27 May 2008

U.S. Commemorates War Veterans in Lithuania

Media event: The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 28 May 2008 at 11:30 am. At 12:00am, Ambassador Cloud will be available to take questions from journalists.

On Wednesday, 28 May 2008, at 11:30, U.S. Ambassador John Cloud will join representatives of the Silute government, Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, Lithuanian Armed Forces and members of the United States Defense Attaché Office to participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at the Macikai village cemetery in Silute region.

The guests will be welcomed by a Lithuanian Navy Honor Guard.  Ambassador Cloud and Lithuanian representatives will make brief speeches and lay wreaths. The Lithuanian Navy Chaplain will lead a prayer.

The ceremony will honor three United States Army Air Corps Airmen who were shot down, captured, and held at Stalag Luft 6, a Nazi War Prisoner camp outside of Macikai during World War II.

Staff Sergeant George B. Walker, Staff Sergeant Walter Nies, and Technical Sergeant William F. Teaff died while in captivity and now rest near the site of the old camp.

The exact location of the three B-17 airplane crewmember's remains within the cemetery is unknown.  A small monument sits in the approximate spot where the three are buried.  The cemetery is also the final resting place for Belgian, Polish, Canadian and German military personnel affiliated with the former camp, as well as Lithuanians.