Not forgotten (Gary Sigler)

Most probably had seen it before, but the symbol-filled ceremony honoring prisoners of war and service members missing in action that began the penultimate day of the Vietnam Veterans of America National Convention in Springfield still tugged at the emotions of the 200 or so vets who attended the 7 a.m. event.

Renee McGuan of DeKalb, a member of the Marine Corps League Auxiliary, choked up at the conclusion of the solemn 30-minute ceremony when she reminded the veterans to remember the POWs and MIAs.

“Surely they have not forgotten you,” she said.

Gary Sigler of Springfield, who was held captive at the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam for just under six years, said he felt obligated to comment on Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s comments about U.S. Sen. John McCain, who was held captive in North Vietnam for 5 1/2 years.

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P.O.W.S: At Last the Story Can Be Told (Rodney Knutson)

For weeks the returned P.O.W.s had been stepping from “freedom birds” onto the television screens—most of them saluting crisply, walking smartly, looking physically fit and acting mentally alert. As the nation’s early apprehensions faded, a new idea set in: perhaps the P.O.W.s had been humanely treated after all. That illusion

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A POW’s story (William McMurry)

Bill McMurry recently spoke to SaddleBrooke Sunrise Rotary about his experience as a POW in North Vietnam. He was captured on February 7, 1968 after helping defend the Lang Vei Special Forces surveillance camp in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam, about one and a half miles from the Laotian

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