Playing Fair and Being Kind

WE DIDN’T LEARN A THING

Vietnam. Of course any war will do for this discussion. They’re all the same. Scared people armed to the teeth. Jumpy as shit and not fully aware of their purpose or duties. Unschooled in ethical behavior nor should they be for the job they’ve been handed. I recall when my youngest son was old enough he decided to enlist in the Army. I tried for a while to convince him not to do it. After a while I didn’t want to plant any more doubts in his head. If he was going to go fight wars he needed to be a savage without thoughts that would make him hesitate to pull a trigger to defend himself and his comrades. He needed to not think, just act to protect himself and his buddies.

I just finished watching episode eight of the Vietnam series coming out of the Public Broadcasting Network. The Ken Burns series. There was a scene in the film that shook my tree. On the screen was Bob Frishman a Navy officer I knew pretty well when I was in California during the seventies. It was precisely 1975 and I was preparing to divorce my wife of 15 years so I was living on Naval Air Station Mirimar, California. Bob was administrating the Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQ) where I was quartered. We got along pretty well and even double dated a few times.

Bob had returned from a prison camp in Vietnam where he’d been held captive for two years. His F-4 Phantom fighter jet had been shot down. Here is a link to the story of his last action before being shot down and captured. http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=27812

The clip that was shown of Bob was an interview by the press of two recently returned POW’s.

Typically when men were returned from prison camps they were given non-stress duties like Bob’s at Miramar so they could be utilized in a light-duty situation and be medically evaluated for a period of time. During this phase is when we met. I got the sense that Bob was lucky to have made it back alive. His physical difficulties included a shattered arm that had been butchered by the North Vietnamese doctors in Hanoi. He also was hyper and demonstrated bizarre behavior which I found hilarious at times and at other times totally inappropriate depending on the situation and setting. Still I found Bob to be a good guy and an interesting personality. Here is another link to describe a little of the conditions encountered by POW’s in Hanoi. http://taskforceomegainc.org/f066.html

Over time we got involved with other things and then we drifted apart and I got transferred to North Island in Coronado. After that we never were in touch. Over the years I’ve often wondered what had happened to him. This evening I saw his interview with Douglas Hegdahl, another POW who was a key witness and could provide the names of who was being held captive in Hanoi. He memorized about two hundred and fifty names and particulars of others held prisoner in Hanoi. The information they supplied during the interview gave relief to many of the families and also gave a more accurate description of the terrible conditions under which the captives were held.

I found Bob’s phone number and address and gave him a call. He didn’t answer so I left a message on his machine. I somehow don’t think I’ll be hearing back. I’ll call on more time in a few days but I’m sure he’s had enough of people. We’ll see.

Be well. Continue the good fight. Stay involved. Be kind to others.

Peace out,

G. M. Goodwin 26 September 2017