ANDERSONVILLE — The Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site is one of the area’s most valuable resources. But what you may not know is how much a family can learn about their loved ones’ military service from the records in the museum’s archives.

Pat Curry told the story of his father’s 33-month imprisonment in North Korea from 1950-1953. It is a story that his father — like many prisoners of war and veterans — was reticent in sharing.

But Curry knew first-hand how his father’s service affected him and his family. What he didn’t know was that rare images of his father and details of his imprisonment and repatriation could be found at Andersonville.

The Lubbock, Texas, native and his wife Diana are volunteers for the National Park Service, currently serving at Andersonville. When he retired from an administration position at Texas Tech six years ago, he sold his home, put everything in storage and hit the road in a recreational vehicle.

“We sold our house two weeks before the crash and travel full time from park to park to volunteer,” he told the enraptured audience. “We have been at Andersonville for two months and have two weeks left.

The Currys spent one summer in an historic art studio, one in a South Dakota cave and a winter in the Everglades.

“Long range planning is this afternoon,” he quipped.

Although he was in the Museum to tell about his father’s war experience, Curry took time to answer questions about becoming a park volunteer. Many in the audience were clearly interested in seeking a similar experience for their retirements.

“As budgets fall, the need for volunteers increases,” he advised.

Curry was formally introduced by Eric Leonard, the Andersonville National Historic Sites’ chief of interpretation and education. He welcomed the audience and thanked them for observing veteran’s day at the Museum.

“Andersonville is a difficult and challenging story to tell, but it speaks to the nature of the experience of prisoners of war through all times and generations,” Leonard said. “The sacrifices were not made only by veterans, but also by their families.”

Curry began his presentation by introducing two young people who were helping him — his grandchildren. His grandson is an ROTC student who he hopes will be “the third generation to wear the Curry name on an army uniform.” His granddaughter is the family’s artist and musician, and she operated the slide show.

“My father didn’t really like to talk about being a POW in Korea for 33 months. It was difficult finding out what he went through over there and what happened to him during this period,” Curry explained.

He told about watching the video in the Museum’s repatriation section.

“Our first day here we were going through the Museum and Diana was watching the video. This picture of my parents kissing popped up. We had no idea it was here. It really got things off to a good start.”

His father was serving in the First Calvary Division in Japan in 1950, after World War II.

“He was waiting to get a place for the family to join him from Illinois. The North Koreans spoiled his plans when they came across the 38th parallel and continued south to dominate the South Korean and U. S. Forces.”

The Army sent the First Calvary to Korea to help. Lt. Jim Curry landed somewhere in southwest Korea. He was in the Medical Service Corps.

“The American forces were doing well at that time. Then Red China entered the war. Tens of thousands of Chinese were rushing at our guys. Only the ones in the front were armed. The guys in back were supposed to pick up the arms of their fallen comrades and continue on.”

The Americans and South Koreans were simply out numbered.

He found out more details on what happened from research in Andersonville.

“When the Chinese came into the Republic of Korea, my father’s unit was sent to reinforce the Koreans and to rescue them from the Chinese. They were over-run. Dad’s unit was decimated and captured.”

His dad told him he “went to sleep one night five miles behind our lines and woke up the next morning five miles behind enemy lines.”

Lt. Curry was interred in two different prison camps.

“Somewhere along the line from capture in the march to the prison camp, he was shot by Koreans and left for dead. A young North Korean child saw him and he was recaptured and put into the second prison camp on the Manchurian border on the Yalu River. The prisoners lived in tents and an old school house.”

When Patrick Curry went into the service, he was assigned to the same unit his father had served in.

“When I came back, he loosened up about his experiences. He told me that there was a big difference between the North Koreans and the Chinese. The North Koreans were vicious captors — mean people. They went through the camp in the middle of the night and would twist the prisoners’ noses just to wake them up and harass them. They would hit unarmed men with gun buts just because they could.”

His father told him that the Chinese were more civilized about it and treated the prisoners with a little respect.

“The first winter was the worst. It is extremely cold in North Korea. Almost everyone who was going to die died that winter. The ground was too frozen to bury them so corpses were stacked on the porch of the school house.”

Most died of physical ailments.

“After my father returned home, he visited the family of a POW he served with to tell them about the circumstances of his death from diarrhea and pneumonia. He told me about seeing prisoners walking around and then they would sit down and lean against a wall and 24 hours later they would be dead. They lost the will to live, the spirit that keeps a person going in times like these.”

Conditions were as good as the Chinese could make them. The prisoners ate what the Chinese ate.

“There was no hoarding of food among the Chinese guards. They had rice and a little meat two days a week. And the security was lax enough that they could slip out and steal food from gardens.”

They were 400 miles behind enemy lines. They would sneak through the fence and steal a carrot-like plant and put the greenery back in the hole. It helped them survive.

“On Christmas, they got half a chicken. The Chinese were atheist communists and they still recognized that day and gave the prisoners something special.”

Yet the Chinese would release propaganda photos of “happy prisoners” playing baseball in the sun. What they didn’t show were the “reeducation” training or brainwashing that tried to indoctrinate the Americans into communist philosophy.

Prisoners were brought into classrooms to read out loud from typed speeches.

“The Chinese spoke little English and prisoners would often ad-lib insulting phrases into the speeches. The Chinese knew it wasn’t what was on the sheet and would make them start over, although they weren’t aware of the crude nature of many of the insults.”

Curry told about one of his father’s fellow prisoners, Father Emil Kapaun, whose help to other prisoners earned him fame. Fellow prisoners raised money as a monument to the priest and a school was built in his name in Kansas.

“Kapaun is a real life hero. He saved my father’s life and the life of many other prisoners. He shared his food with sick prisoners.”

Back at home, young Patrick Curry and his brother and mother didn’t know if the missing lieutenant was alive or not. They were living with his mother’s family on a farm in Rockford, Ill.

“She was teaching school with five grades in one room. I’ll never know how it didn’t crush her. Thousands of mothers and brothers and sisters went through the same thing.”

A year after his father’s capture, the Army took back action to recognize his status and promoted him to captain. He didn’t know about his promotion for two more years. A young captain from the local base was dispatched to the family’s home to pin a Bronze Star on seven-year-old Patrick, as the oldest male in the family.

“There was not a dry eye in the house. Even the captain was emotional. It was important to the family that the Army recognized the stress the family was under not knowing.”

 In 1953, when the armistice was signed, the fighting went on while they were negotiating the end of the war. The border ended up at the 38th parallel, where it started.

He called the audience’s attention to a blue banner in the repatriation section of the Museum and noted that it was the exact banner that his father walked under in San Francisco when he was repatriated and reunited with his family.

“We went out to San Francisco to welcome him home. Dave was only two when our father left for the war and had no idea what he looked like. He hung back and waited for me to run up first to be sure it was the right person.”

His father still had material and shrapnel in the wound from when he was shot that had to be removed.

“Because he was a prisoner and not a combatant when he received the wound, Capt. Curry was not eligible for the Purple Heart.”

That rule was changed in Vietnam and he was honored with the Purple Heart in 1966. Capt. Curry went on to complete 24 years in a successful military career, and clearly influenced his son and great-grandson to choose military careers.