Our POWs - a special salute to veterans of war

I was at Clark Air Force Base in the Phillipines as a child when the Vietnam POW's returned home. I remember it so vividly and Thank God that they were finally brought home and that I was able to be a part of that homecoming. It was something I will never forget. I wish all of the surviving POW's from all wars, continues good health, best wishes and Thank them for the sacrifices they made for our country. And for those on active duty now, Thank you for your scarifices and putting yourselves in harms way everyday. My father served in the USAF for over 20 years (that is why we were in the Phillipines) and I have 2 brothers that served in the Marine Corp. during Desert Storm.

Take the time today to honor all those that have given so so much to us and our country. My father served in Vietnam, My recently late Great unlce served in WWII on the front line in the Battle of the Bulge. My Uncle was a Helo pilot in vietnam and my husband served 20 years inthe service, served Dstrom and DShield. You and I will never truly understand how much of themselves they have freely given for their country and us. These men and women are not honored enough many are forgotten.

I so enjoyed reading each and everyone of your stories. God bless all of you for what you went thru.

For me Memorial Day and Veterans Day are the most important holidays of the year. These two holidays give one time to think about the sacrifices that the brave men and women of this nation have made for us to enjoy the freedoms that we have. I wish all our veterans a nice holiday and thank them for their service.

That's not what Bush supporters said about McCain in 2000. Bush supporters claimed that McCain betrayed his country and his fellow POWs.

So much for republicans respecting military heroes.

It would be great if the VP editors created a single pdf format of all 4 days of articles with pictures, not unlike what they did with the yellow fever epidemic stories a few years ago. It would be much easier to download and read offline. Thanks for your consideration.

A friend of mine was Gerald McDowell. He was a T/SGT in WWII and the tail gunner of a B-17. His plane was shot down over Germany in 1944. He recieved the Purple Heart and was in capitivty for 21 months. He was a newlywed at the time. His book, "A tail gunners tail", is a great read. He passed in 2002 and rests in Bryn Mawr, PA. I miss him greatly. I was proud to call him My Friend.

My father was a WWII Vet. We learned years after he was discharged that he had earned the Bronze Star during a battle in France. The Army provided all the documentation, and during my own USN retirement ceremony, we arranged to have a USA Infantry Officer present Dad with his award. He was totally surprised and exclaimed, "You're 50 years late, but thank you." Dad passed a few years after that ceremony, but that day stayed with him thru the onset of dementia. I wished he had lived to see the WWII Memorial. To Mr. Bussell, you are a hero to this retired Master Chief. Thank you.

Happy Birthday to the United States Marines!

They certainly are a dying breed, but just imagine what our lives would be like if it weren't for them. Without the fervor of these great men and their predecessors, America may not have ever gained independence from Britain and maybe even would have been occupied by Nazi Germany. Say what you want about the military, but it is a necessary asset to our survival as a nation. Without it, I don't want to think what could have been otherwise.

Oh my, we owe these men so much for the freedom so many of us take for granted. The term hero is so over used in today's silly culture. These men are my HEROES! One time I met a couple of our Vietnam POWs with their wives. These neat neat people appear to appreciate every day they have on earth. It is a shame most of us can't live like this. Thank you, Guys!

Mr. Matthews is my father. The absolute braviest, honorable man I know or will ever know. As a young child he never shared this experiences with my sister and I, it was only until my late 20's and after the birth of my son he really started to talk about his experiences in the POW camps. The magnitude sometimes is difficult for our family to embrace. When I am with my father and people come up and shake his hand and thank him, total strangers...it is an amazing moment. My daddy is aging now, he never complains or grips, his humor and passion for life are unmatched. He loves his Country and fellow vets, moreover loves his grandchildren beyond life itself. So the next time you have the priviledge of thanking a vet...please do so. You will be glad you did.

This article is exactly why my family's subscription to the Pilot will be cancelled on Monday. You wait until after the election to find the service and sacrifice of these brave men noteworthy! I'd say unbelievable, but from the quality of work I've seen from the Pilot this election season, it's expected. The POWs deserve our respect and our 'thank you's' everyday- not just Veteran's Day.There are many POWs still in our area who we owe our liberty to- and they all cannot be thanked in an article or two. Perhaps showing respect to a man who served so admirably and then ran for president would have been an effective way of showing respect...instead of catering to the left and their 'mutt' (as he calls himself!).

I once had the pleasure of sitting with a WWII veteran. We happened to be eating at the same table during a dinner party. This gentleman shared this story. He was on a plane that was shot down over the Sea of Japan. Only three of the seven crew members survived the 30 plus hours they spent floating in the water. Once they made it a shore on some small island the rest was spent hiding from the Japanese. On the island they could not light a fire for fear of being caught. Iroincally they found an old concrete building with no windows. The three soldiers found there way inside and found a Japanese stash of food rations. After 10 days the three soldiers were rescued by a submarine patrol in the area. I did this story no justice and to hear this man tell the story sent shivers down my spine. On Tuesday, if you see a vet, thank him/her and if you see a vet eating pay for their lunch. God Bless this country and all of those who served.

PS For the John McCain post, he is an American hero too, but the election is over. The President elect needs your support now more than ever with the economic news in this country. Stop the blaming game and start asking what can "I do"

God Bless our P.O.W.s, our military,John McCain and God Bless America!!!!!We will never forget you!

i agree 100% if this had been about how "great" obama is.. wow the people would hve lft well over 100 comments. but no, we true hero's.. & there are 3 comments. that is sad! obama is a ZERO, mccain & the other pow's and our vets are the true hero's! america chose the zero on nov 4th. very sad! i am very grateful to the men &women who have fought for my country & my freedom. we don't deserve the price that they paid when some people treat them like trash! well i will stand up & say THANK YOU!! may GOD richly bless & keep you!
nobama 2008

A debt that cannot ever be repaid!

These brave Men saved our Country from the Marxist/Socialists/and just plain evil people that had engaged the world in horrific conflict.

Most, when they returned home were so scarred by their experiences that it was impossible to talk about it to Family or friends; some even to this day.

I had the good fortune to have known a few of the Vets of this War and they were the saviors of our Nation.

For far too long, we have just thought of them as nice Old Guys that march in parades with their hats on.

There are still lots of Old Guys that remember the prelude to the awful war that we all endured.

They saw the changes in the Axis countries and had a pretty good Idea of where they were headed.

We see much of that even today.

No Honor is too high for the Brave Men that fought to save us, and many young people today do not even know just how close we all came to speaking German in this country.

If you should chance upon a Vet please honor him/her, with a kind word and a big thanks for duty to country paid in full!

God Bless them all.

Submitted by robertm99871 on Sat, 11/08/2008 at 3:27 pm.
see the irony of the Pilot running these stories after the election?...do get me wrong racial discrimination is wrong.....but the timing of these 2 stories is suspect.

I totally understand your point of view, but we can also look at this from the point that "Veteran's Day" is approaching us.

You also have to keep in mind the IF the pilot is for the "Left" and with-held anything to booster the "right", then they are just playing their part. I mean if you are going for the Redskins i'm sure you are not going to have Cowboy's periphenellia all over your den.

see the irony of the Pilot running these stories after the election?...these men are heroes of the highest order to which we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for their personal sacrifice. The first person I thought about when I read the front page was John McCain and I'm sure the Pilot knew that most people would and feel the same toward him...so in order to prevent any appearance of supporting his candidacy they have held this story....but they had no problem running the stories about the African Americans being treated badly in the 50's and 60's...do get me wrong racial discrimination is wrong.....but the timing of these 2 stories is suspect.

Submitted by rosethornil on Sat, 11/08/2008 at 12:37 pm.
Our country had a choice between a real live war hero and POW, John McCain and a "community organizer" and Americans (by a slight majority) chose the community organizer.

That's a shame, I knew someone would come out of the "woods" and bring the presidential election into the mix of this article. I don't want to "bash" McCain about the war "hero" portion of your post, so just let-it-go. If you're going to mope around like a crazy old person; then by all means do that, or give it a rest..............Geeesh!