AMERICUS — Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) and Andersonville National Historic Site will host the 13th annual Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Convocation at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 in GSW’s Convocation Hall. Author and researcher David Keller will serve as the keynote speaker. This event is free and open to the public.
This year’s convocation speaker is an experienced researcher and author. Keller founded the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development, delivery, and preservation of educational and historic information regarding the Upper Midwest, especially Illinois and Chicago during the Civil War. Retired from an executive banking career since 2002, Keller currently serves as the foundation’s managing director.
Keller was awarded Prisoner of War Research Grants in 2017 and 2018, by the Friends of Andersonville. His research has focused on factors affecting conditions at Union and Confederate prisoner of war camps during the Civil War. He has written two books: The Story of Camp Douglas, Chicago’s Forgotten Civil War Prison and Robert Anderson Bagby, Civil War Diary (Annotated) 1863-1865.
The convocation is held in conjunction with the POW/MIA Recognition Day events, which honor service members who were prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. This he annual Convocation begins four days of area events held in honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The Avenue of Flags, a stirring spectacle of over 200 full-sized flags, will be on display at Andersonville National Historic Site until September 26 and will feature POW/MIA flags as well as American and state flags.
At 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, The Ride Home and Andersonville National Historic Site will conduct a special ceremony at the park’s National Prisoner of War Museum. World War II Prisoner of War William Pebly, captured by the Germans in December 1944, will share his experiences. The family of Michael Hoff, missing in action in Vietnam, will also speak. Former prisoners of war and missing in action family members from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and other conflicts will be in attendance. The public is invited to honor these men and women who have sacrificed so much for their country.
“National POW/MIA Recognition Day is one of our most important annual events,” said park Superintendent Charles Sellars. “We are honored to pay tribute to the military men and women who endured the loss of their freedom to protect ours.”
For information on all events occurring as part of The Ride Home 2018, please check their website at theridehome.com.
For more information on these events and the park, visit Andersonville’s website.