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POW/MIA luncheon, wreath laying commemorates sacrifices of American servicemembers

  • Published
  • By Kimberly L. Wright
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  Retired Master Sgt. Roy McGinnis, a B-17 gunner in World War II, was captured by the Germans on Oct. 14, 1943, and spent the next 19 months as a prisoner of war.

Now 87, he spent part of his wedding anniversary helping to place a wreath at the POW/MIA monument in Air Park, in this way saluting his fellow POWs, the servicemembers still unaccounted for and the families they left behind. His fellow honorees included two other POWs, wives and widows.

To mark National POW/MIA Recognition Day, Maxwell Air Force Base conducted the wreath laying, as well as a luncheon featuring retired Lt. Gen. Charles G. Cleveland as guest speaker, Sept. 17 at the Officer's Club.

Sergeant McGinnis married his wife, a German native, at Maxwell. In one of the day's lighter moments, he proclaimed, "The Germans captured me twice," to laughter and applause. In reflecting upon the day, he took a more somber tone. "I think about all the people I served with ... being 87 years old, I'm very fortunate to still be living," he said.

Col. Brian Killough, the 42nd Air Base Wing commander, noted at the POW-MIA wreath-laying ceremony that the occasion is a "very solemn day for us" honoring the servicemembers who experienced the "excruciating pain of being separated from their loved ones ... (in) conditions we cannot imagine." More than 81,000 servicemembers are unaccounted for, he said. "We pause and give honor to those who served above and beyond the call of duty."

At the luncheon, the Maxwell Honor Guard conducted a Missing Man Table ceremony, which takes place at a table with five place settings, representing POWs/MIAs from each branch of the military. The ceremony is awash with symbolism, with a slice of lemon representing a bitter fate and salt representing tears shed by the missing and their families.

General Cleveland, former Air University commander and a F-86 jet fighter ace awarded the Silver Star for his actions in the Korean conflict, appreciated the awareness of POW and MIA issues that currently exists in America. "It's great that nationwide today that this day is observed everywhere," he said.

He extolled the virtues of the U.S., as reflected in the way the nation handles its global power. "We are an exceptional nation. ...We are the greatest military power right now." While other great military powers in the past, such as Rome, Sparta, the Napoleon-era French and the British Empire were concerned with conquest and "expanding their influence," America's wartime concerns are simpler. "All we asked for is a few acres to bury our dead on those lands," he said.

General Cleveland noted that although the Vietnam War is thought of more when it comes to POWs and MIAs, the statistics "were worse in Korea." Two out of five captured servicemen died in captivity in Korea. According to the American Ex-Prisoners of War, there were at least 2,700 confirmed deaths out of 7,140 captured in Korea, whereas in Vietnam, 771 were captured, with 658 repatriated. While flying patrols in Korea, he used to fly over a POW camp. "My brother-in-law, my sister's husband, was down there," he said.

He applauded the efforts of the Defense POW Mission Personnel Office, who is trying to "bring closure" to families missing loved ones. Through their efforts, 900 bodies have been recovered. "Our country never let their memory fade," he commented.

General Cleveland related the plight of some of the POWs in attendance, including retired Air Force Col. Hank Fowler, who spent "six years in those terrible conditions" in the Hao Lo Prison, commonly called the Hanoi Hilton. "Look at Hank. He's smiling over there. Only he could smile with memories of what he went through."

Paraphrasing retired Admiral Jim Stockdale, he noted, "the captors hold all the high cards except one," American will. "I'm happy to say that today and every day, Maxwell says we will not forget you either."

Members of the 504th Bomb Group paused to reflect on the plight of POW-MIA servicemembers at the luncheon. Bob Van Gieson, a former B-29 pilot, said that the luncheon was "something needed to remind people of the POWs, the MIA problem as well, so many of them dropped out of existence and need to be found."

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 142,000 Americans, including 85 women, have been captured and interned as POWs since World War I. Only one fifth of America's former POWs since World War I are still living -- about 22,641. More than 90 percent of living former POWs were captured and interned during World War II.