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thedrifter
09-17-05, 11:32 AM
Veterans, friends remember POWs during recognition day
By BRIAN HAMLIN/The Reporter, Vacaville

Remembering those once imprisoned on foreign soil - and those who never came home - veterans, friends and family gathered Friday at the Solano County Vietnam Veterans Memorial in downtown Vacaville in observance of POW-MIA Recognition Day.

The ceremony commemorated the 25th anniversary of the national event, which salutes the sacrifice of American prisoners of war and the memory of servicemen and women missing in action.

Friday's observance outside Vacaville City Hall drew more than 50 participants along with the Travis Air Force Base Honor Guard, Brotherhood of Vietnam Veterans and the Vanden High School Viking Band.

Friday's keynote speaker was World War II POW Robert Tharratt of Walnut Creek, a B-17 Flying Fortress gunner who was shot down and captured during a bombing mission over Germany on Sept. 10, 1944.

His crew's four-engined bomber disabled by anti-aircraft fire, Tharratt and his fellow crewmembers had to bail out, and Tharratt didn't land in the best of locations.

"I hit the ground and, unfortunately, I was a quarter-mile from a Hitler Youth camp," the former Eighth Air Force gunner said.

"What we endured from then on was a bit of hell," Tharratt said, recalling forced marches between Nazi prison camps as German forces retreated before an Allied advance near the war's end.

He eventually was liberated on April 26, 1945.

"I weighed 155 pounds when I was shot down. After liberation, I weighed 105 pounds," Tharratt said. "I look upon myself as a survivor."

Faith, he said, played a key role in his survival.

"Those of us who did become prisoners had faith in our government and faith in our God. Without faith we would not have survived," Tharratt said.

Friday's observance also included a "Five Hat" ceremony performed by the Travis Air Force Base Honor Guard.

The solemn ceremony centered on a small dining table to which the honor guard slowly carried five military hats representing the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

"The table is set for those who have yet to return from the field of battle," said Kathleen Heeren, past Fifth District Commander of the American Legion.

"We call them brothers and sisters ... they never questioned nor faltered in doing their duty," Heeren said.

Upon the table was a vase containing three flowers - a red flower for those who gave their lives, a white flower for those who returned from battle and a yellow flower for those who remain missing in action.

Five wine glasses turned stems up also were on the table, signifying those who cannot be present. During the ceremony, they're turned upright again, "to show they are with us in spirit."

Joining in the ceremony were Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine and Fifth District Solano County Supervisor Mike Reagan, each of whom presented a proclamation recognizing POW-MIA Recognition day.

Both local lawmakers pointed out that roughly 86,700 Americans remain unaccounted for from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf conflicts.

Augustine said it's important that Americans continue pursuing the fullest possible accounting of those still missing.

"Public awareness is critical in achieving this mission and, to this end, the city of Vacaville pledges our continued support of behalf of the American patriots who paid for our freedom with their own," Augustine stated.

- Brian Hamlin can be reached at courts@thereporter.com.

Ellie

thedrifter
09-17-05, 06:26 PM
Marines reflect on sacrifice during POW/MIA ceremony
3rd Transportation Battalion at Camp Foster pauses to honor unsung heroes
By Fred Zimmerman, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, September 18, 2005

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Marines and sailors from 3rd Transportation Battalion gathered at the Camp Foster Community Center on Friday morning to remember fellow servicemembers who have yet to return home from the battlefield.

The ceremony was held on National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Before the event, a video was shown detailing the hardships of numerous prisoners of war. The men on the video, POWs from World War II through Vietnam, talked about how poorly they were treated, how sick they were, how much weight they lost and how they’d eat any crawling thing they could get their hands on.

After the ceremony began, Col. Doarin Lewis, battalion commanding officer, spoke briefly with his unit and guests. He brought the unit together, he said, to honor the sacrifices of the thousands of POW/MIA servicemembers.

“Our nation will not forget these unsung heroes,” Lewis said.

Said the unit’s sergeant major, Michael Johnson: “Take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices our brothers and sisters have made for our country.”

The guest speaker, retired Sgt. Maj. Peter Gorczewski, shared several personal stories. He said Germans captured his father on the Russian Front in World War II, but he later escaped.

Gorczewski said his father then fought with freedom fighters in his native Poland, but again was captured and eventually liberated by U.S. forces.

“My father very seldom talked of his experience as a POW,” Gorczewski told the crowd. “But when he did, he always had tears in his eyes.”

Gorczewski also shared stories from his three tours and two extensions in Vietnam, including two stories about Marines who didn’t come home despite all efforts to find them.

He told how the body of a fellow Marine killed in a firefight was never recovered, despite a 1,000-troop operation to look for him.

He also spoke of a young officer he’d befriended. Wounded, the officer got all his men pulled into a helicopter hovering to evacuate them. But as the lieutenant was being lifted from the jungle, the cable snapped.

He never was found.

Gorczewski said that every day he sees young Marines in uniform he’s motivated by knowing they won’t forget those who never came home, and that an ongoing global mission to recover the missing will continue.

“To this day when I hear ‘POW’ I think of my father and when I hear ‘MIA’ I think of my buddies,” he said. “And I will until the day I die.”

The message wasn’t lost on Lance Cpl. Brandon Gipson, with the battalions Air Delivery Platoon.

“It really furthers my respect of the men who have gone before us,” he said.

Ellie