Events Calendar
By Linda Dean
Rolling Thunder
Posted Dec 10, 2013 @ 07:29 PM
On Monday, Dec. 16, Joe Dentremont, president of the Massachusetts chapter
of Rolling Thunder, along with other members of that organization, will be
meeting with the Middleboro Board of Selectmen, at its weekly meeting, in
hopes of gaining its approval to have a dedicated Prisoner of War/Missing in
Action (POW/MIA) chair placed in the Middleboro Town Hall.
The POW /MIA chair has a special significance to the town of Middleboro.
They had more than 600 servicemen and women in the armed forces during the
time of the Vietnam War, 1964–1975. Eleven of them were killed in action in
Vietnam. Three died while in service during that period and one, William
Smith, still remains as being missing in action in Vietnam.
He was only 21 years old at the time he was captured by the North Vietnamese
on March 3, 1969. He’d been a 16-year resident of the town, having graduated
from Middleboro High School with the Class of 1967.
At the time he was taken as a POW, he was an Army infantry staff sergeant
out on patrol with Company B, 3rd Battalion, of the 8th Infantry, 4th
Infantry Division. Interviews with former POWs in 1973 revealed that SSG
William Smith was killed while a POW and our government declared him dead by
hostile actions three years after he was declared a POW. His remains have
never been found and he is therefore confirmed as missing in action.
Since World War I, 91,719 servicemen/women have yet to return home. These
members of our military took an oath to die for our country, but never to be
forgotten by our country. Rolling Thunder is an organization of men and
women who keep these servicemen and their families in the forefront. Rolling
Thunder has 93 chapters throughout the United States.
The chapter here in Massachusetts has installed a POW/MIA Chair of Honor in
Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park and TD Garden. Along with these Chairs of
Honor, we now look to our cities and towns across Massachusetts to do the
same. To date, more than 40 towns have done so along with places like the
USS Constitution, the Massachusetts State House and Boston City Council
chambers.
We hope to get a POW/MIA Chair of Honor in each and every city and town in
the commonwealth, along with stadiums across America. The University of
Toledo, in Ohio, has joined in along with stadiums in Seattle, Wash. and
Florida. It’s time to let the families of our POW/MIAs know that America
cares. Until they come home, “You Are Not Forgotten.”
Linda Dean, a 20-year Middleboro resident, is a member of Rolling Thunder,
and among those who will make their presentation to the Middleboro Board of
Selectmen on Monday.
Read more:
http://www.tauntongazette.com/newsnow/x915451548/GUEST-OPINION-Remember-our-POW-MIAs-with-an-empty-chair-in-every-city-and-town#ixzz2nCKlDY7U
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http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/former-pow-urges-students-to-lead-with-honor/d/story/rCY5BWnMF0iTY-r8JpNytw
Former POW Urges Students to Lead with Honor
Rob Evans
12/12/2013 08:06 AM
12/12/2013 08:14 AM
Lee Ellis appears on KOLR10 News Daybreak (KOLR10 News)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Retired Air Force Colonel Lee Ellis was held for five
years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. He appeared on KOLR10
News Daybreak Thursday to talk about his work now to teach leadership to
students and business executives. This week, Ellis spoke to college students
in the area about his time as a POW and leadership skills he took away from
the experience.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Retired Air Force Colonel Lee Ellis was held for five
years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. He appeared on KOLR10
News Daybreak Thursday to talk about his work now to teach leadership to
students and business executives.
This week, Ellis spoke to college students in the area about his time as a
POW and leadership skills he took away from the experience.
Colonel Ellis is in the Ozarks as a convocation speaker at College of the
Ozarks this week. He is talking to students about leadership, leading with
honor and how to withdraw, engage or dominate in stressful situations.
"When you withdraw or dominate, those are fear and anger emotions. They
don't get you anywhere," Ellis says. "When you have the courage to face a
problem and engage this issue and work through it, it's amazing what you can
get done. That's what we need our leaders in Washington to do - have the
courage to engage and not try to dominate.
From March 2013-September 2014, College of the Ozarks is honoring Veterans
of the Vietnam War to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conflict.
As part of his discussion with students, Colonel Ellis shared his experience
at the infamous Camp Hanoi Hilton as a POW.
He served as an Air Force fighter pilot flying 53 combat missions over North
Vietnam. In 1967, his jet was shot down and he held as a POW for more than
five years at Camp Hanoi Hilton-the same camp in which Senator John McCain
was imprisoned.
After the war Colonel Ellis served as an instructor pilot, chief of flight
standardization/evaluation, and flying squadron commander. Additionally, he
commanded two leadership development organizations before retiring as a
Colonel. His combat decorations include two Silver Stars, the Legion of
Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and the POW Medal.
http://www.thestate.com/2013/12/10/3151951/in-photos-union-pow-camp.html
The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology is doing
preliminary research at the site of Camp Asylum, a Union POW camp on the
Bull Street property. The institute has gained permission to research the
site before development begins. Here Chester DePratter, kneeling, and
Spencer Barker, to his left, and Jim Legg examine part of a brick wall at
the site. The use of ground penetrating radar equipment operated by Richland
County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. David Linfert, right, and Sgt. George
Becker, left, is helping to locate underground drainage pipes. TRACY
GLANTZ — tglantz@thestate.com; Read more here:
http://www.thestate.com/2013/12/10/3151951/in-photos-union-pow-camp.html#storylink=cpy
