Joe Pitts, November 11, 2002

As a Vietnam veteran, Veterans Day always reminds me of the fine men and women I served with in the Air Force. It reminds me of the lives that have been put on the line to defend American freedom, to beat back fascism, and to contain communism. America owes a great debt to our veterans, particularly those who were captured, injured, or killed.

Capture is something the armed services try very hard to prepare for. Early in my service, before my first combat mission, I was required to take survival training.

As a B-52 officer, there was always the chance I would get caught behind enemy lines. I had to learn escape and evasion tactics. I had to learn how to stand up to interrogation and torture if I was caught.

Our trainers dropped us in the mountains of northern California, with nothing but a map, a compass, a flashlight, and the clothes on my back. I had no tent, no sleeping bag, and no food. I had two weeks to make my way to a mock POW camp that was many miles away. My face was painted black, and I could only travel at night. Behind me were armed guards who relentlessly searched for me. If they caught me, I would be taken back to the starting point and I would have to start my journey over again.

The mountainous terrain was covered with thick underbrush. Even with my flashlight, it was hard to see my way. I crept along at a steady pace, intent on my objective and always listening for the guards who were on my trail.

For meals, I had to forage for food. Wild onions were the easiest to find. The only other food I could find was frogs. For two long weeks, I lived on nothing but frogs and onions. It’s not a diet I would recommend. I lost 15 pounds in two weeks and couldn’t stand to eat onions for years afterward.

Half way through my journey, I found a massive tree that had fallen over. I walked along its trunk, using it as a path up the side of a mountain. But it was very dark, and when I came to the trees’ end, I tumbled head over heels into the pit where the tree’s roots had been. In my fall, I lost my flashlight. I searched for it, but was never able to retrieve it. I had to travel without the benefit of any light at all, which made a hard mission even harder.

A few days later, as I was going along my way, the guards nearly caught me. One of them heard me and shouted, "Halt!" I froze. They fanned out, searching for me. One of them came within three feet of me. I could hear him breathing. But it was so dark that neither of us could see each other. He moved on.

Finally, at the end of two weeks, I made it to my objective. It was a mock POW camp, where I was to be subjected to various torture-like tests to see how and if I would hold up.

I was pushed into a little black box in a squatting position. It was pitch black inside, and barely large enough to fit in. My whole body went numb. Perhaps an hour later, they let me out. They hung me over a rail until I got my circulation back.

I was dumped into a pit filled with muddy water and turned over, head down and feet up. When I came back to the surface, I was turned over again. And again. Over and over. The goal of this training was to give me some sense of what I might be subjected to if captured. The Air Force also wanted to know if I could take it, if I could take the stress, if I could control my emotions. Some of the trainees couldn’t, and panicked.

When my training was complete, I went on to fly 116 combat missions as a navigator and electronic warfare officer on B-52s. I never needed to use my survival training, something I’ll always be grateful for.

Others did, however. Some of them even died. They suffered in service to their country, and we owe them a great debt whether they survived or not. Today, we face a new War on Terror, and the possibility of fighting to free Iraq from tyranny and weapons of mass destruction. I was 24 years old when I took survival training. Right now, other young men are taking similar training as they prepare to fight for the rest of us. We should all pray that, like me, each of them will be fortunate enough to complete their careers without ever having to use their survival training.

Congressman Joe Pitts is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.