A Noun, A Verb and POW | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)
What is a hero? (none / 0)
Being a POW during the Vietnam War was very unpleasant to say the least, but a Heroic endeavor?  To be heroic infers a choice of duty over self-interest.

Like turning down preferential medical care when his captors found out who his father was [He accepted that care in 1967].

Like refusing to talk to foreign journalists [He gave interviews to a French journalist François Chalais in 1967 and Spanish/Cuban psychiatrist Fernando Barral in 1970].

Like refusing to denounce your country on open broadcasts [He gave a broadcast in 1969].

Being a retired flight officer who was never captured by the enemy, I cannot say that I would not have done the same under the duress he was reported to have suffered.  But if I had, I would have seen it as a personal choice contrary to my duty and while not technically derelict, certainly neither noble nor heroic.


by mackayc on 08/22/2008 01:03:41 PM EST

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Mackayc, Brilliant point. (none / 0)
Everybody argues that being a POW does not a keen military tactician make you. In my humble opinion, rightly so. However, I have to agree that flying a dangerous mission in which you are told there is a distinct possibility of death but you do it to save countless other lives qualifies as heroic, while being held against your will, beaten and tortured, and buckling under intense mental and physical duress qualifies as doing whatever you can to save your ass. Not necessarily heroic.

by satanisreal on 08/22/2008 02:46:29 PM EST

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A Noun, A Verb and POW | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)