HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 years later
Eagle photo by Peter Rocha
on Myers shares a moment during special POW-MIA ceremonies Saturday with
sie Velasco, who wore a bracelet bearing Myers' name until he was freed.
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OW MIA ceremon
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By Blair Fannin
of the Eagle staff
In ceremonies at the Veterans of For-
eign Wars Post 4692 Saturday afternoon,
local residents paid tribute to those
Americans who spent -time in enemy
prison camps and to others who never
came home.
With tears of sorrow and sadness, resi-
dents remembered their friends and fa-
mlly members who were Prisoners of War
or are Missing in Action.
Eight servicemen were presented with
medals during the ceremonies. Receiving
the special medals were Edgar Peters,
Bob Boriske, Elroy Frieda and his brother
Rudolph Frieda, Alton Myers, Pat Mann,
W.T. Cantey and Frank Mucha.
The medals they received recognized
them for performing special services and
for the sacrifices they made for their
country. Each recipient had his name in-
scribed on the back of his medal.
Martin Elias, VFW District 17 chair-
man, said he is glad the ceremony was
held because he wants everyone to be
aware what POW-MIA means.
`"The public needs to know what POW-
MIA means. My job is public awareness,"
Elias said.
For Elias, the ceremonies Saturday
were merely the latest efforts to make the
public aware of POW-MIAs.
'"This past Memorial Day, my family
went to Houston and submitted a float
which we built ourselves. It was a cage
made out of bamboo and my sons were
dressed in black silk pajamas and blind-
folded inside the cage. The crowd all
stared at us, but that is what I wanted
them to do - to make them aware. We
were the only people there that supported
POW-MIA," Elias said.
College Station resident Susie Velasco,
Please see POW-MIA, 4A
POW-MIA
From 1A
who wore a POW-MIA bracelet
with Myer's name on it, ftrst met
him when he returned from the
war in 1973.
"In Houston they were selling
the bracelets to get the soldiers
out and get them home," Velasco
said. "I waited until he got home
to let him take it off. We took pic-
tures to commemorate the occa-
sion."
After his return from the war,
Myers received his master's de-
gree from Texas A&M University.
He retired from the U.S. Air Force
as a lieutenant colonel.
RE. "Sonny" Dannhaus, VFW
state chaplain, told the audience,
"We should be proud of our coun-
try that we live in and where we
can express our own beliefs."
At Saturday's ceremonies, Col-
lege Station Mayor Larry Ringer
and Bryan City Councilman Bob
Reese read a joint proclamation
declaring last week national
POW-MIA week.
Elias said the war is not over
today and that it will not end until
every American is out of Vietnam.
"We can't stop now. You've got
to keep the faith every day and not
stop," he said.