Day 6 of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and still the six geese a-laying haven’t shown up. Fortunately, we’ve got “The Twelve Days of Resilience” to tide us over. COL James N. “Nick” Rowe sat for an interview in the mid 1980s to discuss how he survived five years in various prisoner-of-war camps within the Forest of Darkness, all at the hands of the Viet Cong. If anyone understood the information war for control of our minds, it would be COL Rowe. The West Point officer and Green Beret had only been in-country for three short months before he was captured by the VC, along with two other military advisors. He suffered near-starvation-level rations of rice, always of rice, to the point where some men couldn’t even get it down anymore. He was subjected to physical and psychological abuse, along with regular indoctrination sessions. The enemy used any form of anguish—but only as much as was necessary to get what they wanted—including isolation, extremely limited access to medicines, and the incessant roller coaster of the carrot of release and the stick of aching disappointment of denial. COL Rowe found numerous ways to cope on a personal level.
Ridicule
The POWs used ridicule as a means to gain leverage within a situation in which they had zero authority. They would give the guards nicknames that belittled them. Even if they guards didn’t understand what the prisoners were saying, it made the men laugh, or at the very least start a smile. As COL Rowe puts it, the tactic diminished the threat the guards posed, if only in the minds of the POWs. Humor made a soul-crushing experience bearable. Even a smile can help lift a mood.
Nature
COL Rowe knows that if he’d been unlucky enough to be a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, he might not have fared as well. Because of his Special Forces background and survival training, he liked being outdoors, and if he had to suffer it was better that he have access to nature than being locked in a cell. He was shuttled between multiple camps within the U Minh Forest. Even from within his bamboo cage, he could look up at the sky, provided the canopy wasn’t too think, or watch the animals and birds. He appreciated nature and it provided some solace for him.
Prayer
COL Rowe describes prayer as the biggest chapel we’ve got. Each man’s personal space was his chapel. Of course, the Viet Cong constantly attacked religion—ritual and dogma they were OK with; it was the mental, emotional, and spiritual freedom that, in COL Rowe’s case, Christianity provide. That was the real threat. These coping mechanisms, despite the enemy’s intent to create a hostile environment, COL Rowe used for his good.
Pets
During COL Rowe’s captivity, there was a significant forest fire in the U Minh, the edges of which began to encroach upon the camp. The guards had left the camp to protect its borders. When they came back, they dropped two “balls of fluff” onto his cage floor. The fluff balls were baby forest eagles, their mother must having perished in the fire. COL Rowe raised the birds and taught them to fly. They never flew far. They trusted him implicitly. As man does, he named them. One was Herc and one was Ajax. One time when the guards came to get COL Rowe, the eagles attacked them. From that day forward, they were out to torment the eagles and one clipped Ajax’s wings. Herc would not leave him behind. COL Rowe had hoped they would fly away but they wouldn’t, and he saw Ajax’s spirit decline. When the guards informed COL Rowe that they’d be moving camp, he determined that he’d have to kill the eagles to prevent the guards from doing it. He’d seen them abuse animals before and wasn’t about to let it happen to Herc and Ajax. It was the hardest thing he had to do over the course of the five years. It broke his heart that they were so trusting. They never resisted when he had their heads over a makeshift chopping block. They had brought him joy and trusted him completely, and he was forced to break his own heart to save them from torture.
Tomorrow, Day 7 of the “Twelve Days of Resilience,” will cover dealing with isolation and keeping faith with others.
If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN. If you’d like to become a citizen contributor for AFNN, contact us at managingeditor@afnn.us
Truth Social: @AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
Parler: https://parler.com/AFNNUSA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA