Very Very tough choice, but...........

[Tamaroa]

No, I vote to keep the wall for those mortally wounded or Killed in Action. However, I do believe some kind of memorial would be appropriate at the National Prisoner of War Museum in Andersonville, Georgia:

http://www.nps.gov/ande/

"The National Prisoner of War Museum is dedicated to the men and women of this country who suffered captivity so that others may remain free. Their story is one of sacrifice and courage; their legacy, the gift of liberty.

The museum was officially opened and dedicated on April 9, 1999. The concept of a museum to honor all prisoners of war in American History goes back to the legislation passed by Congress in 1970 that made Andersonville a unit of the National Park Service. The law that created the National Historic Site specified that the park is preserved to tell the Andersonville story, the story of all Civil War POW camps (north and south) and the story of all POWs in American History. In the 1980's the park staff developed a partnership with the American Ex-Prisoners of War that led to a small temporary POW museum on the park grounds.

A visit to the National P.O.W. Museum can be an emotional experience. The architecture of the building, works of art, displays, and video presentations all work together to tell the story of the prisoner of war experience.
The museum is not divided by wars. Exhibits include prisoners of war from all wars together in one setting. Prisoners of war have faced the same hardships since the American Revolution. The story being told is not that of a single war, but that of all prisoners of war.

Half of the funds to establish the museum came from donations. The majority of these funds came from the sale of the Prisoner of War Commemorative Coin.



Each room in the museum tells a different part of the the prisoner of war museum. Your visit should begin with a short film entitled, "Echoes of Captivity" which is narrated by General Colin Powell. Then you will begin your tour of the various areas of the museum:
What is a P.O.W.?
Capture
Journey to Camp
Living Conditions
News and Communication
Those Who Wait
Privation
Morale and Relationships
Escape
Freedom
Directions from I-75 to the National P.O.W. Museum

Take exit 142 and turn west on GA 224. Follow GA 224 approximately 20 miles to Montezuma. There will be a stop sign where GA 224 ends at GA 26. Turn right and follow GA 26 through Montezuma and Oglethorpe. There will be a stop sign at the intersection of GA 26 and GA 49. Turn left on GA 49. The Andersonville National Historic Site will be approximately 10 miles. The entrance will be on the left side of the highway."


Bill D.

[darrels joy]

Thank you for posting this.

Darrel's father was a POW during WWII and the family may want to add his information there.

Joy

Well so much for that idea. I went to the website and it was all about the Civil War POWs.

[Tamaroa]

Look again, its not. It is the National POW Museum honoring all POW's. It is adjacent to Andersonville the Civil war Camp.

And I just realized I goofed, I meant to answer the other post and wound up creating a thread by accident! Sorry!!

Bill

[darrels joy]

In 1998 the National Prisoner of War Museum opened at Andersonville, dedicated to the men and women of this country who have suffered captivity. Their story is one of sacrifice and courage.
http://www.nps.gov/ande/

We suggest you begin your visit in the National Prisoner of War Museum. A 27-minute audo-visual program entitled "Echoes of Captivity" provides an orientation to the overall prisoner of war story.
http://www.nps.gov/ande/pphtml/activities.html

Putting It All Together
Andersonville Prison was shut down when the war ended in 1865. Some former prisoners remained in federal service, but most returned to their prewar civilian occupations. Andersonville Prison would not be forgotten, either by those who experienced it or by later generations of Americans. It continues to symbolize the prisoner of war experience: physical and mental suffering and the need to cope with almost intolerable conditions. The following activities will provide students with an opportunity to better comprehend the prisoner of war experience and understand how the story of Andersonville is relevant today.

Activity 4: Prisoner of War Camps
Ask the students to research the existence of prisoner of war camps (from any war) in their local area, their state, or a nearby state. The state historical library can provide research materials if a camp was located in the state or in a nearby state. Where were the prisoners from? Compare this prison with Andersonville.

Activity 5: Interview a Former Prisoner of War
As a class, develop an outline for an interview or discussion questions to ask a former prisoner of war (POW). Students may arrange interviews on their own, or you may ask a former POW to speak to your class. (Organizations such as the American Ex-Prisoners of War, The American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars are excellent sources for locating former prisoners of war who are willing to visit schools.) On the following day, have students compare their guest's experience with that of the prisoners at Andersonville.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps.../11putting.htm


1.5 Closures and Public Use Limits
(a)(1) To protect and preserve the natural and cultural resources of Andersonville National Historic Site, the historic site uses controlled accessibility. All visitors and service representatives are required to enter through the gate signed ?Andersonville National Historic Site,? located at the north end of the site along Georgia Highway 49, 1.5 miles north of the town of Andersonville. All traffic associated with funerals are required to enter through the cemetery gate, located .5 miles south of the main entrance.

The park?s National Prisoner of War Museum is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the exceptions of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. The park grounds are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except during Memorial Day weekend. The grounds are open until 6:00 p.m. on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Park operating hours are subject to change dependent upon seasonal visitor demands and special programs.
Management Docs

And offsite -
Andersonville National Historic Site, National Prisoner of War Museum and National Cemetery
The Andersonville National Historic Site is open free of charge seven days a week. More than 167,000 people tour the 500-acre park annually, viewing the site of Andersonville Confederate Prison, Andersonville National Cemetery where the 13,000 Union prisoners of war who died at Andersonville are buried and where 5,000 U.S. veterans have been buried since the Civil War, and the National POW Museum which honors all Americans held as prisoners of war in all our country's wars from the American Revolution to the present day.
http://www.americus-sumterchamber.com/Andersonville.htm

I stand corrected. There is information about the POW museum there. I found all of this there or connected and nothing more.

[Tamaroa]

my must see list for sometime in my life. Not just because of its civil War significance but also because of the POW museum. I'd like to see it some day because of an incident that happened to me at work.

Back around 1981, 10 years after I was discharged, I was a watch engineer in New York City. I was monitoring the console for the steam turbines and the phone rang. With my customary aplomb, I yelled into the phone "ENGINE ROOM" Its not quiet in those places you know. Well on the other end was one of the guy's wives. She said "Tell Rich, he is still normal according to the army. OK, I said and hung up. Rich came back from lunch and I deliberately gave him a weird look. "What's up", he says. "Your wife says to tell you the army says your still normal". He saw the look on my face and tell's me a horrific story. He was an army sergeant in VN. His unit was over run. He was one of just a few survivors.and he was captured and held prisoner for 2 and a half years.

Operating engineers are a playful lot, we always had good times together, he never once mentioned what happened to him. Had I not taken that call, I may have never known. He was a very generous person. Not long afterwards, there was a dedication to a Viet Nam memorial downtown. He wanted me to come. I politely declined teling him that it was his day. I had not served there. He said nonsense your a Vet so come. I did! I'd like to go to the museum and try to gain a greater appreciation of what my friend went through. As I understand it there were very few army enlisteds as POW's. He was one of them and in spite of what he went through (annual physicals with the army were required) he was a pretty normal guy.

Bill

[sfc_darrel]

I hope it's as great as you think it will be.

The website reads like they were forced to add an all-war POW section.

When you go, please let us know if they did as good a job as we hope for all our POWs. My father was a POW in Germany during WWII.

Darrel