilton to the President Bush Libraryon the SMU campus in Dallas. After your self-guided of the li-brary, buses will take you to the Frontiers of Flight Museum atLove Field in Dallas.

After a tour of the “Victory from Within” exhibit and the mu-seum, the Daughters of World War II is hosting a dinner in yourhonor. The cost of both events is $40.

You could also just take the “Victory from Within” tour anddinner for $30.See the registration page for details.


15

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

pow-mia

Captured/Missing:US Service member capturedwhile supporting combat opera-tions: Army Spc. Bowe R.Bergdahi, June 30,2009,Afghanistan

Overhaul of POW/MIAIdentification AgenciesBy Nick SimeoneAmerican Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, March 31, 2014 –Defense Secretary Chuck Hagelannounced today that he’s or-dered an overhaul of the Penta-gon agencies responsible for re-covering and identifying the re-mains of America’s war dead.

The reorganization seeks to con-solidate the mission, improveefficiency and increase the num-ber of remains identified by thetwo key agencies charged withPOW-MIA accounting efforts —the Defense Prisoner of War Miss-ing Personnel Office and the JointPOW/MIA Accounting Command,Hagel told a Pentagon news con-ference.

Last month, the defense secretarydirected Michael Lumpkin, actingundersecretary of defense forpolicy, to provide him with rec-ommendations on how to reor-ganize the two organizations into

a single, streamlined unit withoversight for the entire mission.“These steps will help improvethe accounting mission, increasethe number of identifications ofour missing, provide greatertransparency for their familiesand expand our case file systemto include all missing personnel,”Hagel said.

An armed forces medical exam-iner working for the yet-to-be-named agency will be the soleDOD identification authority andwill oversee operations of thecentral identification laboratoryin Hawaii as well as those inOmaha, Neb., and Dayton, Ohio.“By consolidating functions, wewill resolve issues of duplicationand inefficiency and build astronger, more transparent andmore responsive organization,”Hagel stressed.

In explaining why the reorgani-zation was necessary, Lumpkintold reporters it had becomeclear that the department neededa “paradigm shift” from whatsome have called “outdated, in-stitutionalized thinking and be-havior that didn’t deliver thenumber of remains accountedfor that we had hoped.”

“As of next year, Congress hasmandated the department havethe capacity to identify up to 200sets of remains a year, but lastyear the DOD agencies only iden-tified 70 sets,” he said.

Lumpkin said the new agency willmaintain a single database ofrecords related to missingAmericans instead of the mul-tiple databases currently in use.In addition, he said, proposalswill be developed for expandingpartnerships with private organi-zations already working to re-cover and identify remains to“fully embrace progressive sci-ence.”No date has been set for when thenew agency will be stood up, but

the undersecretary said it wouldbe led by a civilian appointed bythe president.

“This is a top priority for the De-partment of Defense. There is nogreater sacrifice a service mem-ber can make than by dying forthis country and we want tohonor these heroes by bringingthem home,” Lumpkin said.

Vietnam War AirmanThe remains of a U.S. serviceman,missing from the Vietnam War,were recently accounted for andburied. Army Staff Sgt. LawrenceWoods of Clarksville, Tenn., wasburied as part of group on March21, at Arlington National Cem-etery, in a ceremony honoringthe servicemen who were lost inan aircraft crash on Oct. 24, 1964.

Woods and seven other servicemembers were aboard a C-123Provider aircraft that crashedwhen it was struck by enemy firewhile resupplying the U.S. SpecialForces camp at Bu Prang, Viet-nam. Shortly after the crash, U.S.forces arrived at the site and re-covered remains of seven of thecrew members, but they couldnot locate Woods. The remainsfor the seven crew members wereindividually identified and themen were laid to rest at thattime.

“Keeping the Promise”, “Fulfill theirTrust” and “No one left behind” areseveral of many mottos that refer tothe efforts of the Department of De-fense to recover those who becamemissing while serving our nation.The number of Americans who re-main missing from conflicts in thiscentury are: World War II (73,000+),Korean War (7,921) Cold War (126),Vietnam War (1,642), 1991 Gulf War(0), and OEF/OIF (6).

civilians

Alice GollinChairman


16

COME SITBESIDE ME SONBy Dorothy Douglas Whittle

After our rescue, but as the firesraged around us, and the battledestroyed Manila, we Bilibid pris-oners were moved to the AngTibay Shoe Factory. After all themonths of captivity, I was fright-ened, not by the sounds of war,but by the huge wooden gate thatsuddenly yawned open exposingthe unknown world outside. Wehastily collected a few items, metat the entrance, and waited forinstructions. Mother and Hughrode in a US military truck whileDaddy and I set out walking.Eventually, we too, rode. Littledid we know that the folks wholine the streets to greet us andseemed so happy for us were alsothose who would loot everythingfrom our barred prison as soonas we were out of sight.

The next morning, on the way tothe most wonderful and appreci-ated breakfast I have ever eaten,we passed by the Bataan andCorregidor survivors, impris-oned in the compound across thewall from us. These men wereeven more gaunt, starved andswollen, crippled and maimed,and they sat or lay on their cots

staring in amazement at the hub-bub around them. As we passedthem, my seven year old brother,Hugh, was holding Daddy’s hand.The eyes of one of the men lit upwhen he saw Hugh; he called outto him, “Come sit beside me son,would you, for just a moment?”

As Hugh shyly held back, Daddy,always gracious as well as gregari-ous, led us over to him, kneltdown beside him, and took hishand. He talked to him in a lowvoice still holding his hand as theveteran reached out his otherhand and patted the cot, indicat-ing that Hugh should sit down.He put his arm gently around hisshoulders and addressed himselfto Hugh.

“I have a son about your age backhome. Soon I hope to see him.It’s been a long time since Ihugged him, could I please hug

you?” As Daddy nodded encour-agement, Hugh moved into hisarms, sitting very still as tearsrolled down the stranger’s face.He held him sobbing quietly, buteventually composed himselfand released my brother.

“I don’t have anything to give you,but I could teach you somethingI learned as a kid. Do you knowhow to rub your stomach and patyour head at the same time?”Hugh assured him he couldn’tand yes he’d try.

“This is how you do it! We’re go-ing to practice ‘til you get it right,OK?” Other young children soonstopped by to join the activity,none of them realizing that un-knowingly they were throwing aninnocent life-line of joy to thosebrave men who, until recently,never thought they would eversmile again.

L/R: Ted Cadwallader, 49ers Chapter CMDR, Mel Raimundo, Sr. Vice CMDR,49ers Chapter, Sadie Moles, 49ers Chapter Treasurer, Betty Koob and EldonKoob, 49ers Chapter members, CAL National Guard Command Sergeant MajorWilliam Clark. CSM Clark arranged the briefing by officers and enlisted per-sonnel at the headquarters in Sacramento, CA. John Jensen took the picture.John is a Vietnam vet and companion of Sadie’s.

May 10, 2014. 5K Race for HireHeroes USA will be held in Plano,at the MedAssets Corporate Of-fice, 5543 Legacy Drive Plano, TX.Visit GetMeRegistered.com andsearch ‘Race for Heroes’ forcourse details and information.

June 6-7, 2014. The Dept. of Ari-zona Annual Convention will beheld at the Embassy Suites,Tempe, Arizona, June 6 & 7. Ev-eryone is welcome to attend,please contact Jean McLane, StateTreasurer, 8163 E Lakeview Ave,Mesa, AZ, 85209 or call 480-986-0002 or (cell) 480-298-7530.

June 13-14, 2014. Dept of WestVirginia Annual Convention willbe held at the Best Western (for-merly Holiday Inn) Bridgeport,WV. For information, contactCmdr. Annette Smith, 621 FrontSt., Brownsville, PA 15417; 724-785-8536.

July 27-Aug 3, 2014. The KoreanWar Ex-POWs 2014 Reunion willbe held in Louisville, KY at theBrown Hotel, 335 WestBroadway.This will be our lastreunion. The room rate is $110.00per day, plus tax. The discountedrate will apply three (3) days priorand after the scheduled reuniondates to accommodate those whomay wish to come early or staylate. Reservations can be made bycalling the hotel at 502-583-1234.

events

lookingforI was a prisoner of war in StalagLuft IV and on Feb. 6, 7, and 8th,1945 we left the camp andmarched 650 miles in 87 days

across Germany, the “Black DeathMarch.” I am inerested in anyonewho is still alive or a relation thatwould like to go to Germany andvisit what is left of the camp andhire a van to retract our so-calledmarch across Germany. Ourgroup had Dr. Lesley Caplanalong with us, the whole way. Wewere liberated May 2, 1945 by theBritish troops. Please contact me:Herb Gold, 406 Highland Street,Cresskill, New Jersey 07626; 201569-3079; [email protected].

You may remember from ourcorrespondence last year that Iam interested in talking to menwho were POWs in WWII. I am stilldeveloping the idea but I haverefined it a little and wonder ifyou can help. I am still interestedin talking to people (and receiveda wealth of e-mails from formersoldiers - all of whom I was care-ful to reply to saying that it wasearly days in my research) but inparticular, I am interested to talkto any former military who mighthave endured any period of soli-tary confinement. It’s a fascinat-ing area that I am keen to learnmore about. Please contact me.David Belton.26 Beech CroftRoad, Oxford, United KingdomOX2 7AZ; [email protected].

My name is Bern Dalo and I amwith Dan Bell Casting in Los An-geles . We are currently workingon a nationwide casting where weare looking for USAA members,especially multi-generationalfamilies that have USAA, for anamazing project. I Please knowthat we have worked on a coupleprojects with USAA before andeach spot has been really beauti-ful, well done commercials whichI’m sure you have seen runningon tv. Would love to speak withyou further in regards to ourproject. Please feel free to con-tact me at (323) 806-2376; email:[email protected].

The AmericanVeteransDisabled forLife Memorialin Washington,DC sets Dedication Datefor Oct. 5, 2014.

President Barack Obama,Secretary of Veterans AffairsEric Shinseki and Memorial

National Spokesman Gary SiniseInvited to Participate

Unlike other national memorials, TheAmerican Veterans Disabled for LifeMemorial will pay tribute to dis-abled veterans both living and de-ceased across all conflicts through-out the nation’s history. The designof the Memorial, by the acclaimedfirm Michael Vergason LandscapeArchitects, envisions a hallowedplace amid the bustle of the sur-rounding Washington streets.Vergason’s design was meant ex-pressly for its audience – disabledveterans, their loved ones, friendsand caretakers – who will now havea place for commemoration andquiet reflection.

The Memorial was unanimously au-thorized by Congress in 2000, andsigned into law on October 24, 2000by President Clinton. The 2.4-acre tri-angular site, located between Wash-ington Avenue SW, C Street SW andSecond Street SW, behind the U.S.Botanic Garden and within view ofthe Capitol, was approved in 2001.The final design was approved in2009 and 2010 by the U.S. Commis-sion of Fine Arts and the NationalCapital Planning Commission.

In addition to the dedication date,the Board of Directors also an-nounced that the Renaissance Wash-ington, D.C. Downtown Hotel byMarriott will serve as the host hotelfor the dedication make a reserva-tion online.

Visit www.avdlm.org.


17

The Remarkable

Camp Asylumby Alice A. Booher

According to official historians inSouth Carolina, in December 1821,the state legislature approved$30,000 to build the S.C. LunaticAsylum and School for the Deaf andDumb in Columbia, making S.C. thesecond state after Virginia to pro-vide funds to care and treatment ofpeople with mental illnesses. The cor-nerstone was laid for the primaryMills Building in 1822; it took 6 yearsto build and the first patient, a youngwoman, was admitted in 1828 withher mother hired as a matron to paythe girl’s way. A few blacks, mostlyslaves, were admitted but not offi-cially until 1848.

According to the resident expert,Chester DePratter, PhD of the SC In-stitute of Archaeology and Anthro-pology, USC-Columbia, who has writ-ten both scholarly and popular pa-pers on the subject, during the lateCivil War years, POWs were movedfrom camp to camp in the South.From Andersonville and CampOglethorpe in GA, many went to Sa-vannah then Charleston and then Co-lumbia where they landed in Camp

Sorghum, a 5-acre open field sur-rounded by guards and from whichescapes were frequent.

Although Asylum Superintendent, Dr.John W. Parker, opposed a plan to

turn his complex into a POWcamp, and while the Confeder-ates did not get the building,they did use the grounds for aPOW camp for about 1,200Union officers from October1864 to February 1865, movingin the POWs from Sorghum andelsewhere. Historians, POW let-ters and diaries describe livingin holes they dug, sharing blan-

kets for warmth, with the hospital’s10-foot brick walls on 3 sides and awooden fence on the other. With Gen-eral Sherman’s March to the Sea andburning the city of Columbia, manycity residents also took refuge there.Most of the POWs were moved toCharlotte then Wilmington, NC, al-though purportedly some mingledwith the mental patients (from whomthey had been separated while im-prisoned) and escaped before beingturned over to Federal authoritiesduring February and March 1865.After the War, the surrounding landwas used for much needed expan-sion of the mental health facility andno particular care was taken to savethe POW camp remains; after de-cades of hard use, eventually theentire site was closed.

Fast forward to 2013 when a devel-oper announced plans to use theproperty for a mega-dollar Bull Streetmixed-use Development deal, thusprecipitating a race against time.Researchers were given a 4 monthwindow during which they were toevacuate a small portion of the 165acre grounds to find and salvage theremnants of Camp Asylum (AKACamp Lunacy).

Dr. DePratter notes that investigat-ing Camp Asylum is important forthree primary reasons: (1) it con-tained Union officers, while mostPOW camps were enlisted, and thisoffers a chance to see how officerswere treated; (2) it is a camp whereno more than a single prisoner died,unique among Civil War POW camps;and (3) it is in an urban setting whereit can be used as an educationallaboratory for school children andthe public to learn local and nationalhistory, particularly in this period of150th anniversary of the Civil War.

DePratter, acting as Chief Archaeolo-gist has tracked down diaries of 40POW survivors and dozens of letters,with a contribution of funds from thedeveloper matched by the city, andadded to by donations, the staff, stu-dents and volunteers set about un-covering buttons, combs, handmadebricks, remnants of clothing and

utensils. Tours were instituted for$10 each to bring attention, peopleand funds to the site. The tales ofCamp Asylum are remarkable: theyfounded a glee club and could singall the Yankee songs they liked aslong as they also sang Dixie. Manyof these POWs were well-educatedcraftsmen, and SC’s Military Museumis endeavoring to preserve some ofthe careful items crafted there.

Of the many local and national me-dia articles highlighting this effort,several quote Eric Leonard, Directorof Education at Andersonville Na-tional Historic Site and POW Mu-seum, on the importance of uncover-ing the histories of POWs even it isan unpleasant task, noting that POWsare an example of the extraordinarycost of war…”It’s not an easy storyto tell, and it’s not a happy story. Butit delves into the consequences ofwar.”


18

NewsBriefs

D-Day 70 at

The NationalWWII Museum

As the world comes together tocommemorate the 70th anniver-sary of the Normandy invasion,The National WWII Museum,which originally opened as TheNational D-Day Museum in 2000,will honor, educate and reflectboth in New Orleans andabroad.At approximately 6:30 amon the morning of June6, 1944, troops first be-gan landing on thebeaches of Normandy.The Museum will kickoff the day early with anemotional H-Hour cer-emony starting at 6:00am, including a momentof silence as a tribute tothe first waves of the in-vasion. The ceremonywill also include theMuseum’s historian, an ArmyChaplain and a D-Day veteran whowill recount his personalexperience.Throughout the day,guests will have the rare oppor-tunity to get on board theMuseum’s authentic LCVP replicawhile imagining how it musthave felt to disembark into a wall

of fire on the beaches ofNormandy. Loopingnewsreels will replicatethe way most Americansexperienced D-Day. Musi-cal performances arealso planned as well aschildren’s activities.John C. McManus, authorof The Dead and ThoseAbout to Die, the story ofthe Big Red One’s har-rowing assault on

Omaha Beach,will speak in theafternoon. Andafter reflectingon the lasting sig-nificance of theinvasion, visitorsto the Museumand on socialmedia will alsoget the opportu-nity to answer thequestion “Whatdoes D-Day meanto you?”The

evening will continue with an out-door film-screening of episodesone and two of the HBOminiseries, Band of Brothers, onthe Museum parade grounds in-troduced by a celebrity host.Wewill also take a moment to cel-ebrate the Museum’s Grand Open-ing as The National D-Day Mu-

seum on June 6, 2000 with an an-nual birthday cupcaketradition.Events continue on Sat-urday, June 7 with reenactors,family activities, tours, musicalperformances, film screeningsand an additional lecture by Dr.John C. McManus and an explora-tion by Dr. Gunter Bischof on D-

Day from the French, Americanand German point of view.View afull schedule of events. Date: Fri-day, June 6, 2014Time: 9AM - 5 PM.http://www.nww2m.com/2014/02/the-national-wwii-museum-commemorates-d-day-70/.

ExploreVAVA is dedicated to your healthand wellness. We’ll partner withyou to help you achieve yourpersonal health goals and makeyour resolutions a reality.Weoperate the nation’s largestintegrated health system, whichmeans eligible Veterans canchoose from many VA servicesdesigned to improve health andwell-being. Whether you want todrop pounds, quit smoking, ortake other steps to prevent theonset of disease, at VA, you canget the care you need, when youneed it.Exploring VA healthservices and programs that letyou:Lose weight and keep it off, withVA’s MOVE! program.Receive counseling to help youand family members adjust tolife after the military.Pursue health where it’s conve-nient, even from home, usingmobile clinics, Vet Centers, andtelehealth services.View your health records se-curely anytime, from anywhere—online and through mobile


19

news, cont’d...apps—with My HealtheVet.Benefit from VA’s coordinatedpreventive care, including healthassessments and education, im-munizations, and physical ex-ams.

You, your spouse, and childrenmay have earned these and manyother VA health benefits. Resolveto Explore VA health care today.

Budget 2015

Continuing the transformationof the Department of VeteransAffairs (VA) into a 21st centuryorganization, the President hasproposed a $163.9 billion budget,a 6.5 percent increase over FiscalYear 2014, that will support VA’sgoals to expand access to healthcare and other benefits, eliminatethe disability claims backlog, andend homelessness among Veter-ans. The budget includes $68.4billion in discretionary spending,largely for healthcare which in-cludes approximately $3.1 billionin medical care collections fromhealth insurers and Veterancopayments.

It also includes $95.6 billion formandatory programs – mostlydisability compensation and pen-sions for Veterans. “This bud-get will allow us to continue theprogress we have made in help-ing Veterans secure their place inthe middle class,” said Secretaryof Veterans Affairs Eric K.Shinseki. “It is a tangible demon-stration of the President’s com-mitment to ensuring Veteransand their families have the careand benefits they’ve earned anddeserve. … We remain commit-

ted to providing Veterans theopportunity to pursue their edu-cation, find meaningful employ-ment and access high-qualityhealth care,” Shinseki added.“From the men and women of‘the greatest generation’ to theVeterans who have returned fromour most recent conflicts in Iraqand Afghanistan, no one deservesit more.”

Connecticut News

State Sen. Kevin Witkos (R-Canton) has honored DanCrowley as December’s “Veteranof the Month.” Crowley, aSimsbury resident, served inWorld War II in both the Battle ofBataan and Battle of Corregidorand was held as a Prisoner of War(POW) for nearly four years.

“Dan Crowley has an incrediblestory to share,” said SenatorWitkos. “He endured the horrorsof war and fought bravely for ourcountry. He survived manyatrocities, and today he has aninspiring motivation to serveour community” he said.

In a related story, on the 72ndanniversary of the attack on Pearl

Harbor, the bridge spanning theFarmington River on Route 185in Simsbury was officialdedicated as the “BataanCorregidor Memorial Bridge.” Crowley lobbied for thedesignation and legislation wasintroduced by state Witkos andco-introduced by state Rep. JohnHampton.

The honor acknowledges the sac-rifice of so many veterans whofought, died and suffered duringthe Battle of Bataan and the Battleof Corregidor in 1942 and theslave labor camps that sur-rounded the campaigns in thePhilippines.

The only known surviving Con-necticut residents from thosecampaigns, Simsbury’s own DanCrowley and Darrell D. Stark ofStafford Springs, were on handfor the dedication, which in-cluded speeches, musical perfor-mance, a blessing, dedication,flyovers by the Yankee Clippersand more. Both men were prisoners of warat the hands of the Japanese formore than 3 and half years, en-during situations commonly de-scribed as some of the harshestcrimes against humanity.

VA to Expand Benefits

for Traumatic BrainInjuryAdds Five Illnesses Related to Ser-vice-Connected TBI

Some Veterans with traumaticbrain injury (TBI) who are diag-nosed with any of five other ail-ments will have an easier path toreceive additional disability payunder new regulations developedby the Department of VeteransAffairs.

The new regulation, which tookeffect in January, impacts someVeterans living with TBI who also


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news, cont’d...have Parkinson’s disease, certaintypes of dementia, depression,unprovoked seizures or certaindiseases of the hypothalamusand pituitary glands.

“We decide Veterans’ disabilityclaims based on the best scienceavailable,” said Secretary of Vet-erans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Asscientific knowledge advances, VAwill expand its programs to en-sure Veterans receive the care andbenefits they’ve earned and de-serve.”

This regulation stems from a re-port of the National Academy ofSciences, Institute of Medicine(IOM) regarding the associationbetween TBI and the five diagnos-able illnesses. The IOM report,Gulf War and Health, Volume 7:Long-Term Consequences of Trau-matic Brain Injury, found “suffi-cient evidence” to link moderateor severe levels of TBI with thefive ailments.

The new regulations say that ifcertain Veterans with service-con-nected TBI also have one of thefive illnesses, then the second ill-ness will also be considered asservice connected for the calcu-lation of VA disability compen-sation.

Eligibility for expanded benefitswill depend upon the severity ofthe TBI and the time between theinjury causing the TBI and theonset of the second illness. How-ever, Veterans can still file a claimto establish direct service-connec-tion for these ailments even ifthey do not meet the time andseverity standards in the newregulation.

Veterans who have questions orwho wish to file new disabilityclaims may use the eBenefitswebsite, available atwww.eBenefits.va.gov/ebenefits.

National World War II

Memorial 10thAnniversaryCommemoration

Saturday, May 24, 2014 ~ 10:00AM ~ World War II Memorial,Washington, DC.It is hard to believe that it hasbeen nearly 10 years since thou-sands of World War II veteransgathered on the National Mall inWashington, DC for the dedica-tion of the National World War IIMemorial. Thanks to the supportand commitment of many, theMemorial now stands as a last-ing reminder of the nation’s en-during gratitude to our “GreatestGeneration” who – through sac-rifice, valor, dedication, and de-termination – preserved our free-dom, saved this nation, and lit-erally saved the world.

Since its dedication in 2004,more than 40 million peoplehave visited the Memorial. Unfor-tunately, we continue to lose ourWorld War II veterans at a signifi-cant rate of 600 a day. Of themore than 16 million Americanswho served during World War II,just over one million are stillwith us today.

This May, hundreds of World WarII veterans will once again gatherat the Memorial to celebrate its10th anniversary in what will be,most likely, the last large gath-ering of our World War II veter-ans at their Memorial. The Na-tional World War II Memorial 10thAnniversary Commemoration, likethe Memorial itself, will honorthose who served and pay trib-ute to the spirit of unity andshared purpose, which definedthe character of our country dur-ing the war years.

The 10th Anniversary Com-memoration is open to the pub-lic; however, all attendees that

wish to reserve seating must reg-ister by no later than Friday, May9th. Tickets will be sent to allregistrants in advance of theevent. RSVP now at: http://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/10th-anniversary-event-Or send the following informa-tion: Full Name, Address, PhoneNumber, Email, Number Attend-ing, Names of all Attending, Iden-tify WWII veterans in your partyand relationship, Will anyone inthe Party be in a wheelchair orrequire special assistance?TO:Friends of the National WorldWar II Memorial921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SESuite 304Washington, DC 20003

S.1950 fails

In late February, a divided Senatederailed Democratic legislationthat would have provided $21billion for medical, education andjob-training benefits for thenation’s veterans. TheComprehensive Veterans Healthand Benefits and MilitaryRetirement Pay Restoration Act of2014 (S.1950) bill fell victim toelection-year disputes overspending and fresh penaltiesagainst Iran. Each party covetsthe allegiance of the country’s 22million veterans and theirfamilies, and each party blamedthe other for turning the effortinto a chess match aimed atforcing politically embarrassingvotes. Republicans used aprocedural move to block the billafter Senate Veterans’ AffairsCommittee Chairman BernieSanders (I-VT) chided GOPlawmakers about their priorities.“I personally, I have to say thishonestly, have a hard timeunderstanding how anyone couldvote for tax breaks for


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news, cont’d...billionaires, for millionaires, forlarge corporations and then saywe don’t have the resources toprotect our veterans,” saidSanders, the measure’s chiefauthor.

Chairman Sanders has pledged tocontinue fighting for passage ofthe bill.

More than two dozen veteransgroups, including American Ex-Prisoners of War, supported thelegislation.

National Personnel

Records Center News

There are now web pages on theNational Archives website de-signed for Veterans Service Offic-ers. The VSO pages are designedto assist you in assisting militaryveterans, retirees, and their Nextof Kin. NPRC suggests VSO’s read(or print and read) the general in-formation section first.

While some of the informationhere may be obvious, this is toensure that VSOs have the up-to-date and accurate informationabout NPRC and military records.The information topics re-quested (in the order of impor-tance based on the survey results)can then be read. The goal was tohave the information that VSO’sneeded in one location. The infoprovided is of a general naturebecause there are many differentcircumstances unique to eachperson’s request, such as:

· Branch of service: (Army,Navy, Marines, Air Force, CoastGuard)

· Time of service: (WWI,WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War,Cold War, Global War onTerrorism, Non-conflict times,etc.)

· Type of service: Active,Guard, Reserve

· Rank: Officer, WarrantOfficer, Enlisted

· Record type needed:Personnel, Outpatient Medical,Inpatient Medical, etc.

The direct link for the VSO webpage is: http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/vso/index.html. The VSO web pagemay also be found by clicking onthe VSO web page link in thelower right corner of the Veter-ans Records page on the http://www.archives.gov/veterans/ site.

NPRC sent notifications via emailof the availability of the new linksto approximately 1,400 VSOs.NPRC will be sending those ontheir mailing lists a link to a sur-vey, so you can tell them if thesepages are useful. For info NPRChas not yet figured out a way tocreate a VSO only phone line toNPRC that would not eventuallybe taken over by the general pub-lic (without creating individualaccounts and issuing individualpasswords). Also, NPRC is awarethat the header on these pagesreads “National Archives at StLouis”, instead of “National Per-sonnel Records Center”, and thatwill be corrected in the future.

Mobil

Counseling CentersVA2Vets Tour 2014

The U.S. Department of VeteransAffairs is rolling out the VA2VetsTour to make sure eligibleVeterans get the benefits that areavailable to them. The nationwidetour includes 70 RV’s that are setup as mobile vet centers. Over the

next year visit every county inGeorgia as well as roam thenation to reach as many othercounties as possible. The goal isto be accessible to Veterans whomight otherwise not have accessto a VA Center.

The tour is kicking off in Georgia.According to the VA, Georgia ishome to 770,000 Veterans,thousands of whom aren’t using,but may be eligible for, benefitsthrough the VA. These includebenefits like health care, helpwith buying a home, and moneyfor a college education. “59% ofVeterans know little to nothingabout their benefits and these arelife changing benefits,” saidTommy Sowers, AssistantSecretary for Public andIntergovernmental Affairs forthe U.S. Department of VeteransAffairs. “They change millions ofVeterans lives, they changed mylife,” he said.

Vets can come to the mobile cen-ters to get information, meetwith counselors, and even sign upfor benefits right there on thespot.

One of the first stops on the tourwas at Georgia Tech University.PHD student Mock Abdelaalserved in the U.S. Marine Corps.“I served in Iraq and I was therefor the invasion,” he said.Abdelaal stopped by the mobilevet center. He says he knew theVA was there for him and knewthey offered various services, butwasn’t aware of the extent. “Ididn’t realize that I had 5 yearsof guaranteed medical coverage,cost free...because I’m a combatvet. So I didn’t realize that and Ihad gone to doctors and paidmoney,” he said. He says if he’snot aware of certain benefits, hecan only imagine the benefitsthat older generations are miss-ing out on. He thinks these mo-bile units will help. “I have highhopes that people can get cov-ered and get taken care of”.


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Our Hotel:Hilton Arlington

2401 East LamarBoulevard, Arling-ton, Texas 76006-7503Tel: 1-817-640-3322,Fax: 1-817-633-1430Room Rate $119night/free airportshuttle/free park-ingHilton Arlington is located 10 milessouth of DFW Int’l Airport in theentertainment district of Arlington.

Attractions:

Area attractions include Cowboys Sta-dium, Ranger Ballpark in Arlington, SixFlags and the Arlington Convention Cen-ter. Situated in a suburban business area,the HiltonArlington is located within walking dis-tance of many area restaurants.

AD Order FormPage size is 8 ½ x 11/due date May 15, 2014

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

Name:____________________________________________

Organization: ______________________________________

Address:__________________________________________

City: _______________________State & Zip: ___________Telephone: ________________________

Ad Size: _______________________Amount Enclosed $_______________

Checks Payable to:AXPOWMail Form with Ad materials and check to: National Head-quarters, 3201 E. Pioneer Pkway, Suite 40, Arlington, TX76010

Short Agenda:

JUNE 25 WEDNESDAYBOARD MEETING

JUNE 26 THURSDAYOPENING CEREMONYBUSH LIBRARY TOUR

JUNE 27 FRIDAYMEDSEARCH/NSO PTSD SEMINARCONVENTION CALL TO ORDERCOMMANDER’S RECEPTION

JUNE 28 SATURDAYCONTINUE BUSINESS MEETINGSNEW BOARD MEETINGBANQUET

UPDATE! Convention Tours

There are now two tours scheduled forThursday, June 26.

·George W. Bush Presidential Library and the Frontiersof Flight Museum. The cost is $40 and includes all entrytickets and dinner at the museum. The traveling exhibit,Victory from Within: The American POW Experience, fromAndersonville National Historic Site will be on display atthe Frontiers of Flight Museum. Transportation isprovided and is limited to 50 passengers. For moreinformation on the Victory from Within exhibit, see theMarch/April 2014 EX-POW BULLETIN, page 11.·Frontiers of Flight Museum only. The cost is $30 andincludes entry tickets and dinner with a special ceremonyhonoring ex-POWs. The bus will leave the hotel at 3:15pm, and join up with the group at the museum and islimited to 50 passengers.

Both buses will depart the museum at 6:45 pm, to returnto the hotel.

If you have already registered for the convention and havenot received a phone call from us, please contact us. Wewant to give everyone an opportunity to attend the addedevent.

See the convention registration page to make reservations.

Ex-POW BulletinSept/Oct 2012

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Decision 2014Candidates

ForNational CommanderMilton M. Moore

Skip was born in Ft. Clayton,Panama Canal Zone in Oct. 1947.His father, Milton M. Moore Sr.spent 27 years in the UnitedStates Army and was elected asthe National Commander of AX-POW in 1989. Skip served as Na-tional Sgt at Arms for 6 years. Hespent 22 years in the Army andhad two tours of duty in VietNam, retiring as a SSG (E6) in Au-gust of 1989.

Skip’s son is stationed at Ft. Hood,Texas, after serving two tours inIraq.

“I am extremely proud of whatmy son is doing in the military.My family has had a relative inevery war the United States hasbeen involved with since the CivilWar.”

Currently, Skip serving as Sr. ViceCommander and chairman of theBudget committee for AXPOW.

Skip and his wife, Margie, live inSierra Vista, Arizona.

For Sr.Vice CommanderEdward DeMent

Ed servedas FL Dept.Treasurer,JVC, SVCand Com-m a n d e r .He cur-rently isN a t i o n a lDirector -Southeast Region, and chair-man of the Andersonville Com-mittee, acting as AXPOW’s liai-son with the Andersonville Na-tional Historic Site. He also hasspent 27 years as a VAVS repre-sentative at James Haley Hospi-tal in Tampa.

Ed enlisted in the Air Force in1942. He served with the 456th

BG out of Italy. He was shotdown over Yugoslavia and heldin Luft 3 (center compound) and7A.

Ed lives in Tampa, Florida.

For Jr. ViceCommander ~EastJudy Lee

Judy hasbeen an ac-tive mem-ber of AX-POW, the De-partment ofT e n n e s s e eand herchapter ford e c a d e s .

Members still remember the ex-cellent National Convention puton in Knoxville in 1993; Judy andher late husband Charles werean important part of its success.After serving on National Com-

mittees -- most recently as Chair-man of Credentials -- Judy waselected as National Director in2007. She has been a member ofthe Strategic Planning Committee,working to ensure the future of theAmerican Ex-Prisoners of War, aswell as Credentials; she currentlyis a member of the Protocol Com-mittee.

Judy lives in Madisonville, TN.

For Jr. ViceCommander ~CentralPam Warner Eslinger

I have beenyour Jr. ViceC o m m a n d e rfor the CentralZone for thepast 2 yearsand South Cen-tral NationalDirector since2008. My par-

ents are PNC Jack & June Warner. Ihave been coming to the NationalConventions since I was 4 yrs. old,so this is like a second family forme, and I love this organization,and want it to carry on for as longas we can make it work, to keepyour legacy going for the youngpeople to learn about.

I am very proud to say 2 of my 3children are member of this greatorganization, and are planning oncoming with some of my grand-children for their family vacations,and I would like to encourage oth-ers to talk to their family mem-bers to do the same, so they canmeet NOK their age and see what agreat organization this is. We needtheir help to carry on your organi-zation. I have been working hard


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Bring Your Kidsand Grandkidsto Arlington!

June 25-28, 2014


as your Jr.Vice Commander forthe Central Zone, and appreciatethe trust and faith you have putin me to care for it and carry onyour legacy.

Thank you for letting me be apart of this GREAT ORGANIZA-TION!!

For Jr. ViceCommander ~WestAlice Golin

My nameis AliceGollin andI havespent 4years as aC h a p t e rC o m -m a n d e r ,and threeyears asDepartment of California Com-mander, and also one term as aSouthwest Director. I am cur-rently serving as Jr. Vice Com-mander for the Western Zone. Iam chairman of the Civilian In-ternee Committee -- fitting be-cause the majority of this specialgroup of POWs live in California.I have been working to makeclaims filing with the Dept. of La-bor an easier process and feel wehave made some good headway.

My husband, Mort, was a POW inLuft III and 7A during WWII.

For National Director ~NortheastCharles Anthony Susino

I served asAXPOW asNational Di-r e c t o r -N o r t h e a s tb e g i n n i n gin 2013. Ihave par-ticipated ins e v e r a lc o m m i t -

tees including Legislative, Wash-ington DC POW memorial, VAoutreach program, WashingtonDC special events, and medicalresearch. I have supported myfather, PNC Charles Susino, Jr.over the years with AXPOW activi-ties at the local, state, and na-tional levels in various capacities.I share many of the values andambitions as our organizationhaving grown up in a householdheaded by a proud patriotic Ex-POW. I look forward to continu-ing my contributions to the or-ganization and its transition witha greater participation from theNOKs.

For National Director ~East CentralDavid Eberly

I seek yoursupport to re-main as a Na-tional Direc-tor, East Cen-tral Region ofthe AXPOW Or-ganization fol-lowing my re-cent appoint-ment at the mid-year Board of Di-rectors’ meeting in 2013. While Imay be new to the Organization,my experience, compassion, andsense of duty is rooted in my

months as the senior allied pris-oner of war in Saddam’s prisonsduring Desert Storm—yet, I makeno comparison to the trials ofthose held in Vietnam, Korea, orGermany. Today, our Organiza-tion must hold true to its tenetswhile striving to preserve thelegacy for all those who lost theirfreedom on the battlefields, onthe seas, or from air. Their cour-age and the service of their fami-lies who waited must never beforgotten by our National leadersor the American people.

For National Director ~East CentralMarty Klumpp

My name isMarty Gallo-way Klumppand I wish toserve asyour SE Na-tional Direc-tor. I havebeen a mem-ber of the or-gan iza t ion

for the past 41 years. My parentsare the late PNC Joe and CharlotteGalloway and my father-in-lawwas PNC John Klumpp. I am hon-ored to say I learned everything Iknow about leadership and com-mitment from the work of thosebefore us. I currently serve on thebudget and finance committeeand served on the Strategic Plan-ning Committee, 2000-2003. Mycareer and background is in non-profit management and profes-sional fundraising. I have beensuccessfully involved in multipleCapital Campaigns over theyears, raising over $30 milliondollars, writing award winninggrants, and successfully pre-sented proposals to nationalfoundations, corporations, andindividuals. As the daughter of


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PNC’s, I look forward to againworking with the organization toserve our Southeast Region andto work in Strategic Planning andbudgeting to lead to a sustain-able, meaningful legacy organiza-tion for all of our membership.

For National Director ~SoutheastBenny Rayborn

Benny MarkRayborn isAXPOW’s Na-tional Chap-lain. He isthe sono f e x - P O WM a r kR a y b o r n .He has twob r o t h e r s ,

both veterans, and one daughter,all in Mississippi. He is marriedto Mitzi Heustis-Weatherholt. Shehas two daughters, one in Illinoisand the other in Wisconsin.Benny works full time at DismasCharities, which is a half wayhouse for Federal prisoners inHattiesburg, MS. He is preachingas an interim minister at ClearCreek Baptist Church in MarianCounty. He is also a member ofthe Independent Order of OddFellows (IOOF). He has served twoterms as the Grand Master forthe State of Mississippi. He isnow serving as the Grand Trea-surer. Benny also holds offices inall the local organizations ofwhich he is a member as well asthe other branches of the order.He has served one term as Na-tional Director for the SoutheastRegion. He also serves as theCommander of the W Jack CleeryMemorial Chapter in Hattiesburg,MS. He and his bride, Mitzi live inLumberton, MS.

For National Director~ North CentralDavid Claypool

David D.Claypool isa NOK andis the son ofWarren D.C l a y p o o lETO. Davidwas born inE n g l a n dwhile his fa-ther was aPOW. He served 4 years in the USArmy with 38 months in Ger-many. He served with the ArmySecurity Agency in Communica-tion Intelligence at Rothwesten,Germany for over a year and therest of the time was spent as aTerrain Analyst. David was thequality control specialist for allNATO TOP SECRET Terrain Stud-ies produced by the US Army To-pographic Center Schwetzingen,Germany. David was dischargedfrom the Army in September,1969 as a Specialist Sixth Class(SP6). David retired as a Profes-sional Land Surveyor on June 30,2009. He and his friend LisaHanni have an extensive collec-tion of antique surveying equip-ment and display it for educa-tional purposes several times ayear and also give professionalseminars. David has been the De-partment Commander for theState of Minnesota over the pastfew years. David sits togetherwith 8 other Federally CharteredMilitary Organizations on theCommanders Task Force for theState of Minnesota. David hasbeen a North Central representa-tive for the past two years on theNational Board of the EXPOWs.He is also a member of the 379th

Heavy Bomb Group Organizationand the 8th Air Force HistoricalSociety. He is dedicated to the

preservation of the legacy of thePrisoners of War.

For National Director~ South CentralJan Williams

I wouldlike to beyour nextN a t i o n a lD i r e c t o rfor theS o u t hC e n t r a lRegion. Ihave beena lifemember since October 2006. Ihave attended most of the con-ventions since because I want tohelp keep the organization going.I am the proud granddaughter ofPNC Jack & June Warner. My momis Pam Eslinger who is now serv-ing a Jr. Vice from the CentralZone.I am a second grade teacher atHammon Elementary School, inHammon, Ok. I have two wonder-ful children Tim and Ta’ah. Myhusband, C.R. Williams, has beento several of the conventions, andI am sure there are several thatknow him. My oldest brother,Jim Johnson, is currently servingas Sgt. of Arms. I have anotherbrother, Jay Johnson, who isalso a member and attended sev-eral conventions. As you can see,my family is very active in thisgreat organization.I would like this great organiza-tion to continue its original pur-pose; for the member to cometogether to visit and to be usedfor healing. I would very muchlike to serve you as National Di-rector-South Central Region.


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Pawed Combat Patriotsby Alice A. Booher

Part of an occasional series

For centuries, animals have playedpervasive, practical, patriotic roles inmilitary combat operations, frombattle to sentries to messengers.Many species have been involved, andwe will eventually address some oth-ers of these and in several contexts.For now, our focus is on working(combat) dogs.

George Washington reportedly hadsome 50 dogs during his lifetime,and as was the custom of some sol-diers, took one named Sweetlipswith him to war. At the Battle ofGermantown, Washington spotted afriendly dog, whose collar and tagsshowed it belonged to British Gen-eral William Howe. According to theNorton Bulletin of July 4, 2010, Wash-ington via his aide-de-campAlexander Hamilton scheduled abrief (white flag) truce, slipped anote in the dog’s collar, and returnedhim to a duly impressed and appre-ciative Howe.

The U.S. officially used dogs duringthe Seminole Wars. Pit bulls andother breeds were used for protec-tion, sentries, sending messages andguarding POWs during the AmericanCivil War.

During World War I, the U.S. initiallyonly worked with Alaskan sled dogsto pull carts and ammunition upmountains, but later expanded useto sentries, messengers, and as redcross/ambulance dogs who hauledmedical supplies. Many historicalreferences cite hero dogs like Rags,a mixed breed terrier, mascot of theU.S. 1st Infantry Division, adopted outof Montmartre section of Paris, whosaved lives in the Meuse-Argonnecampaign although he had beenbombed, gassed and partiallyblinded; Rags returned CONUS withhis seriously wounded handler afterwhose death Rags was adopted bythe ubiquitous infantry family. A pitbull named Stubby was given the rankof Sgt during WWI when he discov-ered, captured and alerted Allies tothe presence of a German spy.

In WWII, a German Shepherd-Collie-Siberian Husky mix named Chips washighly decorated (and a movie madeabout him by Disney in 1990). Heserved as a sentry dog with the 3rdInfantry in North Africa, Sicily, Italy,France and Germany and at theRoosevelt-Churchill Conference in1943. His gallant exploits included(while being pinned down on thebeach by Italian machine gun fire),jumping into pillboxes, attackinggunners and helping to take 10 Ital-ian POWs.

The U.S. Marine Corps used 549owner-donated dogs in the Pacificislands during which time the Do-berman became the official USMCdog. A program called “Dogs forDefense”, made up of breeders andtrainers, was established and a largenumber of sentry dogs resulted,some 3,000 of whom worked for theU.S. Coast Guard and military dogsbegan to be identified as K-9’s.

In World War II, a British pointer dognamed Shudi (Judy) (born in Shang-hai in 1930 and buried in Tanzaniain 1950), served onboard RoyalNavy’s HMS Gnat and HMS Grasshop-per. Judy was credited with help-ing to saves lives following theGrasshopper’s sinking, was capturedby the Japanese, and made friendswith many of her fellow POWs includ-ing Frank Williams. According to abook by Varley and James and many

anecdotal reports, Judy had morelives than most cats: she was sen-tenced to be killed by the guards,survived the jungles of Sumatra, re-turned to Britain with Williams whereshe was registered as a WWII POWand was awarded the Dickin Medal(and collar, now in the Imperial WarMuseum), considered to be ananimal’s Victoria Cross.

The Scout program for dogs hadbeen so successful in the Pacificthat when the U.S. deployed for theKorean Conflict, some 200 sentrydogs and a scout dog went along.After Korea, the Army dismantled theprogram to be taken over by the U.S.Air Force primarily as sentries forprotecting air bases and missile sites.

According to Historian Harry Sum-mers’ The Vietnam War Almanac, allbranches of the U.S. military madeextensive use of dogs in Vietnam in-cluding scouting, tracking, sentryduty, flushing out tunnels and de-tecting. After being trained at Ft.Benning, they went primarily to BenHoa for further training, in-countryacclimatizing and then worked coun-trywide. A recent feature by CNNreported about 5,000 dogs workedin Vietnam with 10,000 servicemenas handlers, and K-9 units said tohave saved over 10,000 lives. Ofthese, 232 working dogs and 295 oftheir handlers were killed; about 200dogs were then assigned to othernon-CONUS military bases, but manywere deplorably left behind as “mili-tary surplus” when the U.S. pulled outof Vietnam.

Since the 1970’s, the USAF used1,600 dogs worldwide and still usesthem, in reduced numbers, in Af-ghanistan. A spokesperson from the37th Training Wing at Joint Base SanAntonio-Lackland in Texas, wheremost military working dogs (MWD)


29

pawed patriots,cont’d...

are trained, indicated that there arenow about 2,500 MWD serving athome and abroad. Other sourcesrefer to some Military Contract Dogs(MCD) operated by contractors. In2000, President Clinton signed a billallowing military dogs to beadopted; handlers get first choiceand 90+% are adopted by formerhandlers. The Canine Member of theArmed Forces Act was passed aspart of the National Defense Autho-rization Act which allowed for someother support. There are also civil-ian groups that assist in post-serviceadoptions, several CONUS memorialsprimarily at military bases, and a na-tional memorial has been proposedto honor all American working dogssince WWII. (The British already havea national Animals in War Memorialin Hyde Park, London featuring twomules, a horse and dog.) Of the adop-tions that go to nonhandlers, somego to other careers (e.g., The NY DailyNews announced in February 2014that a German Shepherd, Caesar, with3 overseas U.S. Army tours was a val-ued recruit with the NYC policeforce).

MWD (and CWD) include a wide vari-ety of canine breeds. However, somerather remarkable recent stories in-clude Belgian Shepherd Dogs (Mali-nois or Chien de Berger-Belge). Ma-linois, like other Shepherds, are par-

ticularly well suited for detectingodors (e.g., from humans, explosives,accelerants, drugs), search and res-cue or tracking. Trained by the Britsand Americans, these dogs are alsoused by Unit Oketz of Israeli’s De-fense Forces. One named Posy re-ceived the Israeli Medal of Distin-guished Service for going into a 6-story collapsed building to locatetwo trapped Mossad agents; badlyinjured, she stayed with them untilall were rescued.

The Dogington Post website says thatthere have been 578 Army dog teamsin Iraq and Afghanistan and at least4 MWD’s have died since March2011. Many facilities and units usedogs along with military police. Pressstories refer to a military dog namedBrad and his handler as being among38 killed in August 2011 when aspecial ops helicopter went downover Afghanistan.

U.S. Navy SEALS and other SpecialOps groups all train dogs, includingLabrador Retrievers and Malinois,and the international press reportedthat one of the latter named Cairowas part of OPERATION NEPTUNESPEAR, which located, captured andkilled Osama bin Laden. The SEALS,a Pakistani-American translator andCairo had flown in on two modifiedBlack Hawks (one of which crashedoutside the compound walls).Cairo’s role was to help clear thebuilding, sniff for bombs and booby-traps, search for false walls or hid-den doors and keep the curious atbay. News reports indicated thatCairo had been trained to slide downropes and jump 5,000 feet with pro-tection of Canadian made K9 bodyarmor with a load-bearing harnessfor tandem rappelling and parachut-ing. [Dogs also have Kevlar jacketsand other protection and may wellcarry equipment.] When PresidentObama went to privately thank theNaval Special Warfare DevelopmentGroup team, he asked to meet Cairo(the dog was the only named op mem-ber), then being held in another roomby Secret Service; the SEALS com-mander suggested an introductionvia Presidential treats.

Another Malinois in recent news iscalled “Colonel”, (whether from his

given name or simply his rank is un-clear; dogs are given ranks that makethem senior to their handlers to en-sure that humans treat them withdeference; their rank patch is dis-played on their body armor). Colo-nel was purportedly captured fromcoalition troops operating in easternAfghanistan in December 2013.NATO and then the U.S. confirmed adog went missing at that time with-out identifying the unit to which hehad been assigned; it was later sug-gested that it was a British specialops unit. A video later surfaced ofrobed, bearded men displaying spe-cialized M-4 assault rifles withscopes and a captured dog wearinga protective vest, a global position-ing devise with a light blinking anda camera. [A fascinating recent For-eign Policy Journal piece and otherassociated data on MWD suggest thatthe more elite of dog assault suitscan cost upwards of $86,000. TheBlogs Nosey Parker has also notedthat the MWD are often equippedwith cameras and special doggienight goggles with infrared capabil-ity to allow a dog to see heat formsthrough concrete]. A front page ar-ticle in The Washington Post on Feb-ruary 7, 2014 noted that a Talibanspokesman said the dog had beencaptured after a long firefight be-tween coalition forces and theTaliban in the Alin Nigar district ofLaghman province, Afghanistan. Henoted that the dog had been outfit-ted with “sophisticated devices “. Thevideo showed chanting mujahedeendeclaring victory in striking downcoalition spies by capturing Colonel,now a POW probably held in Afghani-stan or Pakistan, and whose ultimatefate has not since been confirmed.

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

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

contributions

The Legacy of your lovecan live on after…

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

It’s very simple to make a be-quest to the American Ex-Prison-ers of War. Simply share this sen-tence with your attorney or finan-cial planner and they can add thefollowing to your will or livingtrust:

“I give, devise and bequeath to theAmerican Ex-Prisoners of War,3201 E. Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40,Arlington, TX 76010, the sum of$_______ or ______percent of therest, residue and remainder ofmy estate.”

Please take a few minutes of yourtime to help.

2014National Conventionin Arlngton, Texas

June 25-28Bring the kids...bring the

grandkids...there is plenty todo and plenty to see!


30

GENERAL FUND

In memory of Annette Simpson,by Mid-Iowa ChapterIn memory of Art Meyers, byJohn PedersonIn memory of Arthur Meyers,by Phyllis HutchinsIn memory of BobVonSternberg, by Timothy StarrIn memory of Charles JSchroer, by Members of the MileHigh ChapterIn memory of Charles JSchroer, by Mrs. Louise Schroer,Family and FriendsIn memory of Ferrin W Eiland,by John S Avant, DDS

In memory of Ferrin W Eiland,by Yvonne Eiland VeaseyIn memory of Gloria Noble, byRobert NobleIn memory of Herbert C Brown,by Lieselotte LeBaronIn memory of Jean EdithMcCarthy, by Linda GerbrachtIn memory of Jean EdithMcCarthy, by Sue ChandlerIn memory of Jean EdithMcCarthy, by Terry OttonIn memory of Joe Cucarola, byJohn PedersonIn memory of Joe Cucarola, byPhyllis HutchinsIn memory of Joe Cucarola, bySusanne JacksonIn memory of June Warner, bySally MorganIn memory of Maj. Donald DDorman Jr, by Ruth E DormanIn memory of Marie James, byMarvin & Josephine RoslanskyIn memory of Michael Gagich,by Bill Jeffers

BULLETIN

Brooklyn ‘Key’ Chapter of NewYork

MEDSEARCHIn memory of LeonardHornbeck, by the ColumbiaRiver ChapterIn memory of Steve Swidarski,by Lena Swidarski

VOLUNTARY FUNDING

Ben Ernst, Nashville TNCharles Houghtaling, SikestonMODeborah Wells, Greensboro NCDorothy Page, Montclair CAEdward Wallner, Edison NJGermaine Thompson, NekoosaWIJean Pease, Farmington NationalHeadquartersKachadour Avedisian, CranstonRIM/M Rudolph Vidmar, ApacheJunction AZMaurice Markworth, Palmyra PANorma Burns, Tucson AZRobert Snovel, Sellersville PARussell Mann, Southold NYIn honor of Pittsburgh AreaChapter, which we had to closein February, 2014, by Anne &Frank KravetzIn memory of John Cullinane,by Beatrice CullinaneIn memory of Joseph Carson, byLeonard Fattic

A BigThank YOU!!!

to the Brooklyn “Key”Chapter for theirgenerous donation

to the Bulletin

National Headquarters3201 East Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40Arlington, TX 76010;(817) 649-2979

new members

New Members“Welcome Home”

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

Certificate of Captivity


31

Steven Michael VenglarcikPetersburg MISon of Steve Venglarcik, ETO

Donald W CorbineShelly ACanton NYSon of Donald Corbine, KOREA

Dwayne A CorbineRussell NYSon of Donald Corbine, KOREA

Patricia A MyersCanton OHDaughter of Charles E Myers, ETO

John Steven VenglarcikWhitehouse OHSon of Steve Venglarcik, ETO

Karen ZaleNewport VTDaughter of John Zale, PAC

taps Please submit taps notices to:

Cheryl Cerbone, 23 Cove View Drive, South Yarmouth, MA 02664


32

BURNS, Kenneth M., 89, of Tucson,AZ passed away Feb. 2, 2014. Heserved with the 8th AF, 429th BG, 728th

BS during WWII; was shot down,captured and held in Stalag Luft 11B,6 and 4. He leaves his loving wife of68 years, Norma, 1 daughter, 1 son,grandson and great-grandson.

BURNS, Opal, 84, of Bowman, NDdied Feb. 6, 2012. She as an activemember of the North Dakota chapter,AXPOW. Opal was the widow of ex-POW Allen (capturd on Corregidorand POW at O’Donnel andCabanatuan. Survivors include 1 son,6 daughters and their families.

COSSIN, Carl, of Columbus, OH diedMarch 25, 2014. He had served in the10th Mountain Division in Italy inWWII and served in Co. A, 21st Inf. inKorea. He was a POW for three yearsand told that story in his book “RawGuts”. He is survived by two sons, 3grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. He was a member ofOhio Chapter #1, AXPOW.

COWAN, Douglas, of San Antonio,TX passed away on February 19,2014. Doug was a former memberof the Agua Fria Chapter, Sun City,AZ. He served with the U.S. Army inthe Battle of the Bulge and is sur-vived by his wife, Theresia.

CRAWFORD, Frances Wright, 92, ofHampton, VA passed away Feb. 10,2014. She was 92. On December 5,1942 she married ex-POW M. H.(Jimmy) Crawford, now deceased.She was a member of the James HaleChapter and a life member ofAXPOW. She is survived by 1 son, 2daughters, 1 sister, 4 grandchildrenand 6 great-grandchildren.

CUCAROLA, Joe F., of Sterling, COdied March 8, 2014 at the age of 93.

During WWII, he served with the 106th

Inf. Div, Co B, 422nd Reg. He was cap-tured in the Battle of the Bulge andheld in Stalags 4B, 8A and 12B. Joewas an active member of the North-east Colorado Chapter and life mem-ber of AXPOW. He leaves his wife of60 years, Lillian, 2 sons and theirfamilies.

DENTON, Jeremiah, of Williamsburg,VA, former Alabama Senator, diedMarch 28, 2014. He was 89. The re-tired Navy rear admiral survivednearly eight years in captivity in Viet-nam, including time in the infamous“Hanoi Hilton” after his Navy A-6EIntruder jet was shot down on abombing mission in 1965. Dentonachieved widespread recognitionduring his imprisonment. In an inter-nationally televised press conferencein 1966 staged by the North Vietnam-ese for propaganda purposes, heanswered the interviewer’s questionswhile simultaneously blinking, inMorse code, the message “T-O-R-T-U-R-E.” The message confirmed to theU.S. for the first time that U.S. POWswere being tortured in captivity. Heis survived by his wife, Mary BelleBordone, 5 sons, 2daughters, abrother, 14 grandchildren and 6great grandchildren.

FEHLMAN, Alvin I., of Wauconda, ILdied Jan. 22, 2014 at the age of 92.He was captured in the Battle of theBulge while serving with the 106th Inf.,423rd Reg. He was held in Stalag 4B.Alvin was a life member of AXPOW.He leaves 2 sons, 1 daughter, 5grandchildren, 11 great-grandchil-dren and 1 sister.

FORTE, Jack C., member of the FoxRiver Valley Chapter, AXPOW, passedaway. He served with the 15th AF,454th BG, 357th BS during WWII. Hewas captured and held in Luft 3,13D and 7A until liberation. Survi-vors include his wife Ann and 5 chil-dren.

FREY, Helen C., 89, of Montgomery,Alabama died 17 February 2014. Shewas the widow of Frederick J. Frey,Stalag Luft III. They were both pastCommanders of the AXPOW Mont-gomery Chapter. They leave behindfour daughters and four grandchil-dren.

FURIGA, Frank , of BroadviewHeights OH, died January 17, 2014.Frank served with the 547th BS, 384th

BG and was held in Germany. Mem-bers of the Barbed Wire BuckeyeChapter, he is survived by his wifeof 57 years, Teresa ‘Terri’.

GAGICH, Michael, 88, of Butler, PApassed away January 23, 2014.During WWII, Michael served with the401st Bomb Group flying out ofDeenethorpe, England. Followinga ditching in the North Sea while returning from a mission overGermany on February 16, 1945, theentire crew spent over 12 hours in asingle 5-man raft. They driftedwithin shouting distance of a Germanshore defense installation in Hollandwhere the entire crew becamePOWs. They were all within an houror two of death from hypothermia. He is survived by one daughter, twograndchildren, six great-grandchildren, and one great-greatgrandchild.

GOSS, Delayne, of Colorado Spring,CO died March 4, 2014. She issurvived by her husband, Arthur (ex-POW in Germany), 3 grandchildren, 11great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild and 1 sister.

GRACE, Nancy, member of theSpringfield, IL Chapter, AXPOW, diedDec. 24, 2013. She was the widowof Bill (ex-POW, Chapter Commander/State Dept. Commander). She will begreatly missed by all who knew her.

GUILLORY, Alva, 94, of Evergreen,LA died Feb. 16, 2010. He served inthe 142nd Inf. Div. and was capturedin Southern France and held in Stalag

taps cont’d....


33

3C in Germany. Alva leaves his wife,3 children, 7 grandchildren and 13great-grandchildren.

HEFFRON, Charles Buckner“Chuck”, 95, of Athens, TN diedMarch 23, 2014. During WWII heserved in the U.S. Army; as a memberof the 1st Aircraft Warning Company,his company brought the first RA-DAR to the Philippine Islands. Whenthe Philippines were surrendered tothe Japanese May 6, 1942, he wassent to prison camps Cabanatuan andBilibid in the Philippines, and thenon “Hell Ship” (the Nissova Maru) tothe POW camp Fukuoka No. 3,Kyusha, Japan, where he was forcedto do hard labor in the Yawata steelmills. He was a POW for three andone half years. He served as ChapterCommander of the American Ex Pris-oners’ of War, and as Tennessee StateCommander. He was a National Ser-vice officer with AXPOW. He is sur-vived by his wife, Frances, 2 sons, 7grandchildren, 13 great-grandchil-dren; one sister, and 1 brother.

HIZENSKI, Jessi S “Hi”, of Frederick,MD, died in Feb, 2012. He servedwith the 15th AF, 49th BS, 2nd BGH andwas held in Luft 1. He is survived byhis wife, Ella Mae.

HUNTER, David, 89, of Johnstown,PA passed away Nov. 28, 2013. Dur-ing WWII, he served with the 106th Inf.,Co D. He was captured in the Battleof the Bulge and held in Bad Orbuntil liberation. He leaves his lovingwife of 65 years, Leona, 4 sons, 1daughter, 11 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, 3 sisters, 2 brothersand a large and loving extended fam-ily.

HUREAUX, Carol M., of Alaska diedJuly 9, 2012. She was 85 and thewife of ex-POW William for 66 years.Bill served in the 35th Inf. Div., 320th

Reg., Co K; held in Stalags XIIA, IIIA,KDO 499E, XIA. Carol was a memberof the Alaska Chapter, AXPOW. Inaddition to her husband, she leaves2 children, 6 grandchildren and 7great-grandchildren.

JOHNSON, Robert G., of MarbleFalls, TX died March 8, 2014. DuringWWII, he fought in the North Africa-Italy Campaign; he was a POW inStalag 3B, 2B, 3A, 7A for 19 months.Robert was a life member of AXPOW.Survivors include his wife, Nelda, 6sons, 4 daughters, 17 grandchildrenand 221 great-grandchildren, numer-ous family relatives and dear friends.

KENNEDY, Blanche, 89, of Benedict,MN died Feb. 23, 2014. She as a mem-ber of MN Lakes Region Chapter,AXPOW, serving as Adjutant-Trea-surer and later as Sr. Vice Com-mander. Blanche was the widow ofCharles (POW in Germany). She leaves6 children, 22 grandchildren, 23great-grandchildren, 1 brother andtheir families.

KREBS, William Guy Jr. , ofPascagoula, MS passed away Feb. 16,2014. He was 93. Guy was a life mem-ber of AXPOW, member of the Mag-nolia Chapter and Dept. Commander(MS). He was captured while servingin the USA in the Battle of the Bulgein the Ardennes Forest. His lovingwife, Mimi, 4 sons, 1 daughter, 4step-children, 30 grandchildren, 33great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren survive him.

LAWRENCE, Arthur, of Wallingford,CT died Aug. 9, 2013 at the age of88. He was captured in Italy at theAnzio beachhead during WWII whileserving with the 7th Inf. Reg., 3rd Div.Arthur was a life member of the Con-necticut Chapter, AXPOW. Survivorsinclude his loving wife, Pauline, 3brothers, and many nieces, nephewsand extended family.

MARSH, Richard, 80, of Columbus,OH, died Feb. 23, 2014. He served inthe First Cavalry Division in the Ko-rean conflict and was a POW forthree years. He was a member ofOhio Chapter One, AXPOW. He is sur-vived by his wife Martha, 2 children,2 stepchildren and 3 grandchildren.

MEHLHAFF, Walter, 91, of HotSprings, SD passed away May 6, 2013.He served in the 1st Inf. Div. fromNorth Africa, Sicily, Omaha Beachthrough France, Belgium and wascaptured near Stolberg, Germany.Survivors include his wife, Delma, 2

sons, 2 daughters, 5 grandchildrenand 4 great-grandchildren.

NORTH, Carol Oglee, of Wellfleet,MA and Largo, FL passed away Feb.18, 2014. She was the beloved wifeof Brig. Gen. Kenneth W. North, whopreceded her in death in 2010. In1966, Ken was deployed to Vietnam,was shot down and held until 1973.During the latter part of the Vietnamconflict, Carol worked with theNixon administration as the Head ofthe National League of Families inWashington, D.C., to work toward thegoal of bringing the POWs back hometo America. She is survived by 4daughters and their families, as wellas her loving grandchildren andgreat-grandson. She also leaves 2sisters, as well as many other familymembers and friends.

OHLAUSEN, Jacob, of Elmhurst, ILdied March 1, 2014. He and his wifewere member of the Fox RiverChapter, AXPOW. Jack served in theArmy, 36th Div., 141st Inf. He wascaptured and held in 5B and 7A. Hiswife, Corrine, survives him.

OLIPHANT, Ruth Bartlett, of Dallas,TX (formerly of Colorado) died March6, 2014. Her husband, John,predeceased her. Ruth is survived by1 son, 1 stepson, 4 grandchildren, 6great-grandchildren, nieces andnephews.

RANNENBERG, Karl S., of Janesville,WI passed away Sept. 29, 2013. Hewas commander of the Southern WIChapter, AXPOW. Karl was capturedwhile serving with the 168th CombatEngineer Bn during the Battle of theBulge. He leaves his loving wife of50 years, Darlene, 3 sons, 2 stepsons,1 stepdaughter, 7 grandchildren, 7great-grandchildren and theirfamilies.

ROTELLA, Louis J., 91, of Paterson,NJ died Dec. 25, 2013. He was a WWIIveteran of the 8th AF, 388th BG, 561st

BS. After being shot down andcaptured, he was marched from

taps cont’d...


34

ND BennyRayborn

chaplain

HELLO!I am sure almost every one has re-ceived a sweepstakes promotion inthe mail at some point in their lives(For some of us, many times). I re-cently received a letter that statedin very large type, “You have defi-nitely won $25,000”.

Nurenberg to Stalag 7A. His wife of62 years, Raffaela, predeceased him;he leaves 2 children and 4grandchildren who miss him verymuch.

SACSON, Gunnar, of the Fox RiverValley Chapter (IL) passed away Jan.25, 2014. He was 95 and a survivorof the Bataan Death March whileserving with the 200th Coast Artillery.Gunner was held in O’Donnell,Cabanatuan and the YokahamaBrickyard, Nigata. Gunnar’s wifeThelma predeceased him; he leavesone daughter and her family.

SAYLOR, Homer Brooks of SevenHills, OH, passed away Feb. 1, 2014,at the age of 96. He was a veteranand prisoner of war during WWII,serving with the 36th Div, 134th Reg.,USA. He was a POW at Stalag 2B untilhis liberation in May 1945. He issurvived by one son and daughter-in-law, 4 grandchildren and 2 great-grandsons.

SHENKER, Max, of Sunrise, FL diedJan. 29, 2014. He was 94. DuringWWII, he was captured while servingwith Co G, 41st Armored Inf. Reg. and

held in Stalag 11A. Max leaves hiswife of 72 years, Ida, 3 sons, 7grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

SHOWS, Janelle Napier, 86, ofMoselle, MS passed away Nov. 1,2013. She was the widow of ex-POWClifford; both were members ofAXPOW and the Mississippi Chapter.Janelle is survived by 2 sons, 2daughters, 1 brother, 1 sister, 12grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and 7 great-great-grandchildren.

SIMPSON, Annette , beloveddaughter of ex-POW Russell(deceased) and Isabelle died Nov. 26,2013. Russell was a POW held inCaps 66 and 59. All were membersof the Mid-Iowa Chapter, AXPOW.

SNIDER, Norman Earl, of Peoria, AZ,passed away on Feb. 4, 2014. Normanwas a member of the Agua Fria Chap-ter, Sun City, AZ. In 1950 he joinedthe Air Force Reserves and wascalled to active duty in Korea. Hewas a gunner in a B-26 and was shotdown and captured in North Koreain March, 1951 and held until thearmistice, August, 1953. Norm issurvived by his wife, Kathleen, a

BennyBennyBennyBennyBenny

daughter, a son, 6 grandchildren and2 step-grandchildren.

SONGER, Harold “Sparky” , ofDanville, IL died Jan. 12, 2014. Heserved in the Army during WWII,fought in the Battle of the Bulge aspart of the 106th Inf. Div He was cap-tured and held in 4A and 4B untilliberated. Sparky was the formercommander of the Illiana Chapter,AXPOW. He leaves 1 son, 1 daughter,6 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchil-dren, 1 sister and his loving catHemingway.

TSUYOSHI, “Nick” Nishimoto, 85, ofHonolulu, retired Army staff sergeantand 35th Infantry member whoserved in the Korean (POW in Camp5) and Vietnam wars, died inHonolulu. He was born in Hilo. He issurvived by 3 daughters, 1 brother,11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

UNGER, Alice F., 90, of Lafayette, CApassed away Feb. 13, 2014. She asthe beloved wife of ex-POW John(captured on Wake Island and held44 months). In addition to herhusband, she leaves 2 sons, 3grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

Not having been born yesterday I readthe material carefully. Finally on page4 I learned, “You have definitely won$25,000 if your name is drawn fromall entries…” A really different storyfrom the headline of page one.

There are some people you cannottrust. You need to read the “fine print”to see the true story. The companythat sent me the mailing intended toearn money when/if I ordered theirproducts.

When the chips are down, when noone else is trustable, when there isno one to talk to, there is one youcan rely upon. There is God.

Our Ex-Prisoners-of-war learned thatthe hard way. I have heard severalstories of our loved ones findingGod in the prison camp and neverlosing Him.

A bold statement but within 2 Peter3:9 we find that God is “…not will-ing that any should perish,”. Thesewords hold a number of promises forus including, God is not against you.Rather, He is “for you” and He wishesyou good not evil. It is no wonderthat many people in times of war turnto the Lord God for protection. Inthese days of “peace” can we do anyless?

My prayer for you is, May God blessyou and keep you safe. Amen.


35ALL CHECKS MUST BE MADE PAYABLE TO

AXPOW OR AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR


36

AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WARVOLUNTARY FUNDING PROGRAM

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

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

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

Bulletin each issue.

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

$20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $100.00 Other

Please circle one category:

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

Name

Address

City/State/Zip

Phone #

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

Mail contributions to:National Headquarters

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

Arlington, TX 76010


37

American Ex-Prisoners of WarWebsite Biography

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

Name: Nickname:

Address:

City/State/Zip: Telephone:

Spouse:

Email:

Conflict and Theater of Operation:

Branch of Service: Unit:

Where were you captured? Date captured:

POW camps you were held in:

How long were you a POW? Date liberated:

Medals received:

Job in the military:

After military service:

Your biography listing may include 1 or 2 photographs (color or black and white) and a 1000 word or lessnarrative. Please type or print your narrative. Photos and narratives may be emailed to [email protected] reference “Biography” and your name.

Send to:American Ex-Prisoners of War, 3201 East Pioneer Parkway #40Arlington, Texas 76010-5396. Pleaseinclude your check for $65.00, your photos and narrative (or indicate what date they were emailed).


38

American Ex-Prisoners of War

50/50 drawingNovember 2013 Arlington, TX

1st Place Adene Miles, MS $241.402nd Place Skip Moore $181.05

donated back to organization3rd Place Velma Wilson $120.704th Place Alice Gollin $ 60.35

These drawings help raise money needed for ouroperating expenses. They allow our membersto participate in a very worthwhile project, whilegiving them a chance to win. 50% of the dona-tions will be given to the General Fund and theother 50% are awarded as prizes. The amountsare determined after all donations are received.You do not have to be present to win. Pleasemake copies of the tickets on the other side andoffer them to your Chapter members, familyand friends. We are asking $5.00 for 6 tickets.These donations are not tax deductible. Fill outthe tickets and send them and your donationsto:National Headquarters ~ 50/50 Drawing3201 E. Pioneer Pkway, #40Arlington, TX 76010-5396


39

The 106th InfantryDivision Association

Organized atCamp Lucky Strike 1945 active

since 1946

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

are eligible for membership in the Association.

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

Annual Reunions held yearly since 1947.

Jacquelyn Martin, Membership Chairman121 McGregor Ave.

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

E-mail: [email protected]

request formembership applicationAmerican Ex-Prisoners

of War

Name: ________________________________Address:_______________________________City/State/Zip:_________________________

Membership is open to US Military and Civilianscaptured because of their US citizenship and their

families.

Do NOT send dues with this request for anapplication

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

Formed at Camp Greene, NC, on November 17,1917 for service in World War I. The “IVY Division”has a long and distinguished heritage that continuesthrough World War II, the Cold War in Europe,Vietnam, Operation Iraqi Freedom and OperationEnduring Freedom.

Membership in the Association is open to allformer Veterans and currently serving Soldiersof the 4th ID and attached units. The 96th AnnualReunion will be September 9-14, 2014, inLexington, Kentucky.

Check our website at www.4thinfantry.org formembership and reunion information.

“Steadfast and Loyal”

The National 4th (IVY) Division Association

American Ex-Prisoners of War50/50 Drawing

PLEASE PRINTName:_______________________Telephone: ( )_______

Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________

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

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

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

You do not have to be present to win. Your donation is not tax deduct-ible. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.Thank you for your support. (6/14)



Address:_________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________




You do not have to be present to win. Your donation is not tax deduct-ible. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.Thank you for your support. (6/14)



Address:_________________________________________

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

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


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

Thank you for your support. (6/14)


PLEASE PRINTName:______________________Telephone: ( )_______

Address:________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________




You do not have to be present to win. Your donation is not tax deductible.VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.Thank you for your support. (6/14)



Address:________________________________________

City/State/Zip:____________________________________




You do not have to be present to win. Your donation is not tax deductible.VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.Thank you for your support. (6/14)



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 deductible.VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Donation not required to enter.Thank you for your support. (6/14)Ex-POW Bulletin

May/June 2014

40

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 S/HPlease allow 8-10 weeks for delivery.

Official AXPOW Cap (specify size) 40.00Vinyl Cap Bag 3.00Necktie w/logo (regular only) 30.00U.S. Flag Bolo Tie 20.00Mini POW Medal Bolo Tie 30.00Brooch pin 5.00EX-POW pin (goldtone) 5.00Logo pin 5.00POW Stamp pin 3.00Past Chapter Commander pin 5.00Past Department Commander pin 5.00Magnetic Ribbons 5.00Challenge Coins 10.00Eagle pin w/Barbed Wire 8.00(specify gold, silver or antique gold)Vest Chainguard 8.003” Blazer Patch 4.004” Blazer Patch 4.008” Blazer Patch 10.002” Medallion (for plaque) 6.00Canvas Totebag w/4” logo 5.00 AXPOW Notecards (pkg of 25) 6.00Special Prayer Cards (pkg of 25) 6.00

CLOTH STRIPES (specify which title) 3.00Life Member · Chapter Commander · Chaplain ·Historian · Past Chapter Commander ·Chapter Adj/TreasChapter Adjutant ·Chapter Treasurer ·Dep’t CommanderPast Dept. Commander · Dep’t AdjutantDep’t Treasurer · Sr. Vice CommanderJr. Vice Commander · Service Officer · LegislativeOfficer·Past Chapter Officer · Past Department Officer

QUANTITY ITEM SIZE / COLOR PRICE

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

For credit card orders: Card # _________________________________ Expiration: _________

(Check one) Master Card ___________Visa____________Name _______________________________________________________Address _____________________________________________________City, State, Zip ________________________________________________Phone _____________________________

Shipping/Handling/Insurance:

Total: $

FOR ALL ORDERS, 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 cardPLEASE PRINT:

Name _______________________Line 1 _______________________Line 2 _______________________

Name Badge with name & chapter andcity: $6.00(includes S/H)Ship to:Street __________________________

City/State/Zip _____________________

12x18 AXPOW Graveside Flag 10.003x5 ft. AXPOW Flag w/3-color logowith grommets, outdoor use 60.003x5ft. blackPOW/MIA flag, outdoor use 25.00Aluminum License Plate 5.003” Vinyl Decal 1.003” Inside Decal 1.008” Vinyl Decal 6.0012” Vinyl Decal 10.00Bumper Sticker “Freedom – Ask us” 2.00AXPOW Prayer Book 2.00Ladies Prayer Book 1.00AXPOW By-Laws 5.00POW DVD – ETO or Pacific 11.00“Speak Out” Education Packet 6.00

AXPOW Gravesite Medallion AXPOW Challenge Coin

The Medallion is 4", Bronze/Brownwith Lacquer. Hardware formounting is included. Weight -approximately 1.25 lb.

check with your local cemeterybefore ordering to see ifmedallions are permitted.

$75.00plus $15.00 S/H/IShipping costs on twoor more is $20.00.

great gifts...great hand-outs...great way to show your

pride in your organizationAXPOW Logo on front/Five

services on reverse

$10.00ea


42

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CASTING YOUR BALLOT

This year is the first time AXPOW is implementing a mail-in ballot. All memberswho are current on their dues are eligible to vote. Please follow theseinstructions.

You must use the original ballot on the next page to vote. Photocopies will bedestroyed and the vote will not be counted.

The names on the back of the ballot (the mailing label) are the members eligibleto vote. The first name listed is Voter 1 and the second name listed is Voter 2(where applicable).

Place an X in the box next to the candidates name for whom you are voting.

Write-in candidates are not allowed and there will be no nominations madefrom the convention floor.

Sign the ballot, place in an envelope and send it to:AXPOW BALLOT3201 E PIONEER PKWY #40ARLINGTON TX 76010

Ballots must be received at National Headquarters by June 20, 2014 to becounted.

Only current AXPOW members are eligible to vote.If you have any questions, please contact National Headquarters at 817-649-2979 or [email protected].

Please print:Name____________________________________________________Address__________________________________________________City/State/Zip_____________________________________________Phone ( )___________________ Email _______________________Please allow 4 weeks to make address corrections.

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

All orders for products sold byAXPOW National Organization,including dues/subscriptions

should be mailed to:American Ex-Prisoners of War

National Headquarters3201 E. Pioneer Parkway, Suite 40

Arlington, TX 76010-5396(817) 649-2979/ (817) 649-0109 fax

e-mail: [email protected] collect calls, please

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

Thank you for supporting the AmericanEx-POWS with your purchases of National

Merchandise.

Challenge Coins!great gifts...great hand-outs...great way to show

your pride in your organizationAXPOW Logo on front/Five services on reverse

$10.00ea

ex-pow bulletin - American Ex-Prisoners of War

Documents