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Andersonville POW Memorial National Park

Article and photos by Lydia Filzen


The Andersonville Museum is designed to resemble a prison.

Imagine yourself, a United States soldier, in a terrifying combat situation. You find yourself trapped, out of ammunition and facing people whose goal is to kill you. Conversely, your wartime goal is to kill them. The only alternative to death is surrender, allowing yourself to be placed under the power of your deadly enemies.

Suddenly you are without rights or freedom. You can only hope your enemies respect the Geneva Convention enough to treat you humanely. Unfortunately, during many of the conflicts our nation has endured, our enemies have chosen otherwise.

In central Georgia, near the town of Americus, stands the Andersonville Prisoner of War Memorial. It is at the site of the infamous Andersonville prison, a stockade in which the Confederate government held Union prisoners during the War Between the States. Because of overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions and skimpy rations, the death rate among prisoners was about 29 per cent. Confederate prisoners of war fared little better in Northern prisons. The death rate at Elmira Prison in New York was similar to that of Andersonville. Both sides had to cope with supporting many thousands of prisoners over the four-year course of the war. The Confederacy had trouble feeding its own troops, and the North had its own issues of bureaucracy and neglect to blame for the high death rates.


National Prisoner of War Memorial sculpture

The memorial is dedicated to United States prisoners of war in all conflicts. On the grounds of the 495-acre park stand the National Prisoner of War Museum, the Andersonville National Cemetery, and the prison site. The museum is built to resemble a generalized prison stockade. Within, a visitor can progress through a series of halls with displays and effects depicting what it is like to be a prisoner of war. Upon entering one section, spotlights shine, a battery of rifles point at you, and you are warned to walk straight ahead. All wars in U. S. history are represented, from the Revolutionary War through the present day.

Heart wrenching photographs and videos of U. S. POW's from World War II and the Viet Nam War give stark testimony of what it could be like to fall into enemy hands. Narratives by former prisoners testify to the utter helplessness and lack of control over one's destiny inherent in that condition. Commonly, US prisoners were subject to terrible privations. Inadequate food, medical care, boredom, isolation, and cruelty from guards drove some men to suicide.

Coping mechanisms helped them to endure. Prisoners in isolation developed tapping codes to communicate. They could improvise by coughing in code, or when on cleanup duty, sweeping in rhythms other prisoners could hear and interpret. According to a narrative, a prisoner wielding a broom told an off-color joke in code. The whole stockade resounded with laughter.

Prisoners found that staying as clean as possible helped them stay healthy and free from disease. The prisoners with the best personal habits had a higher survival rate. The more fortunate ones survived until war's end to be reunited with their families.


L-R Charles Bilharts was WWII prisoner of war in Germany and Bill Roginson is longest-held enlisted Viet Nam prisoner.

Bill Robinson of Defuniac Springs, Florida, was on hand for the Memorial Day weekend to greet visitors at the museum. He endured 7 1/2 years as a POW, making him the longest-held enlisted man during the Viet Nam War. He said the Vietnamese treated U. S. POW's as criminals. They held them in isolation in tiny cells and only allowed them outside for exercise five minutes a day. "Life is good," he said. "I'm 61 years old now, and I remember when I was worried about seeing my 25th birthday."

Second Lieutenant Charles Bilhartz of Crystal River, Florida, was a prisoner of the Germans during World War II. He said the Germans didn't harass the U. S. prisoners, and generally observed the Geneva Convention, but failed to feed them well.

When asked about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by the US personnel, Robinson said that only soldiers in uniform are subject to the Geneva Conference regulations, not hostiles posing as civilians. Furthermore, there is no comparison between the deadly treatment U. S. POW's have endured in huge scale compared the few recent acts shown in the news.

In observance of Memorial Day, boy scouts placed flags at each gravesite. Special services were conducted both on Sunday and Monday morning.

The Andersonville National Historic Site is located at 496 Cemetery Road, Andersonville, Georgia, 31711. There is no charge for admission, and the museum is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m except for holidays. You can contact the park for further information at 229-294-0343 or visit their website at www.nps.gov/ande.

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