POW Medal Presentation
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III congratulates 1st Lt. James Mahon after awarding him the Prisoner of War Medal during a ceremony April 30, 2014, at the Pentagon. Mahon and eight fellow World War II aviators, all bomber crew members, were shot down flying missions over Germany and were held in a prison camp in Wauwilermoos, Switzerland. The men were originally denied POW status. U.S. Army Maj. Dwight Mears, whose grandfather Lt. George Mears, who was held at the prison, fought diligently for 15 years to get the men recognized as POWs. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)