 | Subject: To Bert With Respect.Posted by Pete Monday, November 05, 2007 at 08:59:00 Message: Hello Bert, I hope this letter finds you and all your loved ones well. With the utmost respect to you sir, for having served our country in the Korean War, I have visited your sites and have one nagging question I need to ask. I mean no disrespect and I do try to respect others opinions even though they may disagree with my own. I have several friends that served in Korea and were P.O.W.s. I do consider myself very fortunate to know what sacrafices were made in the name of freedom, both ours and others. All of my friends and family that had served in Korea and were P.O.W.s did so admirable and honorable. They do not hold any grudges or malice towards those that faltered during that horrible experence but rathers acknowledge their human limitations. We have visited your sites and find them interesting and informative, but rather harsh in the judgement of "some" P.O.W.s. To the point sir, unless you've walked a mile in their shoes, perhaps understanding is in order rather than judgement. I say this with the utmost respect and hope that you may understand my intentions. Pete | |
 | RE: To Bert With Respect. Posted by Pete Tuesday, November 06, 2007 at 23:22:50 Message: Hello Bert, It is always a pleasure and an honor to have the opportunity to correspond with one of our veterans. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question concerning the actions taken by some of our P.O.W. s. I would like to stress the point that I do not condone or make any attempt at justifying such behavior where one man willfully and knowingly caused the suffering or death of another. You had mentioned that there are those that capitalize on those experiences and make themselves out to be heroes…I think, and this is only my opinion for what it’s worth, A man that “Brags” about that experience has earned the “Bragging Rights.” Simply because I do not believe I could endure such trials. I have met men on both ends of that spectrum, both humble and arrogant. I give my gratitude to all of those that have done so honorably. To those few that had purposefully caused harm to their brothers in arms……..I give nothing. My only acknowledgement is in the fact they sought to survive and did so at the expense of their brothers. May God do with them as he will. Thank you Bert for your sites. There are far too few on the internet. I don’t believe Korea is a Forgotten War. You can’t forget something that you’ve never been told of. Ask any high school student you know what they’ve learned about the Korean War and listen to their response. It may just break your heart. Best Regards, Pete | |
| RE: To Bert With Respect. Posted by Bert Monday, November 05, 2007 at 09:38:17 Message: Hi Pete, As you say, unless you have the same experiences as others it is difficult to understand everything they've done. To put that another way, we can only speak with authority on our own experiences. My experiences were on the sharp end of the Korean War while some POWs helped extend that war by participating in the Communist sponsored "POW Olympics". Basically, however understandable their personal motives, their collaboration in that political farce helped cause death and suffering among their fellow Americans. In fact, I don't judge them, because I don't know how I would have behaved in their shoes. The bravery amidst suffering of some of the POWs which I describe in my site is beyond my ability to imagine, much less emulate. What I do judge, however, is the way some former POWs capitalize on their captive years today by portraying themselves as heroes then. But then, exposure to such "heroes" has been my own experience, and is all I can speak of with authority. Best regards, Bert | |