140 POW's from multiple wars gather together

POWs from multiple wars gather

The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 21, 2008 10:01:42 EDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — About 140 men who were prisoners of war met in Kansas City this weekend to share their stories and some camaraderie.

Many of the veterans at the 61st national convention of the American Ex-Prisoners of War served during World War II including some who were in German POW camps and others who survived the Bataan Death March — the 1942 march of thousands of American and Filipino prisoners by the Japanese.

Others attending the convention, which runs through Sunday, were POWs in the Korean or Vietnam wars.

Despite their special bond, the veterans didn’t come to Kansas City just to share war stories, said Paul Dillon of Maryland Heights, Mo.

“These guys will not let you call them heroes,” said Dillon, who attended with his father, Red Dillon, a ball-turret gunner on a B-17 bomber that was shot down over Europe during World War II. “These are ordinary people who showed the greatest valor by simply enduring under extraordinary circumstances.”
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_pow_reunion_092108/