We will dispose of your flags in a proper and dignified manner with full honors and dignity pursuant to the United States Flag Code Section 8K (PL93-344).
Our flag retirement ceremonies are held on Flag Day, June 14th each year and are conducted by an all volunteer U.S. Marine Corps Honor Guard led by GySgt. Dan Kelley USMC (Ret.).
www.kitchentablegang.org
The American Ex-Prisoners of War organization is a national
organization for American citizens who were captured by the enemy. Membership is
open to all former prisoners of war from any theater in any war, all former
civilian internees and to the families of such persons. There is no such thing
as an "associate" member and we have no auxiliaries. Each and every
member is entitled to all privileges of membership.
At the present time, the American Ex-Prisoners of War has over
300 Chapters and State Departments, representing over 27,000 members.
Our purpose is our motto: "We exist to help those
who cannot help themselves."
Founded April 14, 1942 the American Ex-Prisoners of War
organization has existed for the purpose of helping others. The
organization of former POW's (military and civilian), their spouses, families
and civilian internees has helped those affected by their capture deal with the
trauma through friendship of those who shared a common experience. The
friendships have formed lasting relationships from POW camps until late in life.
Thank you for your interest in America's Ex-Prisoners of War. We hope
you will find what you are looking for on one of our pages. Listed
below is a brief description of each page. Click on the underlined links
below to visit these pages or on the buttons located on the left side of
each page.
Articles from the National Commander, Medical Research, National Service Director and the Washington office are now located in the link to the EX-POW BULLETIN.
How
It Started - the history of our organization can be found
here.
FAQ Page - contains the most
Frequently Asked Questions we receive along with our answers to those
questions. Please check here before you send an email request to us, chances
are you may find your answer here. Information on National
Conventions, how to apply for your Purple Heart, dues and other general
subjects.
POW Medal - page provides
a photo and description of the Prisoner of War Medal. Included
are an application you can print from your computer and instructions
for applying for this medal which can be awarded posthumously.
VA Benefits - page provides information about the benefits available for former
prisoners of war and/or their next of kin..
Education
- information on how you can get a former Prisoner of War to come
speak to your class or organization.
National Officers List - page
contains a listing of our National Officers, Directors and appointed
Committee personnel.
Chapters
- find a local chapter in your community or area.
Biographies - contains over 200 biographies of America's Ex-Prisoners of War from World
War II thru the Persian Gulf War. Information varies on each page. Click here for a biography application form and instructions
for submitting your biography.
Medsearch -
order
information about specific German and Japanese prisoner of war camps
during World War II. Also
contains currently available publications concerning various
topics such as VA claim information, the effects of extreme stress, the
after-effects of imprisonment, the history of POWs in Germany, Japan
and Korea, etc. A very valuable packet is offered titled
"What Every Wife should Know Before She Is Your Widow"
which contains information on Social Security, insurance, burial procedures, allowances, etc. including what pathologist
should look for in an autopsy. Now accepting Visa or Mastercard
credit card orders on-line via our
secure server for orders of $5.00
or more.
Membership - application and
information concerning proof of POW status required to join our organization.
Membership is open to all former prisoners of war from any theater in
any war, all former civilian internees and to the families of such persons.
Quartermaster -
the official merchandise of the organization is offered for
sale here. Items
include caps, patches, flags, mugs, notecards, bumper stickers and
jewelry. It is all there for easy shop at home convenience. Proceeds
from the sale of this merchandise goes directly into the general fund of this organization, which
helps finance all our successful programs and activities. Now accepting Visa or Mastercard credit card orders on-line via our
secure server for orders of $5.00 or more.
Looking For - a listing service we provide to help ex-POWs and their next of
kin in their search for information about former POWs or events. Listings
also appear in our national publication "The EX-POW Bulletin" which is
published 11 times a year and mailed to all our members. If you have
a request for information that our readers may be able to help you
with then click here to send your e-mail request to our Editor.
Please note you must include your US Postal mail address along with
your request so our readers who are not on line can respond to
you. For the best results remember to supply as many details as possible.
AXPOW Bylaws- Click here to read the National Bylaws.
Links / Web Rings - contains
listings of other web sites and web rings which may be of interest to our
visitors .
Find Them and Help Them
Most American Ex-prisoners of war are unaware of theirentitlements. We can do them a great service if we can find them.
The Veteran's Administration states that 55,999 Ex-POW's were alive as of
January 1998. We also know there are only 15,703 who are members of our
organization. We need to encourage the VA to help us find the remaining
40,296 so that they can claim the entitlements we are receiving. We have
an obligation to do this because our motto states we exist to help those who
cannot help themselves.
Legislation in the last few years has made significant changes to benefits
and health care available through the Veteran' Administration.
Veterans who have not sought services from the VA since these changes went into
effect should contact a National Service Officer
or the VA to explore which VA resources are available to them.
Other benefits, besides medical, available to eligible veterans include:
disability compensation, pensions, education and training, vocational
rehabilitation, home loan guarantees, life insurance, burial, survivors'
assistance and dependents' education. There are homeless veterans programs and
benefits for special groups, such as blinded veterans, veterans with spinal cord
injuries and veterans in need of prosthetic services.
Please consider saving your oral history, memoirs, diary,
and/or letters home. By leaving your oral history you will have
done your country another good deed. You will serve future generations as
they strive to understand their world.
Click here
for some excellent advice from noted historian Stephen Ambrose on how to start preserving your history.
