Gerald Coffee

This is Gerald Coffee and he was a POW for seven years.  Please watch and just try and imagine being in his situation and doing it all for the freedom of our country...he is truly amazing....

THEIR STORIES...

Some POW's are lucky enough to make it out of captivity and be able to return to loved ones and tell their story.  It is important for these soldiers to tell what has happened to them so Americans can have a true picture of the price that is paid for freedom.  In order to really appreciate what is sacrificed for them they need to know the truths of POW's. 

Donald Richard Peppard was part of the USS Pueblo during the Vietnam War.  He stated "We could hear the screams from down the passageway where they had taken the people out.  We knew people were getting beat real bad." (Audio tape, 28:02)  He was captured for eleven months and during that time he and fellow soldiers endured horrible conditions.  Including several beatings, hunger, fear, threats, censored mail, boredom that could make a person go absolutely crazy, all while trying to appear emotionless to his captures knowing any sign of weakness would only make it worse for him.  To civilians this seems like a movie, not a normal part of life, but it is a sad reality that stretches back into history all the way to modern day war. 

CLOSE TO HOME

POW's seem to be thought of as something from a movie, or something sad we hear about but never really happens to us or people we know.  To show how close to home this can hit, there is an Idaho man who is currently being held as a POW.  Bowe Bergdahl  was taken by the Taliban in 2009 and at the time was 23 years old. Who would have ever thought that a young man from Hailey Idaho would ever become a POW.  This has been around as long as war has, and obviously is not going anywhere.  While we can all still live life day to day, Bowe is still living in fear and terror, wondering if he will ever return home.  I believe it is imperative to never forget him and have hope for him. 

NEVER FORGET

Prisoners of war are soldiers that have been taken captive during times of war, people that sacrifice their lives everyday to give us the freedoms we have as Americans.  Some make it home and some do not, for those that do life is anything but easy.  Some find it hard to adjust to everyday life after experiencing the trauma they did.  They can be withdraw, listless, have little to no memory of the events that occured, be uncommunicative, basically just having a lack of connection and drive for their life at home.  Then there are some that can go the opposite direction and have a surplus of memories of being prisoners of war.  Having no time to relax and feel at peace, even when sleeping can have endless nighmares.  It is important to still discuss these events and the feelings these soldiers have, in order to show them respect and appreciation of the sacrifices they have made...to never forget what they have done for us, and they didn't go through the things they did in vain.