Louis expert on human and organizational systems who recently spent a year studying the men, their methods of survival, and how they have fared since, in an analysis of her observations. "Their adjustment to life is almost shocking," wrote Linda Henman, a St. And "Return With Honor," a powerful film documentary about the POWs' ordeal and how they not only survived but soared, is now opening across the country to critical applause.īy all measures, the vast majority of the 660 POWs who made it home alive have managed not only to put their lives back together successfully, but to do so to a degree that provides a remarkable testament to human spirit and resilience. John McCain, a prisoner for 512 years - is running for the Republican presidential nomination. "What we learned was much more than we lost," said Fellowes, 66, a former Navy pilot who spent 2,381 days in North Vietnamese prisons, where his arms were permanently damaged by the torture he suffered.Īs the nation prepares to celebrate the 26th Veterans Day since most of the prisoners came home in March 1973, the spotlight is falling again on the 771 American POWs who for too long were regarded by many as the only real heroes of that war. While none say they want to relive the nightmare, most say now they are truly blessed to have undergone it. Many, such as Jack Fellowes of Annapolis, Md., now view their years of physical and emotional pain as a life-changing gift. prisoners of war bear few lasting scars from their ordeals. They survived savage beatings, unspeakable torture, starvation diets and the heartache of missing their children grow up.Įven so, more than a quarter-century after their release from the hell of the "Hanoi Hilton" and other infamous prison camps in North and South Vietnam, an extraordinary number of former U.S.
Many endured more than six years of captivity, with stretches in solitary for as many as half. VETERANS DAY: Vietnam POWs starting to healīy Lisa Hoffman, Scripps Howard News Service
0 kommentar(er)
