POW Service of Remembrance held during Veterans Week

On Friday, November 6, the P.O.W. Network continued its tradition of hosting a Service of Remembrance during Branson’s Veterans Homecoming Week, to honor and remember those who endured captivity during America’s various conflicts and those still missing, and to express continued support for families who have yet to receive closure. 

P.O.W. Network Chairman Mary Schantag welcomed those gathered for the service and introduced dignitaries and POW families present; Chris Conant played the National Anthem; and Terri Howard led the Pledge of Allegiance and opening prayer. 

• 

• 

LEFT: Mary Schantag; RIGHT: Keynote speaker David Arzani (Photos by Cynthia J. Thomas)

Guest speaker for the service was David Arzani, whose mother was a teenage British citizen living in Hong Kong when it fell to the Japanese and spent many months as a prisoner. Arzani’s grandfather, serving on a British ship that managed to run the enemy blockade, did not know his family’s whereabouts during their captivity. 

Audience members’ eyes filled with tears as Arzani read from his mother’s journal notes about the years she spent in an enemy prison camp, where she was forced to watch executions and the bayoneting of infants, narrowly escaped being raped while knowing it was happening to other teen girls, and was afraid to eat the meat served to prisoners since it might be a human. In addition to the horrors, the journal also revealed the tenacity of the teens in coping with the mind games the enemy used to try to demoralize them. 

Post-war interviews were somewhat controlled and limited until a surviving nurse broke the silence years later, with many examples of violations of the Geneva Convention matching memories shared in the journal. Arzani also shared his own memories of his mother’s difficulty recovering trust, as well as her frustration with anyone desecrating the American flag. “We needed to drop that bomb,” Arzani read from the journal. “People who weren’t there, don’t know.” 

Similar stories of Japanese prison camps during World War II can be found in online archives recently made available, helping paint a vivid picture of why we must not forget those who were held captive and those still unaccounted for. 

Following Arzani’s remarks, the video of “Band of Steel” by veteran Michael Conley was another poignant reminder. Mary Schantag then challenged those present, not only to remember those enumerated in the official counts but also those lost outside of combat zones or in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as well as the civilians and women such as Arzani’s mother, whose stories are even less known. “Love is the only thing we get to keep,” Schantag said. 

P.O.W. Network volunteer Jeanne Cooper tolled the bell as family members and friends spoke names aloud for family and friends, as well as for each American conflict. After the closing hymn, “Go Rest High On That Mountain,” Terri Howard gave the closing prayer followed by the Taps played by Chris Conant. 

While progress is being made in identification and accountability, the work is not done. The P.O.W. Network works tirelessly year-round to help families recover records and advocate for the identification of remains to provide closure; visit www.pownetwork.org to learn more or to seek help regarding a family member.

Another advocacy organization is the Jefferson Barracks POW-MIA Museum located in the Historic District of St. Louis. The museum’s mission involves both honor and education, including recognition of municipalities, campuses and other groups throughout the country who are actively involved in that mission; The College of the Ozarks has received such recognition. 

By remembering, praying, speaking names and sharing stories, each of us as a fellow American can help keep the promise, “You Are Not Forgotten.”