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World War II, Vietnam War, and Lebanon POWs commemorated nationwide

The six Navy divers who were held captive in Lebanon by Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad members in 1985 will also receive POW medals.

By Andrew V. Pestano

WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- After surviving the horrors of capture, World War II and Vietnam War prisoners of war received recognition decades after the events.

World War II veterans Arch Shealy, 95, and Jerry Ruelf, 90, were awarded Prisoner of War Medals on Saturday at a ceremony in Ocala Marion County Veterans Park in Ocala, Fla., where they also received standing ovations.

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Congressman Ted Yoho, R-Fla., presented the awards to the veterans. Three vintage military aircraft flew over the event.

"We could not be here today if not for you. Seeing these planes fly over reminds us of the price you paid for our liberties and freedoms," Yoho said.

Another ceremony was held Saturday to honor Vietnam War veterans, POWs and those who are still missing in action.

The 50th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony event was held at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

"When we came home, we did not receive what we felt was an honorable return," veteran Tom Earnest, who spoke at the event, said.

He said veterans who made it back from Vietnam were treated with "indifference." More than 58,000 U.S. military personnel died in the war.

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There will also be a ceremony for six Navy divers who were held captive in 1985 for 17 days in Beirut, Lebanon, by Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad members.

The family of the diver who was killed by the militants will attend the event. They will receive Prisoner of War Medals in late April in Washington D.C. The divers were captured after the hijacking of Trans-World Airlines Flight 847.

"This award for these six Navy divers just kind of slipped through the cracks over the years," retired Capt. Bobbie Scholley, head of the Navy Diver Foundation, said. "It just wasn't on anybody's radar at the time. It was really too new and as time went on, it just literally fell through the cracks -- this is what the Navy Diver Foundation was founded to do and we're glad the request was so quickly approved."

None of the five remaining survivors sought the award themselves.

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