Come on, dammit, this is interesting. Someone else posted this elsewhere.
"I went through POW camp at Howard AFB, '92. Two weeks of escape and evasion (eating grubs, yummy!), and two weeks or interrogation resistance. I got a broken jaw that never healed straight. Doesn't bother me, just looks funny in pictures at some angles. When I point it out to my friends, sometimes they are really amazed, guess it doesn't show so much in everyday life. Need to get that fixed someday.
For me, the worst thing I can remember was the asphixiation. When I started to clam up, they decided that those who won't talk don't need air. Big 55 gallon drum of water. I must have taken a dozen wet naps. After it was over I got to meet the doctor who made sure I didn't drown.
Did they give you those zip-ties for the all-nighters? A really good puch or kick would get you a zip-tie on your pocket, when the next guy took over, he kinda had an idea where the last guy left off. I was really simple-minded, and didn't negotiate enough. I got the nickname "Prom Date" - pocket *full* of zip-ties. Yea, yea, I know 'did you put out' - already heard all of the prom-date jokes.
How about AFLQV? Air Force Loves Quick Victories! .... ..... .... ... . .!
Gettin' the stuffins kicked out of you for two weeks solid really is a life-changing experience. I 'lacked the intellectual flexibility required to trade information for mercy.' I was too stupid (I like to call it single-minded) to believe that they would quit beating me if I talked. And me and one of my buddies learned about clostrophobia; "Don't put me in the box! Don't put me in the box!" (they put us in the box) Zzzzzzzzz. That was great.
I remember telling myself "The information you contain is the only reason they are keeping you alive". When that quit working (the idea of death didn't seem so bad after day 3), I kept telling myself "They wouldn't kill you mercifuly. They would keep you alive, only then you'd be no use to them, and they could do anything they wanted." These two mental tricks kept me quiet the whole time, as far as I remember.
They broke me too, but (I'm not making this up) I do not remeber the event where I divulged. Did I block it out? I don't know. I remember being in a semi-concious state a lot of the time, just in miserable pain. Got TSSPI, then spent two years in Juan Valdez's magical burro land. Beautiful country, though. Became a believer there."
:shock: :shock: