Hugh Allen Stafford was one of the highest ranking POWs in Hanoi. He was a prisoner of war for six years. Author Jeff Norman wrote a fantastic book about Stafford's experience in Hanoi and the events leading up to his capture. Back in 2013, Glenn Beck did a story on his television program about Stafford and his fellow POWs. The words below were penned by Stafford on small scraps of paper during his time in prison and are an inspiration to all those in the fight for freedom. Thank you Commander, for your service and sacrifices for this country.
Scrawled on the inside of a cigarette carton, Beck described Stafford's letter as "profound." It reads:
“Don’t dread suffering. It only makes it worse. Anticipate it. Predict it. Even exaggerate it in your anticipation of it. Don’t fight a neurosis or a symptom of one. It may be a friend in disguise, a mere symptom of a deeper disturbance rendered less severe by it. A neurosis may well be a vital protective shield. Detach yourself from it. Predict it. Exaggerate. Laugh at it. It can safely and effectively be ridiculed away but not torn away. Try to find ‑‑ try to find meaning in this every circumstance. Meaning varies with the individual and with every circumstance. With him ‑‑ or with me it may vary by the hour. The meaning for a particular moment may simply be to endure that moment in a manner in which you can be proud of. But beware of false pride. Don’t expect too much. Perhaps in retrospect it will show that it was meaningful enough just to have endured, to have survived, to try. Perhaps at the end of it, it is just as meaningful to look back and say 'I tried' as it would be to say 'I succeeded.'"
Hugh Allen Stafford was one of the highest ranking POWs in Hanoi. He was a prisoner of war for six years. Author Jeff Norman wrote a fantastic book about Stafford's experience in Hanoi and the events leading up to his capture. Back in 2013, Glenn Beck did a story on his television program about Stafford and his fellow POWs. The words below were penned by Stafford on small scraps of paper during his time in prison and are an inspiration to all those in the fight for freedom. Thank you Commander, for your service and sacrifices for this country.
Scrawled on the inside of a cigarette carton, Beck described Stafford's letter as "profound." It reads:
“Don’t dread suffering. It only makes it worse. Anticipate it. Predict it. Even exaggerate it in your anticipation of it. Don’t fight a neurosis or a symptom of one. It may be a friend in disguise, a mere symptom of a deeper disturbance rendered less severe by it. A neurosis may well be a vital protective shield. Detach yourself from it. Predict it. Exaggerate. Laugh at it. It can safely and effectively be ridiculed away but not torn away. Try to find ‑‑ try to find meaning in this every circumstance. Meaning varies with the individual and with every circumstance. With him ‑‑ or with me it may vary by the hour. The meaning for a particular moment may simply be to endure that moment in a manner in which you can be proud of. But beware of false pride. Don’t expect too much. Perhaps in retrospect it will show that it was meaningful enough just to have endured, to have survived, to try. Perhaps at the end of it, it is just as meaningful to look back and say 'I tried' as it would be to say 'I succeeded.'"
https://www.theblaze.com/news/2013/06/05/dont-dread-suffering-read-the-incredible-words-of-vietnam-pow-hugh-stafford
Link to the book about Stafford: https://www.amazon.com/Bouncing-Back-Heroic-Survived-Vietnam/dp/0395451868