Front, L to R: Mike Coleman, Larry Westman, George Conway. Back, L to R: SSG Billy Gibbs, SSG Bill Shawgo, SSC Phillip Perkins, SPC Josh Clark

   Memorial Day celebrations in America are losing appeal from the general public in a sad way and at an alarming rate. Not one Havana resident stopped by today but that’s okay with these heroes, they don't do difficult jobs in far away places for the glory or the thanks. I can tell you that it is a very wonderful experience to be able to “Hang with Heroes” of the caliber which today stood together on the streets of Havana, Illinois. It was interesting to see the different era soldiers get to know one another and to share a quiet yet such a sincere and common bond. George Conway is a good example of a great neighbor who you can catch around Havana most any day, yet he, like so many others endured extremely heroic events on our behalf. I would like to share a little more with you about George's story. In his WWII military career he was a survivor of an historic WWII event named The Bataan Death March. Most of you reading this have never heard of it so please take a moment to learn the basic story below:

   At dawn, 9 April 1942, and against the orders of Generals Douglas MacArthur and Jonathan Wainwright, Major General Edward P. King, Jr., commanding Luzon Force, Bataan, Philippine Islands, surrendered more than 75,000 (66,000 Filipinos, 1,000 Chinese Filipinos, and 11,796 Americans) starving and disease-ridden men. He inquired of Colonel Motoo Nakayama, the Japanese colonel to whom he tendered his pistol in lieu of his lost sword, whether the Americans and Filipinos would be well treated. The Japanese aide-de-camp replied: “We are not barbarians.” The majority of the prisoners of war were immediately robbed of their keepsakes and belongings and subsequently forced to endure a 90-mile (140 km) enforced march in deep dust, over vehicle-broken macadam roads, and crammed into rail cars to captivity at Camp O’Donnell. Thousands died en route from disease, starvation, dehydration, heat prostration, untreated wounds, and wanton execution.

   Those few who were lucky enough to travel to San Fernando on trucks still had to endure more than twenty-five miles of marching. Prisoners were beaten randomly, and were often denied promised food and water. Those who fell behind were usually executed or left to die; the sides of the roads became littered with dead bodies and those begging for help. On the Bataan Death March, approximately 54,000 of the 75,000 prisoners reached their destination. The death toll of the march is difficult to assess, as thousands of captives were able to escape from their guards. All told, approximately 5,000-10,000 Filipino and 600-650 American prisoners of war died before they could reach Camp O'Donnell.

   Yes, George Conway was one of those survivors of possibly the most inhumane act in our American history of war. He was also one of the 7 heroes on Main Street today. Heroes who place their own needs and well-being aside to do the jobs they were given to do be it in the Philippines, Vietnam, Alaska, or Iraq. There was a lot of honor, dedication, bravery, and just plain guts gathered on Main Street today. It was a great experience to be there with them and I am sad that no one else came to meet such great Americans in person, a great opportunity was missed by everyone especially our children. How often do we get the opportunity to meet 7 great American Heroes in person? But enough of that, I just want to say thank you to all of them from the bottom of my heart for being such fine examples of what an American truly is and for their extreme sacrifices on our behalf.

   Havana City Councilman, Greg Cox, provided a welcome home meal at his Chuckwagon Restaurant for the returning 1144^th members and their families. A great time along with an over-due token “Thank You” had finally been delivered, no one left hungry, without a smile, or without a feeling of knowing you just experienced something that not many will have the opportunity to share.

Havana, Illinois