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Show If I M S Sept. 5, 2013 7 The benefits of time, patience and persistence Record of experiences of POW help bring comfort to his family after his death BY MARY LOU CORNY Hilltop Times editor y ou've got a veteran in your family with stories you'd like to get a record of before it's no longer possible to do so. Somehow you want to see those stories shared at least among your own family members. How do you do this? Well if you are Karyl Mounteer and her siblings, you try a variety of tactics over the years. Their father, Carl Anderson, was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II, and was reluctant to talk about his experiences. Anderson, however, would talk one-on-one with his children at various times. As he grew older he shared even more about his experiences before his recent death last month in August. The family knew he had interesting and important stories to tell. But in family groups he did more listening than talking. Karyl Mounteer, Kelly Spencer, Dennis Anderson, Kim Dalton, and Ron Anderson talked briefly about how they got their father to share some of his experiences as a veteran. To get his experiences written down and recorded for the family, Karyl dedicated a part of her time to getting him to tell her his memories, telling him that the grandchildren and the rest of the family would appreciate having a record of his life. "That's what everybody kept telling him — that it was important to his family," she said. Anderson was a POW for nine and a half months after his B-17 Flying Fortress was hit on Aug. 24, 1944. He was a waist-gunner on the aircraft and bailed out successfully along with nine other crew members. "He was listed as missing in action and Mom got a letter from a lady somewhere in the Midwest who said that she heard a radio broadcast that said his name and where he was from — that he was a MARY LOU GORNY/Hilltop Times Children of Carl Anderson hold a book which holds memories of their dad and mom which include his experiences as a prisoner of war held in Germany during World War II. They encourage family members of veterans to get their stories recorded before they are gone. (Left to right) Members of the family present for this photo include: Dennis Anderson, Kelly Spencer, Karyl Mounteer, Kim Dalton and Ron Anderson. prisoner and that he was OK," said Karyl. The letter was kept and put in a book the family published for their family. At the time, Nadine Anderson had two sons and was living with her in-laws and her own parents, in turn. She went into labor with her second son the night she initially heard her husband was missing in action. The story the siblings would hear from their dad Airmen asked to participate in DoD anti-tobacco video contest Air Force News Service W ASHINGTON — The Department of Defense, Health Affairs, has recently announced a new countermarketing video competition that aims to target tobacco as an enemy of the military that degrades service members' health, fitness, mission readiness and work productivity. The competition, entitled "Fight the Enemy," will run until Oct. 15 and is open to all uniformed DoD personnel, families and DoD civilians, who may submit their best video entry with winners being announced in mid-November. "If you don't believe tobacco impairs mission readiness, I encourage you to read the IOM report," said Col. (Dr.) John Oh, the chief of health promotion at the Air Force Medical Support Agency, referencing the 2009 Institute of Medicine report "Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations." Although tobacco use causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, and even impotence, it can also cause other problems that directly impact warfighters, such as reduced endurance, decreased night vision, hearing loss, decreased wound healing, and increased post-operative complications. Furthermore, DoD officials estimate that tobacco use costs $1.6 billion annually in medical costs and decreases work productivity — a preventable expense the DoD can ill afford in the current austere fis- cal climate, Oh said. Based on DoD survey data, 17 percent of Airmen smoke cigarettes, a figure slightly less than the national average. Nine percent use smokeless tobacco, a number well above the 2 percent national average. "We need to change how tobacco is perceived by Airmen and call it out as the enemy that it is, with adverse impact on health, mission performance, and the economic sustainability of our war-fighting capabilities," Oh said. A humorous promotional video, contest rules, and additional information can be found at www.health. mil/FightTheEnemy . Winners will be announced in conjunction with the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. The first prize winner's video will be featured on the Fight the Enemy website. Winners will receive official recognition and thanks from DoD senior leaders, and all entrants will receive a gift of appreciation. "The Fight the Enemy contest is a fun way for the DoD community to come up an effective message on how we can win the battle against tobacco," Oh said. "I know we have some very creative Airmen and family members out there who are up to the challenge." For more information on how tobacco use affects you and those in your environment, as well as ways to quit tobacco, visit www.ucanquit2.org/. (Courtesy of Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs.) was the plane he was flying in had extra electronic and bombing equipment on board. So, when the plane exploded, and Carl could tell the other crewmembers that he had seen it blow up as he parachuted down, the men were relieved. If not, the crew would have been in for extra attention from their captors had the plane come down intact enough See MEMORIES I page 8 RIATHLON WINNERS BARBARA McCONVILL/U.S. Air Force winners pose together Aug. 24. They Above the Women's Triathlon are: (left to right) Mellisa Fox (3rd), Susan Armstrong (2nd), Cassie Olson (1st). Below the men's winners hold their prizes. They are (left to right) Jeff Anderson (3rd), Joel Bischoff (1st), Nathon Pollard (2nd). For official times and results see page 8. |
