POWs

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Surviving Hell: One Veteran's Journey Through the Death March

Murray Montgomery
Friday, September 18, 2026
BY MURRAY MONTGOMERYThere is an old saying I have heard all my life, and it is just as true today as it was years ago: "Freedom is not free." Should anyone be foolish enough to think our liberty comes without a heavy price, I invite them to consider the sacrifices made by Russell A. Grokett, Sr.
Santo Tomas University in Manilla

Santo Tomas University in Manilla

Japanese Prison could not lock out Christmas

Murray Montgomery
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
By Murray Montgomery Staff Writer As people around the world celebrate the Birth of Christ, I doubt if many have thought about spending Christmas as a prisoner of war (POW); unless they lived through that terrible experience.
They wasted no time bringing the recently identified remains of Korean War POW Pfc. Adelaido Mata Solis back to his home on Tuesday, Oct. 25. We caught up with them just outside El Campo. Heading the pack on his black trike is Don Williams of Hallettsville, the same who hosts the Lavaca County Warrior Weekend deer hunt, taking place Nov. 18-19 out at his ranch. Williams ensured Pfc. Solis had a proper escort in the final leg of what’s been a 71-year-long journey back home.

They wasted no time bringing the recently identified remains of Korean War POW Pfc. Adelaido Mata Solis back to his home on Tuesday, Oct. 25. We caught up with them just outside El Campo. Heading the pack on his black trike is Don Williams of Hallettsville, the same who hosts the Lavaca County Warrior Weekend deer hunt, taking place Nov. 18-19 out at his ranch. Williams ensured Pfc. Solis had a proper escort in the final leg of what’s been a 71-year-long journey back home.

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The long road back home

Bobby Horecka
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Sitting out on his front porch recently, U.S. Air Force veteran Don Williams started counting, right out loud, out of the blue. “Four-five-six, so six,” he said, his eyes fixed on some random chunk of ceiling, or maybe a tree branch, way up high, as he rolled back the memory reels in his head.
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