A Fort Gordon ceremony Sept. 18 paid tribute the more than 81,000 servicemembers since World War II who have been designed as Prisoners of War or Missing in Action.
For many years, Retired Col. Quin Herlik of Martinez attended the ceremony which has been held the third Friday in September since 1979, Herlik’s plane was shot down over Cambodia on Feb. 12, 1969 and he was a prisoner for 30 days. At 92, he died only a few days after the 2025 ceremony was held. .
Col. Nancy Harris, Fort Gordon’s garrison commander, honored Herlik as she opened her remarks as well as paid tribute to Retired Col. Joshua Stansell, a Barnwell County, South Carolina resident who survived the infamous Bataan Death March and was interned as a Prisoner of War during World War II..Fort Gordon’s Stansell Hall was named in his honor. She also paid tribute to Air Force Lt. Bob Jones, who spent 60 months in captivity. She met Jones at the Army-Navy football game in 2025.
Fort Gordon’s was one of many observances Sept. 18.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here
