thedrifter
01-16-07, 09:22 AM
The Lore of the Corps
POW medal recognizes hardships of captivity
By Robert F. Dorr and Fred L. Borch - Special to the Times
Posted : January 22, 2007
The Prisoner of War Medal, established by Congress in 1985, was created to recognize the honorable conduct of Marines and other military members held as prisoners of war since 1917.
The creation of the medal grew from a growing recognition that men and women in uniform frequently suffer hardship, mistreatment, starvation and other deprivations while held captive by an enemy. Marines and other U.S. personnel held prisoner during the Vietnam War were brutally treated. Their suffering shocked the American public and prompted Congress’ decision to create the medal years later.
According to the Defense Department, a Marine eligible to receive the Prisoner of War Medal must be in military service, be taken prisoner and be held captive “while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States” or “while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force.” This has been interpreted to mean that a hostile government must hold the service member.
By that standard, a Marine detained by a foreign nation with whom the United States is not engaged in armed conflict is not eligible. It also means that a Marine taken hostage by terrorists generally is not eligible for the medal.
One celebrated exception to this rule was made in the case of Lt. Col. William “Rich” Higgins, who was taken hostage in Lebanon in February 1988 by a terrorist group said to have ties with Hezbollah. Higgins was chief of United Nations Observer Group, Lebanon; he was promoted to colonel while in captivity. He was tortured and murdered by his captors in 1989, and his body was dumped in the streets of Beirut two years later.
Because the official U.S. designation for Higgins’ captivity status was “hostage,” the American government did not demand that he receive protections as a prisoner of war, even while striving to secure his release. After his remains were returned to the U.S., Higgins’ widow, now-retired Lt. Col. Robin Higgins, was told he was not eligible for posthumous award of the Prisoner of War Medal. But supporters pressed for Higgins to be given prisoner of war status and the Navy relented. In April 2003, he was posthumously awarded the medal.
Since the creation of the Prisoner of War Medal, hundreds of Marines have received it — all retroactively — for being held prisoner during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Marines captured by Iraqi forces during the 1991 Persian Gulf War also received the medal.
Jay Morris of the Army’s Institute of Heraldry designed the bronze medal. The obverse depicts an American bald eagle with its wings displayed; around the bird is a circle of barbed wire and bayonet points. The reverse of the medal is inscribed, “awarded to ... for honorable service while a prisoner of war.”
The ribbon of the medal consists of a wide central black stripe flanked on either side by smaller white stripes. On both edges of the ribbon are red, white and blue pinstripes. The black stripe symbolizes the harshness of captivity as a prisoner of war, the white stripes represent hope and the red-white-and-blue pinstripes represent the U.S.
Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He can be reached at robert.f.dorr@cox.net. Fred L. Borch retired from the Army after 25 years and is working as the regimental historian for the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He can be reached at borchfj@aol.com
Ellie
POW medal recognizes hardships of captivity
By Robert F. Dorr and Fred L. Borch - Special to the Times
Posted : January 22, 2007
The Prisoner of War Medal, established by Congress in 1985, was created to recognize the honorable conduct of Marines and other military members held as prisoners of war since 1917.
The creation of the medal grew from a growing recognition that men and women in uniform frequently suffer hardship, mistreatment, starvation and other deprivations while held captive by an enemy. Marines and other U.S. personnel held prisoner during the Vietnam War were brutally treated. Their suffering shocked the American public and prompted Congress’ decision to create the medal years later.
According to the Defense Department, a Marine eligible to receive the Prisoner of War Medal must be in military service, be taken prisoner and be held captive “while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States” or “while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force.” This has been interpreted to mean that a hostile government must hold the service member.
By that standard, a Marine detained by a foreign nation with whom the United States is not engaged in armed conflict is not eligible. It also means that a Marine taken hostage by terrorists generally is not eligible for the medal.
One celebrated exception to this rule was made in the case of Lt. Col. William “Rich” Higgins, who was taken hostage in Lebanon in February 1988 by a terrorist group said to have ties with Hezbollah. Higgins was chief of United Nations Observer Group, Lebanon; he was promoted to colonel while in captivity. He was tortured and murdered by his captors in 1989, and his body was dumped in the streets of Beirut two years later.
Because the official U.S. designation for Higgins’ captivity status was “hostage,” the American government did not demand that he receive protections as a prisoner of war, even while striving to secure his release. After his remains were returned to the U.S., Higgins’ widow, now-retired Lt. Col. Robin Higgins, was told he was not eligible for posthumous award of the Prisoner of War Medal. But supporters pressed for Higgins to be given prisoner of war status and the Navy relented. In April 2003, he was posthumously awarded the medal.
Since the creation of the Prisoner of War Medal, hundreds of Marines have received it — all retroactively — for being held prisoner during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Marines captured by Iraqi forces during the 1991 Persian Gulf War also received the medal.
Jay Morris of the Army’s Institute of Heraldry designed the bronze medal. The obverse depicts an American bald eagle with its wings displayed; around the bird is a circle of barbed wire and bayonet points. The reverse of the medal is inscribed, “awarded to ... for honorable service while a prisoner of war.”
The ribbon of the medal consists of a wide central black stripe flanked on either side by smaller white stripes. On both edges of the ribbon are red, white and blue pinstripes. The black stripe symbolizes the harshness of captivity as a prisoner of war, the white stripes represent hope and the red-white-and-blue pinstripes represent the U.S.
Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He can be reached at robert.f.dorr@cox.net. Fred L. Borch retired from the Army after 25 years and is working as the regimental historian for the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He can be reached at borchfj@aol.com
Ellie