POW shares experience with Team McChord

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Keoni Chavarria
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Life as a prisoner of war can be difficult to imagine, but with the help of a former POW, Airmen got an insight of what it is like inside a prison camp. 

Retired Lt. Col. Barry Bridger, a former POW, shared some of his stories with Airmen at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., April 16, 2015, about his years at the "Hanoi Hilton" prison camp in Vietnam.

Bridger was a POW for six years during the Vietnam War and spent most of his time in capacity at the "Hanoi Hilton."

During the presentation, Bridger spoke about the torture methods, the keys to resisting in the prison camp and the physical and psychological pressures the POW's faced in the prison camp.

He spoke about torture working with the pressures of the camp, but having the self-worth of not giving in.

"You can't buy integrity, you can't sell it, but it gives you something to hold on to when the winds of life begin to howl, and you are faced with a tough choice of right and wrong," said Bridger. "Integrity is your moral compass."

He also spoke about things that helped the POW's resist in the camp, such as communication, humor, and values.

"We always communicated, the camp commander never came close to severing our communications," said Bridger.

We also laughed a lot, you have to learn to laugh at yourself, he added.

A person's values can affect one's actions, he added, and are therefore important in resisting.

"Enduring values, these are the threads that made us unwilling to let one another down and ultimately victorious," said Bridger. "When we have lost everything we possess, we ended up with the good values to care for each other."

"To understand the brutality, we must examine the political objectives of governments holding American POW's," said Bridger. "To develop an appreciation of our greatest challenges we must talk about the physical and psychological pressures of internment."

For some Airmen like Tech. Sgt. Arthur Lothrop, 62nd Operations Support Squadron NCO in charge of wing current operations, Bridger's speech gave a connection with some of the problems Airmen may face.

"Lt. Col. Bridger's speech was truly inspirational and motivating," said Lothrop. "Listening to his trials and tribulations as a POW puts into perspective the small things some people find difficult in their daily lives."

During Bridger's time at McChord Field, had lunch with Airmen at the Olympic Dining Facility, and toured the inside of a C-17 Globemaster III, and the air traffic control tower. He was also able to see an explosive ordinance disposal display.

At the end of the speech, Bridger was presented with the guidon from the 62nd Airlift Wing, and the 627th Air Base Group.