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POW Recognition By Mary K. Hamner The State of Louisiana passed legislation designating April 9, 1989, and each April thereafter as "Former Prisoner-of-War Recognition Day". Citing the designating of previous April 9ths nationally, the significance of that date in history, and the sacrifice and sufferings of prisoners of war, the Resolution was passed by both the State House of Representatives and State Senate, and was received and recorded on May 16, 1988. The daisy was chosen as a national symbol in remembrance of all former POW's. The military code of conduct required of all military personnel engaged in the defense of the United States of America states that only, name, rank, and serial number are to be voluntarily divulged to the enemy. American Folklore has long deemed that daisies don't tell, making it a sincere tribute to the memory of those who have endured hardships in silence. Glenda Guest Nelson, daughter of Isaac Glen Guest, and her family remember that Guest's suffering as a prisoner of World War II was so extreme that 'silence' was truly the key to keeping the pain he endured from resurfacing. "It was something we didn't talk about," she remembered. "If my Father's military service came up, there was a period of silence and then the subject was quickly changed. Consequently, I didn't know much about that part of his life and I felt the need to know him more fully." "That opportunity opened up for me when a question concerning widow's benefits for my mother, Lelia Guest, surfaced. Dad's personnel records had been filed away in an old trunk and left undisturbed at my Grandparent's home for many years. Those records were a treasure trove in that we found that Mom did qualify for benefits and, the letters, photographs, and military records relating to my Dad's nightmare as a POW (Feb. 22, 1944-April 21, 1945) were all there." Issac Glen Guest was a native of Colfax, Louisiana and was not quite twenty years old when he was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Force at Camp Beauregard, La. After his basic training, aircraft armament training at Lowry Field, Colorado and aerial gunnery school in Kingman, Arizona, he was sent to Kearney, Nebraska on December 2, 1943. He became part of a combat crew formed there and assigned to his particular aircraft, just before being dispatched to England. While there he met Lelia Kenton, a young teacher, and they corresponded throughout his military career and during the time he was a prisoner of war. After he had been liberated and returned home, Lelia and Glen were married. Guest was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group H as a Ball-Turret gunner on a B-17, (Flying Fortress). He was stationed in Polebrook, England. Statistics published after the war by the Army Air force tell a dramatic story about the air war against Germany. During the course of the war, 1,693,565 sorties were flown-a sortie defined as one aircraft airborne on a mission against the enemy. Of these missions, 89% were deemed effective. Mission accomplished! Flying these missions were 32,263 combat aircraft. Fifty-five percent of these planes were lost in action. On the other hand 29,916 enemy aircraft were destroyed. On the human side, there were 94,565 American combat casualties. Killed in action accounted for 30,099, with 13,660 wounded and evacuated. The remaining 51,106 were missing in action, POWs, evaders, and internees. Sergeant Guest had only been in England about three months and on his fifth bombing mission when his plane was shot down near Bernburg, Germany. Guest landed in a tree and sustained a broken arm. He and other crewmembers were found by angry civilian Germans and faced almost certain death by hanging. Their captors had ordered them to dig their own graves when the German military troops came and captured them. Guest had just turned 21 when he was captured. His parents received a telegram on March 8, 1944 stating that he was missing in action since February 22, 1944. Another telegram dated April 16, 1944 stated that he was a prisoner of war. Finally, his mother, Mrs. C. W. Guest, received this letter: "Dear Mother, Just a few lines to let you know that I am doing O.K. I am in a prison camp. I am still living and didn't get hurt. -- If you can, send me some underclothes and pants. See Mrs. McLemore, the Red Cross lady, and she can tell you what to send. You will have to send it through the Red Cross. Yes, if you have any money to throw away, give it to the Red Cross. They are doing wonders for us. ---Don't worry about me, and answer soon. Love, Glen" Guest was a prisoner of war for fourteen long months. After he was liberated and returned home in April of 1945, in rare moments of reflection, he spoke to those close to him of devastating hardships and privations. Finally when the war was almost over and the Russian and American Armies were closing in, he and other prisoners were marched from Stalag Luft VI to Stalag Luft III, hundreds of miles in driving rain and sleet sustained by scarcely any food. When he was liberated April 16, 1945, he had lost ninety pounds. Glenda Guest Nelson in her search for information learned many things she had not known before. Her Mother in earlier years had worked to raise funds to erect a monument honoring former POWs by exchanging daisies for donations and now she better understood her dedication. At the bottom of the old trunk, she found paperwork and a POW Medal recognizing the special service Isaac Glen Guest while a Prisoner of War gave to his country, recognizing the suffering and anguish he endured while incarcerated. Mrs. Nelson made copies of information found for her brothers and sisters and then returned the personnel records to the trunk. Sergeant Isaac Glen Guest continued to serve in the Army Air Force until April of 1954. After he was liberated Sergeant Guest served at Greenville, Mississippi at an inactive base as a firefighter with the crash crew. The Air Force used the base as a practice area for their planes. Later, he again served in Germany while stationed at Weisbaden Air Base. Guest had a band while in Germany named Pappy Guest and the Weisbaden Drifters. The five member band with three guitar players and two violins played 30 minutes on Tuesday's at the Air Force Station in Frankfurt at a Stick Buddy Jamboree. Guest played the fiddle. Sergeant Isaac Glen Guest continued to serve in the Army Air Force until April of 1954. |