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Re: Silent Hero from WW II Honored

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: April 18, 2003

"Silent Hero From World War II Honored

Military Awards Several Medals Half-Century Later

LEXINGTON, Mo. -- Nearly a dozen medals were awarded to a silent hero from World War II Tuesday.


Lt. Hector J. Polla was awarded the Silver Medal, Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart among other medals for his service and sacrifice more than a half-century ago.


KMBC's Maria Antonia reported that fresh out of West Point, Polla was shipped to the Philippines. Polla earned the medals first fighting off the Japanese at Bataan and then as a prisoner of war. But because of his prisoner-of-war status, Polla was never awarded the medals until now.

"He was part of the Bataan Death March, where many Americans were tortured and killed on the way to the camps," Rep. Ike Skelton said.


"It means to me, what a man of courage he was and how he could hold up under all that," said John Giorza, Polla's nephew.

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Hero Honored Half Century Later While being held prisoner, Polla kept a calendar and a diary. Antonia reported that Polla's mother could never bear to open them. His family recently discovered his notes in the attic.


"Page after page, it records the days they died and where they died," Giorza said.

Polla survived nearly three years in a POW camp. He was being transferred by the Japanese on a ship that was never identified with a POW flag when Allied forces bombed it. Polla was killed.

Antonia reported that the family is donating Polla's diary to West Point Academy. The information in it about the deaths of other soldiers may help other families know more about what happened to their loved ones.

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