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PoWs want improved compensation, protection for dependents with o parede from the Watsnce Ceopon s i aA _ P S‘ with a parade from the Waterioo Legion to the Waterioo cenotaph where association Approximately 250 former Prisoners of War gathered in Waterioo this past weekend for the ninth president Ray Smith laid a wreath. convention of the National PoW Association. Melodee Martinuk photos ‘‘We never knew what was going to happen next...thinking about my family got me through it. 1 usedwtryandkeepmysanitybythhlkingo(mywite and son at homeâ€"what they were doing, how are they, do they know what‘s happening to me. That‘s all I thought about," said Cooper. That was the beginning of a 14â€"month nightmare for Cooper as a prisoner of warâ€"a nightmare of fear and despair, of slow starvation, disease and depravation. Hanging over it all was the constant threat of death. Howard Large, now of London, Ontario, was just 23 when he was taken prisoner during the August 1942 raid on Dieppe. Wounded, he spent months in a Cooper was Chief Petty Officer serving on the HMCS Athabascan, when a "lucky‘"‘ German torpedo sunk the destroyer as it was patrolling off the coast of Hector Cooper remembers that day as if it were ©‘What‘s important is now‘ Offer expires Aug. 31 /87 % together,"" Large said. Large‘s story is the stuff of movie scripts. He telis of escape committees and ‘‘constant tunnelling to keep ourselves busy;" of improvising pie recipes using wheat germ and bicarbonate pills for the crust; of selling cigarettes to guards for extra food. News was gathered using a juryâ€"rigged crystal set, hidden from his German captors in a hollowedâ€"out timber. ‘"‘The saddest and happiest time was after we were freed and we were coming over the English Channel. All of a sudden there ahead of us were the white cliffs of Dover, and the whole damn plane cried. That‘s when the reaction set in, when we realized that we had really made it." Stalag IX C in the heart of Germany, where he was held captive for twoâ€"andâ€"aâ€"half years. *‘There were many times when I didn‘t think I was going to make it, when I almost gave up...there‘d be times when we‘d all be in a depression, especially when our food ran low and we were cold. I don‘t know how we made itâ€"we stuck together and worked CAMP CRITTER ‘87 FOR MORE i1NFORMATION 742â€"7178 OR 747â€"0411 ONLY 4 WEEKS LEFT AND ONLY 20 SPOTS IN TOTAL STILL AVAILABLE. REGISTER YOUR CHILD NOW FOR THE CAMPING EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME. * Â¥ & FULL DAY (ONE WEEK) PROGRAMS AVAILABLE * TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED * MATURE STAFF *INDIAN THEME, AND QOUT OF DOORS BASED PROGRAM WITH A SPECIAL VISIT FROM CHIEF HECTOR EVERY WEEK. â€" CALL US AT THE CAMPSITE IT‘S OQOUR 3rd EXCITING YEAR TOGETHER. A PRIVATELY OWNED EXCLUSIVE DAY CAMP IN THE COUNTRY FOR 3â€"10 YEAR OQOLDS! We are here to make sure that each and every one of our dependents are well looked after. We served for our country. We feel the least we can expect is to have our dependents who suffered with us looked after." Cooper and Larger are just two of the approximateâ€" ly 250 former prisoners of war who gathered in Waterioo this past weekend for the Ninth Convention of the National Prisoner of War Association, Europeâ€" an Theatre. They included one veteran from World War 1, and two female PoWs. The 69â€"yearâ€"old Cooper and his comrades of the association are fighting another battle now, at home, with the government of Canada. The association is lobbying parliament for improvements in compensaâ€" tion for the PoWs, and better protection for the wives and widows of former PoWs. ‘‘There‘s not much point in taiking about what happened thenâ€"what‘s important is now. What‘s happened to the exâ€"prisoner and their dependents," said Cooper. ‘‘My wife went through this with me. She suffered because of my captivity, and that has to be recognized. She was here to help me when I got back. PWV.IV&Mâ€"". * & * x s $ w« t3 w64 #y w ® omm cmd nc