Former POW celebrates 30 years of freedom

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Sandi Michon
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
As U.S. prisoners of war in Iraq await their freedom, Col. Charles Brown, 439th Maintenance Group commander here recalled the end of his own POW experience 30 years earlier.

On April 1, 1973, a young, Captain Brown walked off a C-9 Nightingale onto the tarmac here after spending 101 days as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. He was imprisoned at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" after his B-52 Stratofortress was hit by a missile Dec. 19, 1972.

Brown's experience as a POW takes on renewed significance in light of current events in Iraq. "It brings back old memories," he said.

Brown's most vivid memories as a POW are his first day of confinement and the jarring transition from combatant to prisoner.

"The first day is the most dangerous," he said, explaining that most POWs first survive a firefight and other forms of enemy brutality before reaching their permanent place of confinement.

Brown appeared on television after his capture, and he said he feels that it may have saved his life.

"If you end up on camera, you generally get released because of the increased accountability it creates," he said. "In a larger sense, it's more dangerous to not appear on camera."

Brown sees similarities between North Vietnam and Iraq.

"Both situations involve dictators that have little value for human life," he said.

Three decades have helped heal the psychological pain of his POW confinement, but Brown said his experiences also helped him focus on what is important.

"You find you place greater emphasis on relationships," he said, and added that his faith played a role in his survival.

The POWs tapped "GBA" (God Bless America) on cell walls in code to keep up their spirits and counted the bell tolls from the Hanoi Catholic church nearby to keep track of time, Brown said.

"They constantly fed us lies over the radio, but my faith helped me know they were just lies," he said.

On April 1, Brown's friends here commemorated his 30-year homecoming anniversary with a surprise ceremony. Brown, one of only a few Vietnam-era former POWs still actively serving in the military, told the gathered crowd that "the real heroes are the ones who didn't come home."

Chief Master Sgt. George Kudla, of the 439th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, was on the flight line when Brown return three decades ago. "I remember seeing his skinny face in the C-9 window when it taxied into the parking ramp at Westover," he said. "He asked how the Boston Bruins were doing," Kudla recalled with a laugh. (Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service)