By SALINA POST
An addition to the Salina-Saline County War Memorial in Sunset Park will honor local prisoners of war and Salina's only missing in action service member: Major Dennis Pugh.
The Memorial Day dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Sunset Park, 700 Sunset Drive. Additional information about the ceremony will be provided later, according to a news release from Sons of the American Legion Squadron 62.
READ: Salina designated POW-MIA City; second in Kansas
The project was spearheaded by Jason McIntire, commander of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 62 and fellow squadron members Kirk Cibolsk (vice commander) and Adam Hummel (treasure). McIntire came up with the idea last year after wondering how many Salina/Saline County residents became POW/MIAs in the wars, according to Sons of the American Legion Squadron 62.
Information found indicated that the following 11 individuals were POWs from Saline County.
● Donald A. Achenbach, WWII/AF BS452 BG
● James Cole, WWII/Air Force
● Harold Fulton, WWII/Army AF 15AF
● Wilbur D. Gott, WWII/Army 28INF
● Robert H. Maxey, Korea, Vietnam/Army Co G 32 Regt 7 Div
● Thomas A. McGinness, WWII/Army
● Vernon K. Rawlings, WWII/8AF 92BG
● Kenneth Schoshke, WWII/Army 34INF
● Charlie A. Stanley, WWII/Army AF B24 Bomber Pilot
● Ernest V. Swanson, WWII/Army AF ETO 44BG
● Lewis J. Wehr, WWII/Army 31INF
They will be honored with inscribed paving bricks at the site south of the war memorial in Sunset Park.
Additionally, Pugh, Vietnam, 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, 7th U.S. Air Force, was the only service member from Saline County who remains missing in action. He will be honored with a monument to the south of the war memorial, according to information in the news release.
McIntire and committee members had fundraisers to benefit the project, which will cost more than $10,000.
"To myself, it is very important to not only learn history but also to remember those who have fought and died to give people the freedom we have today. The POW/MIA monument we are building, thanks those veterans from Salina/Saline county and to make sure they are never forgotten," McIntire said.
According to information from Veterans Affairs, 140,000 American service members were captured and served time as POWs, and more than 81,500 Americans remain missing from WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Gulf Wars/other conflicts. Out of the more than 81,500 missing, 75 percent of the losses are located in the Indo-Pacific, and more than 41,000 of the missing are presumed lost at sea (i.e. ship losses, known aircraft water losses, etc.).