Re: Andersonville Memorial Day Honors All POWs

Date: May 29, 2004

"U.S. POWs from all wars embraced at Andersonville

By Sharon Rauch DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

ANDERSONVILLE - Some were forced to march for days without food or water. Others dug their own graves. Some were stripped naked and beaten until they passed out. Many just died.

These American prisoners of war and others will be honored Sunday at the Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia, about two and a half hours from Tallahassee. The national park is at the site of one of the country's largest Confederate military prisons, where 13,000 Union soldiers died in 14 months during the mid-1860s. The park also is home to the National Prisoner of War Museum, dedicated to American POWs throughout history.

It can be sobering - the cemetery, with its endless rows of small white headstones; the 26 acres where 45,000 soldiers once huddled together in makeshift tents called "shebangs" with little water or food; and the museum with its exhibits and videos of men and women describing their POW experiences.

But to Brian Lathrop, 25, who's in the Air Force and recently visited the park with his wife and 15-month-old son, it's also inspiring. He said he was going to Iraq soon and knowing what other Americans had gone through bolstered his confidence.

"I get a lot of courage seeing this," he said.

During a tour of the Andersonville prison site, Barry Sharp, from Denver, said it was "mind-blowing" to think of thousands of men crammed into these few acres. The prison was initially built for 6,000 men. Within a few short months, more than seven times that many showed up.

"Poor planning," he said, "doesn't seem unique to any one era."

Remembering

In 1998, the National Prisoner of War Museum opened to honor all American POWs. In the introductory film "Andersonville: Echoes of Captivity," POWs from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq talk about their experiences. Some tear up. Some can't continue speaking.

"If you lose it (freedom) and regain it, you know what you've lost," said one man.

Their stories sound eerily similar: isolation, humiliation, torture. Little to eat; little to drink.

One man said he spent six to 10 hours a day thinking about what he'd eat when he got out.

Some got through by finding ways to communicate with each other. It was an act of resistance that boosted morale.

The museum contains other videos in addition to displays. One video describes the "bar code" that the Vietnam POWs devised to communicate. They put the alphabet on a five-letter-by-five-letter grid - minus the letter "k." Then they'd tap out numbers for the letters - two taps plus three taps would mean "m" for instance, two over and three down. The code could be expressed through many methods - knuckles rapping on a wall, a series of coughs or the sweeping sounds of a broom.

The displays include a replica of cells in Vietnam and another of a soldier in World War II digging a tunnel to escape a prison.

Artifacts include clothing and shoes worn by POWs. Said one World War II soldier: "During the march I did not take my shoes off because the blood was coming through my shoes from the blisters that had broken, and I knew that if I took them off I wouldn't be able to get them back on and be able to walk."

Life in the camp

Today, looking across the grassy, rolling hills of the former prison site, it's hard to imagine 45,000 men living here. One small creek wends through the grounds - one reason the site was chosen, but the water quickly became polluted after the prison opened.

The water first was used by the guards before making its way to the prisoners, who used it for drinking water. Near the bottom of the camp, it was used for bathing and washing clothes.

But it didn't help much. People who lived in a town 10 miles away complained of the stench.

The prisoners at Andersonville didn't have any shelter. The stockade was open to the elements. Some prisoners managed to make small tents out of blankets and sticks. Still, many suffered from exposure, and disease was rampant.

In addition to these ongoing problems, groups of prisoners called Raiders roamed the camp stealing from the other prisoners. Conditions became so bad the prisoners took matters into their own hands. They rounded up six ringleaders and a group of 24 Union sergeants held a trial. After the ringleaders were found guilty, they were hanged. White posts today mark the spot of the execution.

Nothing could stop the camp deaths - up to 100 a day by the summer. Before the war ended the following spring, almost 13,000 men had died.

On Friday, youth group members put flags on each grave in preparation for Sunday's annual Memorial Day observance. Larger flags already line the roadways of the cemetery.

Sunday, the Fort Benning Infantry Center band will play and Congressman Jim Marshall will speak. There'll be laying of wreaths and thoughtful moments of silence.

After the park closes, the people will leave. Row after row after row of headstones will stand silent. The air will cool slightly. Then the sun, slanting through the magnolia and oak trees, will finally set.

IF YOU GO
What: Annual Memorial Day Observance.
Where: Andersonville National Historic Site, Andersonville, Ga.
When: 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Cost: Free
Contact Sharon Rauch at (850) 671-6539 or srauch@tallahassee.com"