Nation Marks POW/MIA Recognition Day Sept. 21; Story by Capt. Dutch Grove, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs

SPRINGFIELD, IL (09/19/2012)(readMedia)-- A persistent interest in a locked memorial garden, a promise to a friend and the quest for free computers led a couple of teachers at Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill., to embark on a project that is today an expansive online databases of a single National Guard organization and a fascinating chronicle of one of the most dramatic prisoner of war episodes in American history.

Inside the well maintained, park-like memorial garden at Proviso East High School are several large commemorative plaques with the names of 191 former students who died fighting during World War II etched onto them.

Ian Smith, a former social studies teacher, and Jim Opolony, an English teacher at Proviso East, often talked of exploring the memorial garden, but found little opportunity until after school one day during the 1999 school year.

"The garden is an open air courtyard that classrooms overlooked and wasn't an area typically for students to go into and wander around in," said Smith. "The doors would lock automatically and we were worried we couldn't get back in. But one day we noticed the door was ajar and we went out to explore."

While they explored the memorial garden, Smith and Opolony made a rubbing of the name Robert Boerman from one of the monuments as a favor to Boerman's nephew. As they continued to explore they noticed a disproportionate number of names from the class of 1938.

"We knew Maywood had a long history with the Bataan Death March because of the parade, which was held for 50 years and the Bataan Day ceremonies," said Smith. "We wondered why there were so many from this particular class and thought it may be connected to Bataan."

The pair investigated further and discovered the building across the street from the school, visible from Smith's classroom, was the armory. Following on an oral history project they led with their students the year before, Smith and Opolony decided to get their students involved in the project of discovering and documenting the histories of the Proviso veterans who were memorialized in the garden.

As a bonus, the student's use of the Internet for the project would help the school procure computers through a school consortium. The teachers quickly found their students knew very little about their local history and the project was a great opportunity to educate them about it.

The original focus of the project was Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion, Illinois Army National Guard whose Soldiers, along with those of the rest of the battalion, would successfully repel the Japanese invasion of the Philippine's Bataan Peninsula for four months while critically short on food, bullets and other supplies. Without supplies or hope of reinforcements, the troops were ordered to surrender. Now prisoners of war, the Soldiers were made to walk the 80 miles to Camp O'Donnell suffering from dehydration, exhaustion, disease and brutal treatment at the hands of their Japanese guards.

"Originally the students got really upset," said Opolony. "We brought one of the Bataan survivors into the classroom and a student asked him 'did you want to die?' and he said 'every day.' They had tears in their eyes when they realized these men were really just boys of 17, 18, or 19 years old when this happened to them."

Opolony and Smith were successful at piquing their students' interest and said the project quickly grew wheels.

"This was such a close, local story. These guys went to the same school, played on the same ball fields and lived in the same neighborhoods as the students," said Smith. "A passion developed at that point to get the word out. Let's see if we can find survivors; let's see if we can find some relatives of those who died and get their stories out there."

Both teachers said they could not imagine how the project would grow and develop.

"We were only going to document B Company, but as soon as we went online with the project we began receiving e-mails from family members from the remainder of the battalion in Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky," said Opolony.

They decided to move the project forward and expand it.

"We were getting information about all four companies in the battalion," said Smith. "We decided, let's keep going with it."

Today the entire project is a site of its own (http://www.proviso.k12.il.us/bataan%20web/index.htm) and is updated as often as new information is made available from survivors and family members.

"All of the information is from primary sources; first-hand accounts. Survivors sent us pictures and letters and scrap books," said Smith. "We went to the Maywood Bataan Day event in 1999 and looked for people who looked like they were World War II veterans and asked them to do interviews and that developed into great relationships."

As the nation marks POW/MIA Recognition Day Sept. 21, Smith and Opolony take pride in their students' efforts to preserve the history of the Illinois National Guard Soldiers who are connected to Bataan.

"The students really appreciated the history. It wasn't something in a history book, it was personalized," said Smith. "We'd have addresses of where the Soldiers lived and students would say 'that's next to my house.' It made the history come alive for them."

Both have found the project impacted their lives too.

"If you would have asked me in 1999, I wouldn't have known a whole lot," said Opolony. "I'm not an authority on Bataan or World War II, but I know a ton about the tank battalion. I've made a lot of friends and have traveled to all four towns where companies of the 192nd were from."

They said most of the survivors interviewed for the project were being asked to talk about something they would rather not remember, but that talking helped the survivors and helped their families.

"We were able to find out things, fill in the pieces for families who lost someone over there, but until (this project), we knew very few details about their experience before they died. Survivors would say to us 'thank you for helping me tell these stories I've never told anybody about before,'" said Smith.

Today only a few of the 192nd Tank Battalion Soldiers who served in WWII are still alive, but their stories and their memory live on as a result of the Proviso East High School Bataan Commemorative Research Project. The project has been a blessing to survivors and the families around the world and received two awards including an Illinois State Board of Education excellence award.

Smith and Opolony said the project has been a blessing on them personally as well.

"The privilege of being able to interact with and get to know these people...it has been as rewarding for Jim and I as it has been for the veterans and families who've benefitted from the project," said Smith.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today in response to the announcement that the House of Representatives would not act on the expiring farm bill before going home to campaign for seven weeks, in the meantime leaving farmers in the lurch.

"Not lifting a finger on the farm bill is another sad story of lost opportunity and failed leadership by a Republican Congress that has repeatedly decided to go on vacation instead of getting any real work done.  The announcement that Republican leadership will not even attempt to pass the farm bill before November comes on the heels of a decision to work for all of eight days in two months and follows an undeserved five week vacation.  Frankly, it's no wonder this is the least productive and least popular Congress in history.

"Initially proposing a one-year extension instead of acting on a reformed farm bill, the Republican Majority is now failing miserably to even provide a simple extension of the farm bill.  As a result, many farm bill programs will expire and our farmers will be left with Great Depression-era policies in the wake of the worst drought in decades.  I have worked on a bipartisan basis to move forward assistance for our farmers, and I continue to stand ready to work across the aisle to move the farm bill forward.  This decision is inexcusable and I call on Congress to stay in Washington, take up the farm bill, and get assistance to our farmers."

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In the United States, women are assaulted or beaten once every nine seconds; worldwide, one in three women have been battered, raped or otherwise abused in her lifetime, according to women's advocacy organizations.

"That means most of us - while grocery shopping, at work or at home - come across several women a day who have either been abused, or are currently enduring abuse," says Linda O'Dochartaigh, a health professional and author of Peregrine (www.lavanderkatbooks.com). "It's a terrible fact of life for too many women, but if there is something we can do about it and we care about fellow human beings, then we must try."

There are several abuse resources available to women who are being abused, or friends of women who need advice, including:

• TheHotline.org, National Domestic Violence Hotline, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, 1-800-799-SAFE (7223)

• HelpGuide.org, provides unbiased, advertising-free mental health information to give people the self-help options to help people understand, prevent, and resolve life's challenges

• VineLink.com, allows women to search for an offender in custody by name or identification number, then register to be alerted if the offender is released,  transferred, or escapes

• DAHMW.org, 1-888-7HELPLINE, offers crisis intervention and support services for victims of intimate partner violence and their families

Perhaps the best thing friends and family can do for a woman enduring domestic abuse is to be there for her - not only as a sympathetic ear, but also as a source of common sense that encourages her to take protective measures, O'Dochartaigh says. Before that, however, loved ones need to recognize that help is needed.

O'Dochartaigh reviews some of the warning signs:

• Clothing - Take notice of a change in clothing style or unusual fashion choices that would allow marks or bruises to be easily hidden. For instance, someone who wears long sleeves even in the dog days of summer may be trying to hide signs of abuse.

• Constant phone calls - Many abusers are very controlling and suspicious, so they will call their victims multiple times each day to "check in." This is a subtle way of manipulating their victims, to make them fearful of uttering a stray word that might alert someone that something is wrong. Many abusers are also jealous, and suspect their partner is cheating on them, and the constant calls are a way of making sure they aren't with anyone they aren't supposed to be around.

• Unaccountable injuries - Sometimes, obvious injuries such as arm bruises or black eyes are a way to show outward domination over the victim. Other times, abusers harm areas of the body that won't be seen by family, friends and coworkers.

• Frequent absences - Often missing work or school and other last-minute plan changes may be a woman hiding abuse, especially if she is otherwise reliable.

• Excessive guilt & culpability - Taking the blame for things that go wrong, even though she was clearly not the person responsible - or she is overly-emotional for her involvement - is a red flag.

• Fear of conflict - Being brow-beaten or physically beaten takes a heavy psychological toll, and anxiety bleeds into other relationships.

• Chronic uncertainty - Abusers often dominate every phase of a victim's life, including what she thinks she likes, so making basic decisions can prove challenging.

About Linda O'Dochartaigh

Linda O'Dochartaigh has worked in health care is an advocate for victims of child abuse and domestic violence.  She wants survivors to know that an enriched, stable and happy life is available to them. O'Dochartaigh is the mother of three grown children and is raising four adopted grandchildren.

"Today's announcement is another reminder just how far our economy has to go to fully recover and how much work Congress should be doing. My thoughts go to those and their families who are affected by this news.

"This announcement also demonstrates the need for Congress to act and renew the Production Tax Credit for wind energy.  While this is not fully the cause, renewing the tax credit, which has broad, bipartisan support, will give the wind energy industry the stability it needs.  Congress should not be going home to campaign at a time when so much critical work remains unfinished.  The livelihood of thousands of Iowans depends on the renewal of the credit."