Posted at: 09/21/2012 8:13 PM
Updated at: 09/21/2012 10:11 PM
By: Steph Crock

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Honoring POW's and Those Missing in Action

(ABC 6 News) -- We pay tribute to war heroes on days like Veterans Day and Memorial Day, and Friday was meant to honor those who've been prisoners of war or are missing in action. A horrific experience many of us could never imagine.

Since WWI more than 200,000 soldiers have been POW, MIA. 84,000 are still unaccounted for. We spoke with friends and family of POW soldiers, still waiting for closure.

"We had never heard anything different to this day." That's the hardest thing for Ann Diggins. She said her little brother Robert Block joined the Army right out of high school and was immediately sent off to the Korean War.

No time for training, and sent off without ammunition. "So when they landed in Korea, South Korea, they were taken in as prisoners immediately," she said.

Years of wondering, her only clue, was one she got from the man who saw him last. "One carried my brother until he couldn't do it anymore and then he laid him down in the ditch and got up and had to leave him," said Diggins.

News that was hard for her and her family, but they're not alone. "You always loose them and you never know whatever happened to them," said War Veteran Norm Hecimovich. He's has served in three wars, and each time overseas, some of his fellow soldiers would disappear.

Their worst nightmare come true. "If you'd be captured by these people you wonder how much torture can you as an individual take," he said.

A thought that still haunts Diggins and her family. Years of uncertainty and still no answers. "We cry, we laugh, we do a bit of everything to keep our spirits going and keep out spirits up," she said.

Though Hecimovich has been through a lot overseas, he considers himself lucky and says we must always pay our respects to POW's. "Look back and say, well that same thing could happen to anyone of us at any time," he said.

An event was held at soldiers field in Rochester Friday night, also to remember our POW, MIA's.