Photo By Brittany Trumbull | Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Novosel...... read more read more
FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.--POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed in the United States on the third Friday of September, honoring those who were prisoners of war (POWs) and those who are still missing in action (MIA). Fort Novosel held a ceremony to honor and remember at Veterans Park Sept. 20 hosted by Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Novosel commander.
Gill opened the ceremony by remembering a local World War II POW.
“Col. Jerry Sage lived right here in Enterprise, AL.” Gill said, “Many of you know his exploits famously characterized by the actor Steve McQueen in the movie The Great Escape. After spending years in captivity, including much of his time in solitary for his numerous escape attempts, he was routinely punished, starved, and isolated at length from his comrades.”
In 1985 Sage published a memoir in his namesake, recounting his story as a POW.
“In his memoir, Sage accounts a line,” said Gill, “that perhaps only a former POW or MIA can fully appreciate with depth, he says ‘Home. What a wonderful word.’”
The word ‘home’ is frequently heard by all that drive through the Fort Novosel gates.
“It’s not happenstance that we great you with a 'welcome home' when you come through that gate every day,” Gill said. “We mean it. It doesn’t matter if you are a brand-new recruit or an hexagenerian DA Civilian. This is our home now and forever. Here you are all family.”
“My own grandfather, a B-17 pilot in the 390th Bombardment Group of the Army Air Corps was shot down and imprisoned from 1943-1945,” said Gill. “These men gave so much for our just cause. They weren’t all career soldiers. They stepped up knowing they would leave their families, their jobs, their homes, and their communities because our nation and the rest of the world needed them.”
Gill continued with the many accounts and stories of POWs and MIAs through all wars, but especially World War II. Many government organizations, like The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) are putting efforts into accounting for all missing American personnel.
“Pfc. Noah Reeves from Moulton Alabama was reportedly killed in action Dec. 6, 1944, and was declared non-recoverable,” said Gill. “But in 2021 unidentified remains were positively identified as Reeves. Our nation will continue to search and can not rest until every one of them has made it back, home.”
POW/MIA Recognition Day is a time to remember and honor those that sacrificed, and those continuing to sacrifice, for our nation’s freedom.
“When you sit down for dinner tonight and give thanks for your blessings, to include freedom, please remember these soldiers who couldn’t because of their captivity,” said Gill. “I ask that everyone keep in your thoughts and prayers, the many soldiers who are deployed around the globe today fighting tyranny, injustice, and oppression. May God continue to bless them and our great nation. Again, welcome home.”
To read more about DPAA, find a recent article of ours here Fulfilling our nation’s promise | Article | The United States Army.
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.27.2024 15:27 |
| Story ID: | 481983 |
| Location: | FORT NOVOSEL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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