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99-Year-Old WW II POW Honored at Florida State College at Jacksonville

Nov 1, 2022, 10:58 AM
Dr. Ferdinand “Fred” Berley and Camille Pascale Berley were honored guests at a Veterans Day presentation at North Campus. Dr. Berley was a Navy physician stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese captured him in 1942.

Students, faculty and staff had the unique opportunity to meet this American hero and learn first-hand what it really meant to be a Prisoner of War for more than three years during WW II.

You can learn more about Dr. Berley and find out why he eventually moved to the Jacksonville area in a recent story produced by the Florida Times-Union.

I had the honor of meeting Dr. Berley and Camille Pascale Berley as they dined at The Mallard Room at North Campus after the event. Not surprisingly, they were impressed with our students and their work.

You can also read a more detailed account of Dr. Berley’s experiences in the book Conduct Under Fire: Four American Doctors and Their Fight for Life as Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-45 by John A. Glusman. Visit the website.

Sources tell me that there is video of the event.  As soon as I get it, I will post it here.