The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-10-30

AUrtnhVApn 6uEVhu of the Army, working In co.opera- ton with the War Prisoners Aid of the Y. M. o. A. and the National Catholic Welfare Conference.
 Biggest of the Next of Kin Clubs meetings was held ct Chicago, where the Chicago Times got behind the initial meeting, promoted 1t, and as. sembled 3,700 people from the Chi- oago area, oil with sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, uncles, nephews, sweethearts or pals held as enemy captives.
 Tho turnout was SO big that it filled the auditorium hired for the occasion and on overflow meeting had to be hastily wired for sound to take care of all the people. AS they came in with their cards of ad- mission arranged for in advance, they were ushered to sections in which were seated other next of kin with soldier.relatlves in the same camp.
 That gave each section . common interest and the basis for forming Q smaller club which could reasSefnble for later and smaller meetings con. tinuing from month to month.
 THEY POOL INFORMATION
 The things tht draw these people together In Next of Kin Clubs are the common ties of sympathy and natural curiosity over the conditions in which their men-folk are held prisoner,
 Communication from the men in the prison camps are limited, par. ticulorly from Japan. What iS the life like in these places? It's hard to reconstruct the picture accurately or imagine how the men put in their time. Every relative at home who reads aloud leter or c card from one captive supplies c detail that fits the pattern of life for another rela- tive ct 0 Next of Kin Club meeting.
 At the initial meeting of Next of Kin Club In any community the idea is to have someone from the Red Gross or the Prisoner of War Information Bureau present to exs plain Article 77 of the Geneva Con- Vention, governing treatment of pri- sonerS of war, to demonstrate what's in the Red Gross capture kit given every captured American as soon AS he reaches c German transit camp, to show what's inside the weekly food cartons each prisoner gets to supplement his German diet. to ex- plain the prisoners rights and re- Strictions, and to give latest official news from various camps in which each club has special interest,
 FORMER PRISONERS ARE
 SENSATIONS AT MEETINGS
 At some of the meetings 1t has been possible to introduce ex-prison. CTS who have been repatrlated--men who have recovered from battle in- juries so serious that they are no longer capable of giving military service, and are therefore considered safe for release. Tn oil, there have been some 300 American soldiers re- patriated from Germany, though no military personnel has been re. patriated from the Pacific.
 A repatriate who can give Q flrSt- hand account of life in prison camp creates Q sensation, always. Next of Kin members practically won't let such guest speaker go home, wanting to hear the news over and over again, for comfort and consolation. Sometimes the ses- sions get pretty emotional.
 The Red Cross issues Q monthly Prisoners of War Bulletin for rela- tives of American prisoners of war and civilian internees. It tries to answer all the new questions as they arise, gives late news from the camps, tells about movement of mails and serves as newspaper for relatives and friends who wait and wonder and hope.