Photo By Maj. Barry Morris | Using a paper plate and plastic dinner ware scrounged from Camp Delaram II’s dining...... read more read more
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Since then, POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed on the third Friday in September, reminding America to honor those who serve our country and to continue to search for those who have yet to return.
The Petty Officer First Class Association aboard Camp Delaram II paid tribute to POW/MIA Recognition Day, Sept. 17, honoring all those who have been POWs, and to remind each other that there are still service members out there who are unaccounted for.
“More than 78,000 Americans are still unaccounted for from World War II; 8,100 from Korea; 120 from the Cold War; 1,810 from Viet Nam, and three from the Gulf War. These courageous Americans, who dedicated their lives to preserving and protecting our freedom, will never be forgotten,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Kenneth O’Donnell, a builder with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 18.
“Those we have served and those currently serving in the uniformed service of the United States are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice,” O’Donnell said. “We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring agonies of pain, deprivation, and internment.”
Of those in attendance for the POW/MIA recognition ceremony was the granddaughter of a POW, Petty Office 2nd Class Saramarie Mason, a steel worker assigned to NMCB-18.
“My grandfather was a lieutenant in the Army National Guard as a B-17 fighter pilot. He left his wife and newborn son to go and fight for his country at 20 years old,” said Mason.
Mason’s grandfather, Clyde Vaughan Mason, served in World War II, when he became a POW.
“On one of his missions his plane got shot down over Germany, and he and his crew were captured and they all became POWs for three years,” Mason added.
Mason then shared with the gathering her grandfather’s miraculous escape, and how he honorably upheld the Military Code of Conduct, making every effort to escape and aiding others to escape. .
“At the end of his third year in captivity, my grandfather and some of his fellow prisoners escaped,” explained Mason.
At some stage in his capture, then 1st Lt. Clyde Mason managed to retain one of the buttons from his uniform, keeping it hidden throughout the entire three years he was held captive.
During his escape, Clyde and his fellow POWs traded items of their clothes for a tiny jeep that barely ran. Later he used his button as a compass to navigate his way, leading everyone to safety.
“When he placed the button on top of a pin head, while they were escaping, it pointed to magnetic north, and somehow with that jeep and the button they made it out of Germany to safety,” said Mason.
Today, Clyde Mason is the father of four, the grandfather of 10, and the great-grandfather of an additional 10, with another great-grandchild on the way.
“He is so proud of me for who I have become, and I am so proud of him for the sacrifices he made in his life,” said Mason. “Today I am going to call my grandfather, and tell him this and thank him for what he has done and how it helped influence me to be the person I am today.”
Honoring our nations POWs and praying for the ones who are still missing in action and their families, the First Class Petty Officers Association of Camp Delaram II continues to remember the bravery and sacrifice of those who have been held captive as a POW, and those who are still out there unaccounted for, who will never be forgotten.
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.19.2010 07:02 |
| Story ID: | 56574 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 9 |
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