The POWs of the Korean War are a lesson to those who follow

Thursday August 02, 2007

WHEN coddled younger generations of Americans engage in histrionics like burning the flag, they disrespect legions who have given their all for the liberty for which it stands.

It is as good a way as any to telegraph ignorance of what matters.

Charleston was honored this week by the presence of some of the people who have served liberty -- about 400 former POWs of the Korean War and members of their families, in town for an annual reunion.

It is a gathering of people who survived shattering experiences most people can't imagine, much less understand.

And it is a good reminder to stand by those who succeed them in service to the United States. Some give more to change human history than others,

and that's a fact.

There is little whining, little bitterness, in this group that suffered so much.

Bill Norwood, now 77, "came from poverty in Tennessee." He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1947 and counted himself fortunate.

"Here I had two pairs of pants, two pairs of boots, a warm coat and more," he told the Daily Mail's Mary Childress. "I thought it was great. Plus, I was paid $75 a month -- big money to a boy from the South.

"But most importantly, I was given an allotment of $30 that I sent home to my mother every month, and the Army matched that amount.

"Despite everything, I enjoyed the military,"

Norwood said. "I put on that uniform, and I felt 10 feet tall."

Norwood was captured in 1951.

Jack Chapman, 74, now of Mesilla, N.M., enlisted when he was 16. Wounded seven times in three days, he became a POW in November 1950.

Like so many others, they spent years in captivity until after the war ended in 1953. They endured bitter cold, unspeakable cruelty, and more.

And they were the fortunate ones. About 8,000 soldiers are still listed as missing in action in Korea.

Their brothers in arms never forget them. Norwood formed the ex-POW association in 1976, and the survivors have been helping to heal each other ever since.

The U.S. government does not forget its veterans either. Decade after decade, it has continued to seek an accounting of the remaining Korean War POWs.

North Korea fought liberty to a stalemate, and has staved it off for more than 50 years now.

But these men, and others like them, won their war. Tens of millions of South Koreans live different lives.

That is an achievement that does indeed justify standing tall.