MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee County War Memorial recently opened a new exhibit to honor the soldiers from Wisconsin who were prisoners of war (POW) and declared missing in action (MIA).
There have been over 142,000 American prisoners of war since World War I and around 83,000 missing in action service members. From Wisconsin alone, over 1,600 went missing in action throughout the many conflicts.
One of those soldiers is Bill Henderson. His story is featured in the “Lest We Forget” exhibit. Items from him and his family are on display.
Bill Henderson shared his story in an interview with the War Memorial but said it’s hard for him to talk about to this day.
His sister, Patrice Henderson-Glad, shared what it was like for her to be in the U.S. while her brother was held captive for a year.
Henderson-Glad wore a bracelet that had her brother’s name and rank on it the entire time he was overseas serving and when he was a prisoner of war.
Will Henderson served in the Airforce and served as a pilot during the Vietnam War. He was flying over Vietnam when his plane was shot down in March 1972. He was injured and taken as a prisoner of war.
“Even after all this time, it’s still such a raw memory for the whole family,” Henderson-Glad said.
It’s been over 50 years since he was released and he’s been able to record many details of his story with the War Memorial, which can be played while visiting the exhibit.
His sister visited the exhibit and said it’s eye opening to see all the names of soldiers, just like her brother. She said after all these years, it’s still hard for her and her family.
“The scars are still there and I don’t know that anyone ever recovers from something like that,” Henderson-Glad said.
The exhibit spans multiple floors at the War Memorial. There are posters filled with pictures and information detailing statistics of Wisconsinites who were POW and MIA.
It also features a room that is built like a cell of what a POW camp looked like and the conditions they lived in.
An interactive feature allows visitors to hear how soldiers communicated who were held captive. They created a knocking system to talk back and forth to one another.
Henderson-Glad said having an exhibit like this is healing, and she hopes it’s eye-opening for those who visit.
“These kinds of exhibits really do help us understand that we need to have compassion and understanding,” she said. “Especially for those who are serving in our armed forces.”
For more information on the exhibit, click here.