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Vietnam POW share his story of survival
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General John Borling's trying experience
- Duration 4:46
- Date Mar 2, 2013
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Transcript
This transcript is automatically generated
-- this year marks the fortieth anniversary.
-- when American POWs held in Vietnam were finally released and sent home among them a fighter pilot shot down in the summer of 1966.
Major general John -- endured years of unimaginable torture.
His only salvation.
-- that he wrote while in prison.
His new book caps on the walls tells is amazing story his fellow POW and Senator John McCain writes the -- forward saying.
John borrowing a POW for over six and a half years won this fight for himself and contributed greatly to the morale and survival.
Of the rest of us with his -- an incredible talent for storytelling.
Major general -- -- joins us now great to have you sir nice to have you -- -- -- -- Thank you so marshals are extremely generous words by you and also by a Senator McCain did the forward -- -- on the wall so I'm.
I'm very.
Very pleased to be with you today -- and hope that the story is that are in the book the homes on the pros.
Will will bring out feelings make you laugh make you cry.
Make you think and do all that the contemporary fashion.
While I certainly felt all those emotions as I read the book.
I know that's you spent much of the six and a half years in the notorious north Vietnam prison -- the Hanoi Hilton.
By American prisoners a place of torture and often solitary confinement.
Talked me for a moment about that experience and the impact they had on you as you spent your time there.
Well on those long ago and far away time -- the early years and troops were very brutal.
We were in isolation or so -- isolation much of the time.
As the years went on after a tremendous -- and 69 and unsuccessful raid in 97 -- Does things started to improve a bit -- a gradually.
Never -- Geneva conventions standards but.
It did -- to the point where returning.
Him and not dying up there in fact I create of those homes and broad.
In my head kept the memorized path from triple wall and let Iran face to face.
-- verbally so my wife whatever legacy and there's like died up there will of course.
I didn't them and now we're encouraged by -- -- to publish after forty years you could see a piece of my soul.
Or what else it should be.
Be careful with that.
And edit the hard part of course you've gone back and having to relive some of that stuff I'll certainly.
-- I and you managed -- with -- and Barkley as you said it to compose and memorize poems without pencil and paper.
That you share with your fellow inmates like the -- Senator John McCain how did you manage that.
Well.
Necessity is the mother of invention I would suggest then that when you try to make time an ally when you try to.
Run on certain race should not sure of third command we all had to find strategies for every man -- to -- its own way to fill the unforgiving minute of some of those -- terrible days.
And and I used among other things.
Poetry which I've always -- -- -- if you will leave -- long what air force academy graduate with an engineering degree am.
So kept -- alive in my own mind and there's less safe path from two Walt taps on the -- There's the -- in the book contemporary poem called -- on the Walter wrote just for you.
And everybody else frankly.
And the country because of those names that transcend.
And make -- transform our own lives but at the end of the day that we're meant to keep his private my wife Marta and I never thought we publish.
The Pritzker military library here in Chicago colonel Pritzker and colleagues in New York.
Persuaded us.
That we ought to go within an hour were very gratified by the reaction we're getting all over America.
Well really quickly I just a few seconds left has all of us experience and very healing for you in the end.
Like I I think that we we came out stronger those of us who can modify have -- -- bigger question.
Correct we wanted to return home with honor we -- to.
Stand proud well really what we wanted to do was get back and compete and continue to contribute to.
Our community source city state and nation in my case I was able enjoy a wonderful.
Air force career -- all over the world and we continue to march.
On a number pursuits that are of interest have -- we hope to that constituency I just mentioned and the book is one of those efforts -- on the walls means a lot to us.
-- remains a lot view him and your viewers today.
It certainly does.
Major general thank you so much for joining us you are an amazing person and a hero to us all and a courageous fighter thank you so much for joining us today overly generous words thank you.
