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UNIVERSITY AREA - Every year, the nation
celebrates POW/MIA Recognition Day to honor all
past and present prisoners of war and military
personnel missing in action. Although some
institutions dedicate the third Friday in
September to respect Americans held in captivity
and those who are missing, the Department of
Veterans Affairs' medical centers across the
country, including the James A. Haley Veterans'
Hospital in Tampa, opt to pay tribute on April
9.
The date coincides with the day in 1942 that
Allied soldiers surrendered to Japanese forces
on the Philippines' Bataan Peninsula during
World War II. The number of captured soldiers
was about 75,000, of which 11,800 were
Americans. They were marched 60 miles to prison
camps. During the days-long march, which became
known as the Bataan Death March, thousands of
soldiers died.
"It's a date to commemorate and to honor the
sacrifices of the POWs, and to be reminded that
living in a free country comes at a big price
for many," said Michael Jorge, associate
director of the Tampa hospital, whose comment
drew a round of applause from the audience full
of former POWs and their wives.
Edward J. Cutolo, the hospital's chief of
staff, said when we reflect on our problems they
seem insignificant compared to what POWs have
had to bear.
"They have a history to share, and we must
never forget them," said Carri-Ann Gibson, the
center's chief of special programs. "It is a
true honor to learn of their trials,
tribulations and triumphs. Also, we honor their
courageous wives, who've also endured so much."
Korean War Army veteran Bill Allen, 78,
enlisted at age 17, was captured a year later
and spent more than three years as a POW in
North Korea. He spoke of the need to also
remember the MIAs and described the significance
of the Empty Table set for one, placed near the
podium.
"It's our way of recognizing the missing,"
said Allen, who lives in Tierra Verde with
Helen, his wife of 55 years. "The single rose
symbolizes the families of the loved ones who
await their return; the slice of lemon is to
remind us of the bitterness of their
experiences; and the chair, it's empty because
he's not here."
The proceeds from a book Allen wrote years
later of his experiences, "My Old Box of
Memories," named after an old cardboard box in
which he'd saved old newspaper clippings and
other memorabilia relating to the war, go toward
purchasing POW flags that are flown daily at all
VA facilities across the nation. They are also
displayed during designated holidays at all
federal buildings, including post offices.
"As a prisoner of war I was one of the
fortunate ones, because I was captured by the
Chinese and turned over to the North Koreans.
But when I first got captured I had to march in
45-degree-below-zero-feels-like weather and I
hadn't had my winter clothing issued yet," he
said. "We also had to carry the wounded, but,
luckily, the cold weather kept them alive and
their wounds sealed (from blood seepage)," he
said.
Juanita Kelly is the wife of Army WWII
veteran and 87-year-old Plant City resident
James Kelly, who was captured during the Battle
of the Bulge, the last major German offensive
fought in Belgium in 1944-45. She said that for
years, he did not want to talk about it.
"He said the feeling was that nobody cared
about it and that the POWs could have pulled
themselves up and out," said Juanita, who has
been married to James for 52 years...
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