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!
