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Politics & Government

Ceremony Honors POW/MIA Soldiers at Jefferson Barracks

Former POW, Skip Schumacher honors his fellow comrades and announces plans for a new POW and MIA museum at Jefferson Barracks Park.

F. Carl "Skip" Schumacher spent 355 days as a prisoner of war in 1968 when the USS Pueblo was taken by the North Korean regime.

“I think the hardest thing about being a POW however, is the concern for those who are at home and those who wait. Your families know nothing,” he said. “The other thing that happens is that everything is taken away from you and you are completely dependent upon your captors. You realize quickly what a thin little veneer there is on the civility that we’re used to. You’re almost primal in your concerns for food and water and sleep and medicine. And all of that is completely out of your hands.”

For his bravery, Schumacher was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and many other citations.

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Schumacher was the keynote speaker at the 2011 POW and MIA celebration at Friday for National POW/MIA Recognition Day. At the ceremony, representatives named St. Louisans who served, as well as the names of those still missing.

Many former MIAs and POWs were on hand to witness the ceremonial table of the Unknown Soldier, the laying of the wreath and a firing squad performed by the American Legion Post 162.

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The ceremony announced a new museum at Jefferson Barracks designed to pay tribute to those who have served and those who still have not returned home.

The museum, slated to open in 2012, will depict traits shared by military detainees. 

“As a former POW, I am pleased to see the state of Missouri and St. Louis County honoring the POWs and MIAs,” Schumacher said.

For Richard Gearheart, a former prisoner of war who was there with his wife Mable, this ceremony was about validation.

“It's good that we are recognized. You see, when we first got free, the people, they'd ask us questions and we'd answer them and they didn't believe us,” he said. "I was taken prisoner in 1944 for 15 and a half very, very long months. It's hard for me to say exactly the feelings that I have. It does mean a lot.”

Third District Representative Russ Carnahan also lent his support for the troops.

“It's really touching and inspiring for me to see these veterans that have served and persevered through such incredible adversity, while serving and protecting us,” he said. “It's remarkable to see them here but also to know that we're going to be able to kick off this POW/MIA museum right here in historic Jefferson Barracks."

Construction on the museum is slated to begin in April of 2012.

“I think it's going to be a remarkable addition here with the other museums and the cemetery,” Carnahan said. “I think the community is really going to enjoy that in a great way.”

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