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Team Shaw honors POW/MIA Remembrance Day

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Krystal M. Jeffers
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines are warriors who support and defend America from foreign and domestic enemies. Because of the nature of their duties, there is a possibility they could be captured by enemy forces or go missing.

Team Shaw members honored Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Remembrance Day with a 24-hour run, a vigil and reading of POW MIA names, and a retreat where a World War II POW spoke here, Sept. 19 and 20.

"POW MIA day is a big deal and it brings up a lot of emotions for a lot people who are in the military because of the sacrifices other people previously in the military have made for us to be here today," said Staff Sgt. Andrea Ma, 20th Logistic Readiness Squadron NCO in charge of vehicle operation support. "Also, I have family members who have been a POW so I can understand the impact, especially when you are waiting for them to come home and you don't know where they are. So, this day is emotional for me."

A POW MIA flag was carried continuously, during a 24-hour POW MIA run, by members of Team Shaw. In addition, there was also a 5/10K POW/MIA run as well. During the 24-hour run, Airmen and Soldiers (in three-man details) held a vigil in which names of POWs and those MIA were read.

"For 24 hours a day for how many days or years long, the POWs endured it," said Staff Sgt. Ashley Depuy, 20th LRS vehicle operator. "For us to do this for 24 hours is the least we could do to show our appreciation."

Following the 24-hour run, there was a retreat ceremony where members of Team Shaw had the opportunity to hear Thomas Grove, a POW during World War II, speak about his experience during one of the death marches after being captured May 12, 1944.

After landing in France, the 18-year old (at the time) and his Army unit, the Heavy Weapons Company D 345th Infantry of the 87th Division, "fought their way through France into Belgium."

"During this time, Adolf Hitler put on his biggest defense campaign to drive the Allied Forces back called the 'Battle of the Bulge,'" Grove recalled for his audience. "The battle was so intense, bloody and costly in casualties on both sides."

Following this, the unit was sent to Bonnerue, Belgium. The Germans had captured the town and the unit had been tasked to reclaim it, but "the company was blown apart" and the survivors captured.

"We were completely surrounded," Grove said as he remembered when the Nazis captured the house he and his fellow soldiers had claimed refuge in. "I said to my friend, Sgt. Carver, 'this is it.' All of a sudden, these Nazis broke down the front door and marched us out. The Germans lined us up and we began our forced march from Belgium to Germany."

The five day march to Lindbergh, Germany, was made difficult because of the snow.

"This was the time of Europe's worst winter in 10 years," Grove said. "It was cold and snowy. I watched some of the guys captured with us that had to walk through the snow with no shoes. It was a terrible thing."

Once in Germany, they stayed (for several weeks) in a building that the Air Force had blown the roof off of during bombings.

"Because of the holes in the roof, when it rained or snowed you would get rained and snowed on," Grove recounted. "We had to go to bed on cobble stone floor and our menu was a little piece of black bread."

The men were later moved from the prison camp.

"We were glad to leave that place, not knowing the worst had yet to come," Grove continued.

They transported 80 people in box cars meant for 40 and traveled for multiple days without food.

If they had to use the restroom they had to either "go in their long underwear, go in (their) helmet or go on the floor. That was one of the most deplorable messes I have experienced."

The train stopped at a cattle station, where they then marched three miles up a mountain to Stalag 9B, Germany.

The room they lived in had a hole in the ground that was used as a bathroom for150 POWs. Neither this or was the cold was worst the thing they had to face, according to the POW.

"Our worst enemy was these little white lice and they were all over us," said the 88-year old veteran. "Every wrinkle on our bodies was filled with white lice. Our brown uniforms became white with lice."

The day they were rescued by the Third Army was a memorable moment for Grove.

"On the day of our deliverance we could hear the artillery," he said. "When the tanks arrived, they ran down the fence and the four machine-gun towers and we were free. We kissed those American tanks like they were American girls."

"Thank the lord for the Air Force and the Third Army," he added. "Your grandfathers helped me and kept me safe through World War II. They saved me when I was in combat. So I say thank you."

His story about the hardships he overcame impacted many visitors.

"I was impressed," Ma said. "To actually hear from a guy who had to walk more than 100 miles in the snow for five days is profound. The stories about these guys who put everything they have out there and use every ounce of energy just survive another minute inspires me to work harder."

Members of Team Shaw shared similar thoughts and feelings in regard to the POW/MIA Remembrance Day and the speaker's story.

"Seeing Grove come up to speak meant a lot," Ma said. "It is difficult for them to share their experiences and (for him) to be actually able to sit there and relive it is a big deal. It meant a lot to me."

"It made me tear up," Depuy added. "It is unbelievable to me that a human (body) and heart can endure all that. It made me really grateful for what I have and proud that I am serving in the military he served in. I am thankful I had people like that before me who paved the way for our freedom."