A Pottsville Army Air Corps veteran who was held prisoner in a camp in Switzerland run by a Nazi sympathizer during World War II finally received the recognition he sought from the government.
On Thursday afternoon, Air Force representatives visited Staff Sgt. Kenneth E. Youst Sr., 92, at Schuylkill Center in Pottsville to present him with an official Prisoner of War medal.
"I think it's great. I'm not a person who gets too excited over everything. It's really nice. And I appreciate the people who are doing this for me," Youst said.
Two officers from the 87th Air Base Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., delivered the medal and presented it to Youst: Col. James C. Hodges, the base commander, and Command Chief Master Sergeant Phillip K. Robinson.
The ceremony was held in an activity room on the second floor of Schuylkill Center. Present were members of Youst's family, including four sons, Kenneth E. Jr., Pottstown, Keith, Pottsville, Kurt, Hazleton, and Glenn, Friedensburg; his daughter, Karen, Philadelphia; his granddaughter, Amanda Alexis and her husband, Christian, New Ringgold; and family friends, including J. Robert Zane, Pottsville.
At the start of the 12-minute ceremony, Hodges presented the elder Youst with a letter from Deborah Lee James, secretary of the Air Force, Washington D.C.:
"It is my pleasure to forward the enclosed Prisoner of War medal for your sacrifice while interned at Wauwilermoos Camp in Switzerland during World War II. This medal was authorized by Congress for any person who served honorably as a POW after April 5, 1917. It is estimated that 142,000 United States Service members were held as prisoners in WWI, WWII, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam Conflict. The medal recognizes the special service POWs gave to their country and the suffering and anguish they endured while incarcerated."
On the front of the medal is an eagle, a symbol of the American spirit, surrounded by barbed wire and bayonet points. Engraved on back are the words: "Awarded to Kenneth E. Youst for honorary service while a prisoner of war."
The Youst family had the WWII veteran's uniform on display.
"Wow, just like you, it is in great shape after all these years," Hodges said.
"It's at least 60 years old or older," Youst said.
"That's incredible. Someone's been taking good care of it and good care of you," Hodges said.
"This is a strong man. For him to be in this good of a condition, to survive life for what he's been through, this is one strong guy," Youst's son, Keith, said.
Born Oct. 11, 1921, Youst graduated from Pottsville Area High School in 1939. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps and graduated from Buckingham Gunnery School in Florida.
He said he was among the more than 1,500 American airmen imprisoned at internment camps in Switzerland, such as Wauwilermoos Military Prison, after being shot down or forced down by Swiss fighters or antiaircraft batteries between 1943 and 1945.
Switzerland's stance in World War I and World War II was armed neutrality, claiming to have no alliances, but asserting it would defend itself against incursions, according to the book "Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War 2" by Stephen P. Halbrook.
In 1940, Wauwilermoos Military Prison was established in Lucerne, Switzerland. "The prison held many nationalities, including Swiss criminals," according to the website for the Swiss Internees Association at swissinternees.tripod.com.
"The Swiss claimed they honored international law in their arrest of POWs, but they applied the law in a grossly unfair manner to the benefit of the Nazis. No German airmen were interned, and Nazi aircraft were allowed to land safely at Swiss airfields, refuel and depart," according to an article on the website for The Christian Science Monitor.
"I was held prisoner in Switzerland for more than 11 months," Youst said Friday.
This occurred between 1943 and 1944. He made three efforts to escape and succeeded the third time.
"I've read your story," Hodges said to Youst. "I've actually been to the lake on the border of southern Germany and northern Switzerland where in '43 the German fighters got you. You were one of the six in your squadron who made it out. I read about your three attempts to escape. Fortunately, for us all in this room, you were successful the third time," Hodges said.
Youst wasn't sure he'd live to see a POW medal for his suffering.
The U.S. government did not officially acknowledge the existence of the camp at Wauwilermoos until 1996, according to The Christian Science Monitor. In the past decade, veterans including Youst requested recognition from the government for their service.
For years, the Department of Veterans Affairs denied many of these veterans POW status, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
On Jan. 3, 2013, President Obama signed the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 584 of the act modified Title 10, Section 1128 to allow award of the POW Medal "to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the armed forces, was held captive under circumstances not covered by the 1985 statute, but which the Secretary concerned finds were comparable to those circumstances under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict.''
"The amendment is expected to allow the award for any U.S. airman confined in Wauwilermoos for attempting to escape," according to the website for the Swiss Internees Association.
On Oct. 15, 2013, the acting secretary of the Air Force, Eric K. Fanning, told Staff Sgt. Youst his medal was approved.
"I'm glad my dad got his medal after all this. For the longest time my dad didn't seem to care about it until recently. I think it's a relief to him that he got it," said Youst's son, Keith.