Historical Highlight for September 24, 2023

Historical Highlight for September 24, 2023 ��� ���Black and White Brothers in the Camps��� – here’s a short historical fact from the history of the Vietnam war and the POW experience shared in the new ‘Captured by Love’ book:

���Since all the POWs grew up in the era of segregation in the south and many of us were raised in that region, you might think that race issues would have been a problem in the camps. After all, we were all locked up together, in tiny cells, for many years. Yet, we never had a single problem. In fact, there are many inspiring stories of our unbreakable relationships. Here���s one.

���During his shoot-down and capture, Major Fred Cherry (Virginia), a black man, was so seriously injured that he could not care for himself. They put Fred in the cell with a ���white boy,��� Navy Lieutenant Porter Halyburton (North Carolina) who fed, bathed, and dressed Fred and helped him survive. You can read about their story in the great book Two Souls Indivisible by James Hirsch.1

���But there was a ���race problem��� in the camps. It was the attempt by our communist captors to exploit the race issue with our black teammates. In an effort to divide us, they ranted to them about their victimhood. When the communist captors could not get them to turn against their country and their white teammates, they tried to bribe them, offering to help them and their families escape from America and go to a safer country. (That���s how little they knew about America!) They threatened that if the men didn���t cooperate, they would likely never go home.

���My black cellmate, Major Tom Madison, was one of the most highly respected men among the 52 POWs in Room 3 during the ���big rooms��� era. He was wise, courageous, and deeply loyal to our country and his teammates.

���Recently in a conversation with my friend Colonel Norm McDaniel, the only remaining long-term POW who was a black person, he said simply: ���We were brothers and a great team.������ (Pictured: Vietnam POWs with Gary Sinise at the 2023 Memorial Day Celebration in Washington D.C.)

Purchase your copy of ���Captured by Love��� at powromance.com.

 

#Romance #Lovestory #Military #marriagegoals #Resilience #POW50th #VietnamPOW #Courage #Passion #CapturedbyLOve #LoveLessons

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