Bouncing Back: How a Heroic Band of POWs Survived Vietnam

Recounts the capture and imprisonment of Al Stafford, relating the torture, humiliation, and loneliness he endured, how he resisted the Vietnamese efforts to break him, and his life in the U.S. following his release

Like most U.S. pilots captured in North Vietnam, Navy lieutenant commander Al Stafford was unprepared for the physical and psychological torture that followed. His shame over failing to hold out against it was eased somewhat when he learned that other downed pilots had also been unable to live up to the Code of Conduct. This painful story turns upbeat and inspiring as Norman, a former Esquire editor, describes how these broken men, still in captivity, banded together in a program aimed at fighting off demoralization and despair. "Bounce Back" included a kind of university of the imagination with avidly attended courses in everything from auto repair to wine appreciation. At the annual Christmas parties thoughtfully chosen imaginary presents were exchanged: a coveted power tool, a Stan Getz album. Repatriated after nearly seven years of captivity, Stafford suffered panic attacks and depression, but bounced back once again, so successfully that he was given command of the Navy's survival school at Pensacola, Fla.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Unlike many prisoner of war (POW) histories, Norman concentrates less on the POWs treatment and more on the phenomenon of surviving both physically and mentally that the POWs themselves called "bouncing back." He focuses on just a few of the 591 POWs released in 1973. When the Code of Military Conduct--developed following POW experiences in the Korean War--proved inadequate to guide the prisoners in their dealings with the North Vietnamese, they improvised a way to both resist their captors and maintain a flexible response to them, while keeping their self-respect and solidarity with fellow captives. A variation on stories of POW experiences, this has object lessons for anyone under extraordinary pressure. Recommended both for military collections and general readers. --Mel D. Lane, Sacramento
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.