By Rachel Lindenmuth
A groundbreaking at Tobyhanna Army Depot Thursday marked the start of construction on a POW/MIA Memorial.
The Tobyhanna Veterans Council spearheaded the project back in 2001. The memorial will allow the depot to fly POW and MIA flags all year round. Currently Army regulations only permit Tobyhanna to fly the flags on certain days.
"They asked me if I would oversee the construction and I jumped at the chance because it's near to my heart. Because that's the guys who it's for. The guys who didn't come back and the guys who did. The POWs, the MIAs," said David Pope, construction manager of the project.
Pope was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He and Fred Searles, a POWÊin the Korean War, feel it's their mission to make sure the project is a success. "This is for the people who can't speak for themselves," Searles said. "They can't help themselves. They were wounded, they were starved to death, they were beaten to death and you couldn't do anything about it."
The Tobyhanna Veterans Council had hoped to get the memorial constructed within a couple years but raising the more than $50,000 needed took longer than expected. "Oh, I think we tried (to get it completed by) 2003, 2004. The fundraising was slow and we're a small group," said Caroline Jurosky from the Tobyhanna Veterans Council.
With a little patience and a lot of donations, the project is well on its way. The memorial is expected to be complete sometime this summer.
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