E-Mail+Communications+Productivity+Tool

 This is my Email communication. My coworker Chris's father was a POW during the Korean War. This is just a brief overview of his service, but it is enough to catch the attention of older students. I have several ideas for this blurb, which I could refine to make a writing prompt, or a research prompt for high school students. Chris created a power point presentation for our staff Veteran's Day program, and she included this slide of her father.

Subject: FW: Korea From: "Holly Curtsinger"  Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2010 15:41:30 -0500 To: 

From: Chris Bradfield Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 2:49 PM To: Holly Curtsinger Subject: RE: Korea

Holly,

I have attached the Veteran’s PowerPoint that you asked about. Right now, I cannot tell you the specific date of his prisoner release. It was a special prisoner exchange which allowed him to come home. As far as memories, my mother related the only information I know since my father died just before I turned 4yrs old so I don’t remember anything about him really. My mom said that since my dad was older than most of the men ( he was in his early 40’s) and that he helped pull many of the younger ones through the prisoner ordeal. They mostly ate boiled crack corn. I still have the handmade spoon that he ate with. I look at it every once in awhile and it reminds me that the trials I face are nothing compared to what my dad and the other prisoners and servicemen endure, and still do. If they could catch a dog or other critter they ate that too. He slept on the cold ground even in winter with very little to keep warm, most the time they huddled together for warmth. For entertainment they would try to play songs with the gas they expelled. He was wounded in the chest and wrist but never received medical treatment for those wounds and the bullet remained in his chest. My mother told me the fictional book, The Ride to Panmunjom, was a pretty close description of the details of what he and the other men went through even though it is fiction.

When he was coming home his train was supposed to stop in Clinton and he would get off there. However, as my mother and brothers, and other family waited the train did not stop in Clinton but flew by on to Terre Haute. So they all piled in the cars and drove to Terre Haute as fast as possible. There were several articles in the local papers about his release. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the date. My mother tells me the first month he was home was almost like a 24 hour a day, non-stop party. People from all over the country came to see him to see if he had any news about their family members still missing or held as prisoners. She really had no private time with him and the family the first month. While he was prisoner she had not received information about him or any letters from him. For 3 years she didn’t know if he was dead or alive. Anyway, she told me that for the men he was closest with in prison camp that did not come home, he would send flowers to their mothers every year on Mother’s day.

I hope this information helps you with your project.

Christine Bradfield

Reference Librarian

Vigo County Public Library

812-232-1113 x2244

Fax 812-232-3208

From: Holly Curtsinger Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 12:04 PM To: Chris Bradfield Subject: Korea

Chris-

Did I understand correctly that your father had served in Korea? Wasn’t he a POW?

For my information inquiry class, I am doing a project on the Korean culture, and a big focus is going to be on the Korean War. For part of the project, I am supposed to “interview” someone via email, and I thought about you.

Do you still have the Veterans Day presentation slide show and would you be willing to let me include it in my presentation as long as I credited the work to you?

If I have the information straight about your dad, I would like to make a tab on my wiki space that mentions him by name, and basically the same information you included in the power point. It wouldn’t be for public viewing, but instead restricted to the members of my class who have a password.

Have I totally confused you yet? I’ll try to come talk to you after 1.

Thanks, Holly Salute to Our Veterans.ppt