2011 MIA/POW Event

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --Col. Al Lupenski, in blues, listens to Mel Raimundo speak about his experience as a prisoner of war, at the Sept. 16, 2011 observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, in Vacaville, Calif. The 349th Operations Group commander, the colonel joined other Travis leaders and Airmen to honor POWs and missing in action heroes, of which 83.000 remain unaccounted for since World War II through the Cold War. Raimundo, an ambulance driver, spent five months in Stalag 4B, in Germany, from 1944 to 1945. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Ellen L. Hatfield)

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2011 MIA/POW Event

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --Col. Al Lupenski watches as the Travis Air Force Base Honor Guard prepares for the POW/MIA table of honor ceremony Sept. 16, 2011, in Vacaville, Calif. Col. Lupenski, 349th Operations Group commander, attended the city's National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony with other base commanders and Travis Airmen to honor the 83,000 still unaccounted for, since World War II through the Cold War. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Ellen L. Hatfield)

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2011 MIA/POW Event

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --Travis AFB leadership and Airmen were out in force Sept. 16, 2011, National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Attending the Vacaville, Calif., ceremony were, foreground, Reservist Col. Al Lupenski, 349th Operations Group commander, and background, Col John Millard, 60th Operations Group commander. There are still 83,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen unaccounted for since World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Ellen L. Hatfield)

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2011 MIA/POW Event

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --Col. Al Lupenski, right, 349th Operations Group commander, listens to a presentation Sept. 16, 2011, at the Vacaville National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony. This day is observed so the nation never forgets the more than 83,000 prisoners of war/missing in action, still unaccounted for, since World War II. Guest speaker for the event was Mel Raimundo, a former POW held for more than five months in Stalag 48 in Germany, during World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Ellen L. Hatfield)

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2011 MIA/POW Event

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --Col. Al Lupenski, in blues, listens to Mel Raimundo speak about his experience as a prisoner of war, at the Sept. 16, 2011 observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, in Vacaville, Calif. The 349th Operations Group commander, the colonel joined other Travis leaders and Airmen to honor POWs and missing in action heroes, of which 83.000 remain unaccounted for since World War II through the Cold War. Raimundo, an ambulance driver, spent five months in Stalag 4B, in Germany, from 1944 to 1945. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Ellen L. Hatfield)

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2011 MIA/POW Event

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --349th Operations Group Commander, Col. Al Lupenski, listens intently to Mel Raimundo tell his story about being a prisoner of war during World War II. The colonel, other Travis leaders, and Airmen, turned out in force to honor Solano County POWs and missing in action heroes at Vacaville's Sept. 16 National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony. Raimundo spent five months as a "guest" of the Germans in Stalag 4B, after many days of forced marching in the freezing winter of 1944-45. When finally released and repatriated, he weighed 90 pounds. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. Ellen L. Hatfield)

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Travis Team welcomed at National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Published Sept. 23, 2011
By Senior Master Sgt. Ellen L. Hatfield
349th Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Col. Al Lupenski, right, 349th Operations Group commander, is welcomed to a presentation Sept. 16, 2011, at the Vacaville National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony.

This day is observed so the nation never forgets the more than 83,000 prisoners of war/missing in action, still unaccounted for, since World War II.

Guest speaker for the event was Mel Raimundo, a former POW held for more than five months in Stalag 48 in Germany, during World War II.

2011 MIA/POW Event

2011 MIA/POW Event

2011 MIA/POW Event

2011 MIA/POW Event

2011 MIA/POW Event

2011 MIA/POW Event