John Gurr's speech honoring Vietnam POW's
HONORING OUR POWS FROM THE VIETNAM WAR
(Speech by John Gurr to UV ROTC Corps of Cadets)
I AM INDEED GRATEFUL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK FOR MY COMRADES IN ARMS AND I WOULD THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY WERE IT NOT AXIOMATIC IN THE MILITARY PROFESSION THAT YOU NEVER THANK A SOLDIER FOR DOING HIS DUTY. YOU CAN COMMEND HIM OR HER, AND I HEREWITH COMMEND WHOLEHEARTEDLY THE ROTC CADET CORPS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOR THE VIGIL YOU HAVE MOUNTED IN MEMORY OF OUR NATION'S POWS AND MIAS. IT WAS YOUR DUTY TO DO SO, AND YOU DID IT WELL. I WILL SHARE WITH YOU UP FRONT THAT I CAME TO THIS AMPHITHEATER LAST NIGHT AT ABOUT 0200 TO WITNESS YOUR VIGIL FOR MYSELF. I STOOD IN THE DEEP BACKGROUND FOR OVER A HALF AN HOUR AND WATCHED YOUR SENTINELS, AND I THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT MESSAGE I WILL CARRY TO YOU TODAY.
HERE IT IS IN A NUTSHELL, YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN: THE HEROIC LEGACIES OF OUR FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN, MOST CERTAINLY INCLUDING THOSE MEN WHO SUFFERED SO TERRIBLY YET ENDURED WITH HONOR IN THE TORTURE CHAMBERS OF THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST FORCES, THE HEROIC LEGACIES OF THOSE PREDECESSORS ARE SOON TO PASS TO YOU. BE READY, BECAUSE THEY ARE SACRED. DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY. DUTY-- BE PROFESSIONALLY READY, DO YOUR DUTY WELL. HONOR-GUARD AND CHERISH YOUR PERSONAL HONOR . COUNTRY-STAND READY TO EVER DEFEND THIS GREAT DEMOCRACY, WHICH IS A UNIQUE BASTION IN A DANGEROUS WORLD.
A BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE POW SITUATION AS IT DEVELOPED AND ENDED IN VIETNAM. THERE WERE 771 AMERICANS CAPTURED OR INTERNED IN THE VIETNAM WAR, FAR, FAR FEWER THAT IN ANY OF OUR MAJOR INTERVENTIONS SINCE WW I. 113 OF THEM-ALMOST 15%--DIED IN CAPTIVITY. THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE POWS WERE OFFICERS, MOST OF THEM AVIATORS SHOT DOWN IN THE NORTH, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEM WERE HELD IN NORTH VIETNAM. THERE WERE SOME 19 SUCH PRISON CAMPS, WHERE A ROUGH TOTAL OF SOME 550 MEN WERE HELD. IN THE NORTH, BRUTAL TORTURES WERE THE RULE , AND THE DEATH RATE WAS ABOUT 5%.
IN THE MUCH SMALLER AND EQUALLY SCATTERED PRISON CAMPS IN SOUTH VIETNAM AND LAOS, HUNGER AND DISEASE AND BRUTALITY WERE COMMON, BUT TORTURE WAS MUCH LESS SYSTEMATIC. EVEN SO, THE DEATH RATE IN THE SOUTHERN CAMPS WAS ABOUT 20%--FOUR TIMES HIGHER THAN IN THE NORTH WHERE FOOD AND MEDICAL CARE AND THE SUPPORT OF LARGE NUMBERS OF FELLOW PRISONERS MADE THE CHANCES OF SURVIVING BETTER.
AS TO THE PURPOSE OF TORTURE IN THE NORTHERN CAMPS, LET ME QUOTE FROM VICE ADMIRAL JAMES BOND STOCKDALE, WHO SUFFERED 7 YEARS IN CAPTIVITY THERE AND WAS THE RANKING MAN IN THE CAMPS. I QUOTE FROM HIS "AFTERWORD" IN THE FAMED BOOK "HONOR BOUND," WHICH DETAILS THE EXPERIENCES OF AMERICAN POWS IN SE ASIA:
"I WAS THE ONLY WING COMMANDER IN THAT LONG WAR TO LEAD PRISONER RESISTANCE AND THEREFORE THE NATURAL TARGET FOR MAJOR BUI-THE CAT-COMMISSAR OF NORTH VIETNAMESE PRISON CAMPS. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMMISSAR WAS EXTORTION. HE HAD TO CONTINUALLY INTIMIDATE-TO BREAK-A NUMBER OF POWS SO THAT HE HAD AMERICANS AT THE READY TO PARADE BEFORE PRESS CONFERENCES FOR FOREIGN 'DIGNITARIES (OFTEN AMERICANS FROM THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT) AND TO EXPLOIT FOR PROPAGANDA STATEMENTS FAVORABLE TO THE COMMUNIST AGENDA. OUR JOB WAS TO HOLD OUT AS LONG AS WE COULD, TO MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE CAT TO EXPLOIT US. TO DO THIS, HE HIRED EXPERIENCED 'TORTURE GUARDS,' WHO IN 40 MINUTES OR SO, WITH BARS AND ROPES, COULD REDUCE A SELF-RESPECTING AMERICAN OFFICER TO A SOBBING WRECK."
ADM STOCKDALE AND HIS FELLOW PRISONERS IN THE NORTH EARLY DECIDED THAT THEIR GOAL WAS TO RESIST AS BEST THEY COULD AND TO RETURN TO THE US WITH HONOR. I SAY AGAIN, WITH HONOR. THUS THE TITLE OF THE BOOK FROM WHICH I QUOTE, "HONOR BOUND." THE AMERICAN POWS WERE "HONOR BOUND." UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WILL DRAW A TEAR FROM YOU IF YOU UNDERSTAND. ADM STOCKDALE WAS AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR UPON HIS RETURN. DUTY WELL DONE, ADMIRAL! WELL DONE!
AS TO THE PRISONERS IN SOUTH VIETNAM, I WILL SPEAK WITH AN INDIRECT CREDIBILITY OF THE EXPERIENCE OF A WEST POINT CLASSMATE OF MINE, CAPTAIN ROCKY VERSACE. I WILL SPEAK WITH A PASSION THAT I CAN BARELY CONTAIN BECAUSE ROCKY VERSACE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE, AND HE, TOO, WON THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR FOR HIS RESISTANCE AND LEADERSHIP AS A PRISONER OF WAR. A DIFFERENCE IS THAT VERSACE WAS EXECUTED FOR HIS STUBBORN, AND OFTEN EVEN ARGUMENTIVE AND AGGRESSIVE RESISTANCE TO THE COMMUNIST EFFORT TO BREAK HIM FOR PROPAGANDA PURPOSES. THE MEDAL OF HONOR WAS PRESENTED, POSTHUMOUSLY, TO ROCKY'S FAMILY IN THE WHITE HOUSE ON JULY 8, 2002, IN THE PRESENCE OF 250 PEOPLE WHICH INCLUDED 89 OF HIS WEST POINT CLASSMATES. AS WE SAID TO OURSELVES AT THE TIME, "WE CAME FOR YOU ROCKY, WE WERE LATE, BUT WE CAME."
ROCKY VERSACE'S STORY IS ONE OFA YOUNG MAN OF EXCEPTIONAL PHYSICAL ENDURANCE AND TRULY EXTRAORDINARY MENTAL TOUGHNESS. HE WAS DEEPLY RELIGIOUS, AND HE HAD COME TO LOVE AND ADMIRE THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE PEOPLE FOR WHOM AND ALONGSIDE WHOM HE HAD FOUGHT FOR ALMOST 18 MONTHS BEFORE HE WAS SEVERELY WOUNDED IN BATTLE AND CAPTURED IN OCTOBER 1963. FOR THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF HIS CAPTIVITY IN THE DELTA OF SOUTH VIETNAM, HE WAS HELD IN A SMALL CAMP WITH ONLY TWO OTHER AMERICAN PRISONERS. SUCCESSIVE TEAMS OF VIET CONG INDOCTRINATORS SOUGHT TO BREAK ROCKY, TO GET HIM TO MAKE STATEMENTS REJECTING THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE EFFORT TO RESIST A COMMUNIST TAKEOVER, AND THEY TRIED TO GET HIM TO MAKE RECORDINGS OR QUICK MOVIES OPPOSING AMERICA'S INTERVENTION ON BEHALF OF THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE FORCES. FLUENT IN VIETNAMESE AND FRENCH, HE ARGUED SO CREDIBLY WITH HIS INDOCTRINATORS THAT THEY HAD TO SWITCH TO ENGLISH BECAUSE THEY BEGAN TO NOTE THAT THE ENLISTED COMMUNIST GUARDS WERE STARTING TO NOD THEIR HEADS IN AGREEMENT WITH SOME OF ROCKY'S REBUTTALS. ROCKY'S FELLOW PRISONERS HEARD HIM SAY IN ONE OF THE INDOCTRINATION SESSIONS "YOU CAN MAKE ME COME HERE, AND YOU CAN MAKE ME LISTEN, BUT FRANKLY I DON'T BELIEVE A WORD YOU SAYAND YOU CAN GO TO HELL." ON ANOTHER OCCASION THEY HEARD HIM SAY "I KNOW THAT IF I AM TRUE TO MYSELF AND TO MY GOD, THAT SOMETHING BETTER AWAITS IN THE HEREAFTER. SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL KILL ME NOW."
MY FAVORITE ANECDOTE ABOUT ROCKY'S BEHAVIOR IS THE STORY AN ESCAPED FELLOW PRISONER LATER TOLD ABOUT THEIR HAVING NOTICED, ONE DAY, A GUARD WHO THEY KNEW SPOKE NO ENGLISH WALKING AROUND THE CAMP SAYING "THAT'S BULL SHIT! THAT'S BULL SHIT!" AMAZED, THEY EVENTUALLY FOUND AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK HIM WHERE HE'D LEARNED THAT PHRASE. THE GUARD REPLIED THAT HE WAS ON THE DETAIL THAT CONTROLLED VERSACE DURING THE INDOCTRINATIONS SESSIONS. HE SAID "I LEARNED IT FROM CAPTAIN VERSACE; HE SAYS IT ALL THE TIME!"
ROCKY ATTEMPTED ESCAPE FOUR TIMES AND WAS CAPTURED, BEATEN AND LEG-IRONED IN A STIFLING BAMBOO CAGE AFTER EACH SUCH UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT. ONLY THREE WEEKS AFTER HIS CAPTURE AND ON HIS FIRST ATTEMPT, HE HAD TO DRAG HIMSELF THRU THE JUNGLE ON HIS BELLY BECAUSE HE HAD TAKEN THREE ROUNDS IN HIS RIGHT LEG IN THE BATTLE IN WHICH HAD BEEN CAPTURED, AND HE COULD NOT WALK. AS A CAPTAIN AND THE RANKING MAN IN HIS POW CAMP, HE SOUGHT TO ENCOURAGE HIS SOMEWHAT SEPARATED FELLOW PRISONERS BY SINGING "GOD BLESS AMERICA" AND OTHER PATRIOTIC OR POPULAR SONGS, FREQUENTLY INSERTING A STRAY WORD OR TWO TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIS MEN. ROCKY SET THE EXAMPLE , AND HE TOOK THE HEAT OFF HIS FELLOW PRISONERS.
AFTER FIVE MONTHS, ROCKY WAS DEEMED TO BE AN INCORRIGIBLE PROPAGANDA PROSPECT, AND HE WAS TAKEN FROM THE CAMP AND HELD IN ISOLATION. THAT'S WHERE HE WAS HELD FOR THE LAST 18 MONTHS OF HIS 23-MONTH CAPTIVITY. ALONE, EMACIATED BY HUNGER AND DISEASE, HIS HEAD SWOLLEN AND YELLOW FROM JAUNDICE. THERE WERE OCCASIONAL REPORTS DURING THAT TIME FROM VILLAGERS WHO SAID THAT ROCKY WAS FREQUENTLY LED OR DRAGGED THRU THEIR VILLAGES AS A SAD EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE AMERICAN FIGHTING MAN LOOKED LIKE. EVEN SO, THEY SAID THAT ROCKY SOMETIMES INTERRUPTED THE PROPAGANDA DIATRIBES IN THE VILLAGE CENTERS, REFUTING AND EMBARRASSING HIS CAPTORS IN HIS FLUENT VIETNAMESE. HE WAS BEATEN, AND ONE REPORT SAID THAT AS HE WENT DOWN, HE SMILED. ROCKY VERSACE WAS A WINNER.
HE WAS EXECUTED IN SEPTEMBER 1965, ENDING NOT ONLY HIS LIFE BUT HIS IMMINENT PLAN TO LEAVE THE ARMY AND RETURN TO SOUTH VIETNAM AS A MARYKNOLL MISSIONARY. HE HAD BEEN ACCEPTED TO BECOME A PRIEST-CANDIDATE AT THE MARYKNOLL ORDER IN TARRYTOWN, NY. BUT HE NEVER MADE IT THERE.
THUS ENDED THE LIFE OF A DECENT MAN, A COURAGEOUS AND UNBREAKABLE SOLDIER, AND NOW THE ONLY ARMY MAN TO GET THE MEDAL OF HONOR FOR CONDUCT AS A POW DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.
AND NOW LET'S TURN TO YOU. WHAT YOU'VE JUST HEARD IS A PART OF YOUR LEGACY. YOU MUST NOT LET IT DOWN. LAST NIGHT THERE WAS JUST ONE OLD SOLDIER SITTING UP THERE IN THE BACK OF THIS AMPHITHEATER, WATCHING YOU, WATCHING YOUR VIGIL, AND WITNESSING THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD. IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS OR YEARS, YOUR TURN WILL COME TO BEAR THE MANTLE OF DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY. AND THERE WILL BE A GHOSTLY PHALANX OF OLD SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN, AND MARINES WHO WILL ALWAYS, I REPEAT "ALWAYS," BE WATCHING YOU. YOU CANNOT FALL SHORT OF THE STANDARD THAT HAS BEEN SET.
I APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK FOR MY PAST AND PRESENT COMRADES, WE COMMEND YOU FOR DOING YOUR DUTY SO WELL, AND MY LAST WORDS TO YOU ARE:
BE READY.
submitted by
Hector Negroni
A group of members of the Class of 1961 wished to recognize the charitable efforts of our classmate Brice Jones and, in 2001, bought one of his first barrels of pinot noir wine and had it bottled. Enclosed are the labels used in this rare pressing of pinot noir grapes. As we all know, Brice sold his Sonoma Cutrer Winery to Brown-Foreman (makers of Jack Daniels etc..) in 2001 and is now dedicating his efforts to producing pinot noir red wine of the same world renown as his Sonoma Cutrer chardonnay. The main label was designed by Jim Hinkle and others. The smaller label lists the names of those who participated in this effort. Please note that the smaller label contains the patch of the 61st Tactical Fighter Squadron (Mythical), an organization founded by Brice Jones to foster the camaraderie amongst the members of our class. As we all know, around 1985 Brice Jones established and hosted the World Croquet Championship in the Sonoma Cutrer Winery. The proceeds from these event were used to finance charitable efforts for children with terminal illnesses, such as the Magic Moments, Make a Wish Foundation, etc...Those of us who attended this event over the years have great memories of the World Croquet Championship. By the way, the wine was superb!
