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VA hospital honors POWs and MIAs
Ed Henry is honored as a POW by Huntington VA Medical Center on Friday September 19, 2008.
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HUNTINGTON -- Twenty-two former prisoners of war joined other veterans and family members in Huntington on Friday to participate in the annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
The local recognition for the POWs and those still missing in action took place at the Huntington VA Medical Center with a ceremony and luncheon.
Most of the POWs attending were held captive during World War II. Huntington resident Ed Henry was captured in north Africa on Feb. 17, 1943, and didn't taste freedom again for 27 months. He and thousands of allies were held by the Germans in a camp near Berlin. He said the days were the longest and hungriest of his life.
"I didn't dwell on (whether I would die there)," the 88-year-old Army veteran said. "Some of the guys who dwelt on that went crazy. We knew we were going to get out if we lived long enough."
He said for many, camaraderie was essential to staying focused. And one of the friendships he built, with another POW from Morgantown named Charles Riggs, helped Henry meet his wife, Colleen.
When Henry did finally get back to America, he found that his mother had died, and his family had moved to Morgantown. When Henry ventured to the northern West Virginia city, he looked up his friend and met his sister. He and Colleen married soon after and have been together for 62 years.
Medical Center Director Edward Seiler said to the group Friday that POWs endured great odds in order to survive. From isolation to near starvation to torture, they were driven to the edge because of their patriotism.
"Every veteran has given something for freedom, but (POWs) gave something extra," Seiler said.
Set up in the recreation hall was a small, round empty table for those who remain missing in action. The table included a white tablecloth, representing the purity of freedom, and salt, which represents the tears shed by families whose only hope is to know where their loved one's final resting place is located.
Before lunch, the names of all the former POWs attending were called, and each was given a commemorative pin and a jacket or shirt and hat.
