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Battalion/Page 3
March 31, 1982
Former POW relives
wartime experiences
Warped
By Scott McCullar
md the
pen the
lion hg 'ip ues{ j a y night.
by David Calvert
Battalion Reporter
Prisoners of war were often
tortured by their captors during
the Vietnam War, but these men
found ways to remain in high
spirits and communicate with
'each other, a former POW said
(hariiielj Col. John Stavast, a lighter
iroplenu pilot who spent five years in
listlcaftf, POW camps, said the prisoners
assent!), communicated by tapping the
be vocjj Boy Scout code on the wall. He
exceed. W'dthat the prisoners practiced
engineering and physics prob
lems to keep their minds sharp.
Stavast, sponsored by the
Texas A&M chapter of Young
Conservatives, said he was shot
down in September 1967 while
autumn on a reconnaissance mission
iy hopej
project
?n tnort
oth
out
rated bv
idem
'• and his
U:
lest bur"
•'entson
: risking
nd.
'erysim.
it. II iIk
pring,
turnar-
ovef North Vietnam near-
Hanoi.
Stavast said prisoners were
tortured if they did not cooper
ate when they first came to the
“Hanoi Hilton”, a large prison
compound.
‘ Stavast said prisoners were
asked few' military questions.
The prisoners were asked to
write letters to American offi
cials and soldiers, instructing
fhem to criticize the American
war effort.
|i .
Prisoners were not allowed to
talk with each other or exercise.
Stavast said the North Viet
namese people treated them like
criminals, not like soldiers.
Stavast said he lived in a 5-by-
6 fodf room with a roommate
the first year he w r as in captivitv.
Stavast said the prisoners ate
green weeds, rice, pumpkin
soup and drank water.
Col. John Stavast
Stavast said that after the
death of North Vietnamese
leader Ho Chi Minh in 1968 the
torture of prisoners was stop
ped, the food got better and
prisoners were allowed to exer
cise and bathe more. The big
gest change was that the prison
ers were moved to larger cells
and lived with 27 cither POWs.
“Seeing more people was like
coming back to civilization,” Sta
vast said. “We did everything we
could to learn about these new
people.”
When Stavast was freed in
1973, he said the POWs experi
enced mixed feelings. He said
many prisoners couldn’t believe
they would be freed and feared
the release was a trick. When the
POWs were on a U.S. Air Force
plane headed for Thailand, Sta
vast said everyone was quiet,
almost as if they w ere saying cine
silent prayer.
Although Stavast said he still
supports the concept behind the
war, he does not like the way the
United States pulled out.
“What we did was the wrong
thing Ui do,” he said. “I just hope
God will someday forgive the
American people for what we
did to the South Vietnamese
people.”
Stavast does not think there
are any remaining Americans in
Vietnam.
“The Vietnamese people
have turned over all live Amer
icans as far as I know,” he said.
“Most of the people listed as mis
sing in action were fighter pilots.
When the human body is ex
posed to a slipstream going over
1,000 miles per hour, it clisinti-
grates.”
Royal baby expected
on Di’s July birthday
MSC
CAMERA^ ^COMMITTEE
United Press International
LONDON — A laughing
Princess Diana revealed to an
elderly patient today: The royal
baby is due on July 1, her 21st
birthday.
Buckingham Palace said the
Princess of Wales broke the well-
kept royal secret during a visit
with Prince Charles to a hospice
for the terminally ill at Leeds in
northern England.
The princess was talking to
Edwin Wilson, who like every
one else in Britain expected the
baby — second in line to the
throne — to be born in June.
He told Diana it would be all
right if it arrived in time for his
75th birthday on June 10.
jjjjAF undersecretary
to speak at dinner
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by Susan Talbot
Battalion Reporter
Edward C. “Pete” Aldridge,
j undersecretary of the Air Force
and former student of Texas
J A&M, will speak at the Air Force
|$0 rC dining-out tonight at 6.
j| A dining-out is a formal din-
S er where strict military order is
bserved. Ft. Col. Donald G.
IcCroskey, assistant professor
aerospace studies, said.
Tonight’s dining-out is open
| only to people with some affilia-
| tion with the Air Force, invited
guests and dates, McCroskey
! said.
Junior and senior members
°fihe Corps of Cadets who have
'aken Air Force contracts are re
quired to attend.
The dining-out is an ROT C
Unction, not a Corps function,"
MiTruskev explained.
i. A group of Air Force contract
(uniors in the Corps plan a di-
n,n g-in or a dining-out every
Uear to honor departing seniors.
■Aldridge entered Texas
A^M in 1957 as a member of
^Hadron 8.
K'- t .
As a junior he served as
Sergeant Major of Third Group
Staff and joined Squadron 7 as a
senior.
Aldridge graduated with a
bachelor of science degree in
aeronautical engineering in
1960. He earned his master of
science degree from the Georgia
Institute of Technology in 1962.
'As undersecretary of the Air
Force, Aldridge provides direc
tion for Air Force space prog
rams and activities.
He also serves the secretary of
the Air Force in the secretary,s
absence or request.
Guests invited to the dining-
out include Howard Perry, asso
ciate vice president for student
services; Col. Robert Gibson,
representing the Navy/Marine
services; and Col. James
Woodall, representing the
Army and as the Commandant
of the Corps of Cadets.
The dining-out will begin at 6
p.m. in the Memorial Student
Center with a social hour. Din
ner will begin at 7.
nwr?
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Our If Fum
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Serving
Luncheon Buffet
Sunday through Friday
11:00 a.m. to 1:30 n m ^
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Top Floor of Tower Dining Room
Sandwich & Soup Mon. through Fri.
$2.19 plus drink and tax
'! 40p e n to the Public
3S*-
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A stone of increasing
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