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‘Nothing like freedom’: Vietnam POW says it's ‘Not our job to erase history’
Retired United States Marine Corps Lt. Col. Orson Swindle III spent 2,305 days as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam where he was tortured, beaten, interrogated and isolated.
The fighter pilot was shot down in his F8 Crusader on Nov. 11, 1966, while flying his last mission (of more than 200) over North Vietnam. He was captured by the North Vietnamese near the city of Vinh Linh and spent the next seven years being moved around various prison camps, including Hoa Loa Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton complex.
While in captivity, he shared a cell with future senator and presidential candidate, then-Lieutenant Commander (later Captain) John McCain as well as (later General) Col. George E. “Bud” Day.
He was released on March 4, 1973, — four days before his 36th birthday.
Fifty years later, Swindle looked back on his experience. He recalled when they learned they were finally going home.
Swindle said he and fellow American POWs talked at length at how they wanted to conduct themselves.
“We did not want to look beaten,” Swindle said. “We were to hold our heads up high. We just wanted to get the hell out of there.”
They were given trousers, long clothes, a windbreaker, duffle bag, shoes and socks — all of which, Swindle said, he thought weremade in Poland. A couple days later, Swindle said the men were told to “suit up in the clothing” they had.
“We had nothing but pajama-like prison garb and a tin cup,” Swindle recalled. “Some guys brought that home, and I chose to walk out empty-handed, and we were assembled inside the prison system building in Hoa Lo.”
Swindle said he was in a group of 20 people who boarded a bus and were driven through the outside of the prison walls and ultimately to the airport.
“This was the first time we were exposed outside of prison without blindfolds,” he said.
The bus parked beside an old, French hangar metal building that was rusted and worn down, Swindle said. From there, they flew to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
Swindle said he walked down the ramp and looked across the tarmac. To his surprise, he saw a big banner, “Welcome Home, Orson! Mitchell County class of 1955.” It was from friends from his high school who were in the Air Force and stationed there. Swindle said he jogged over to them and was covered with love, affection and hugs.
Swindle would also see his son and his wife at the time for the first time in seven years. His son was 4 when he left and 11 years old when he returned.
“That was pretty emotional,” Swindle said.
Swindle went through an extensive health evaluation and debriefing before being able to come home for good.
“Interestingly, the debriefing was a number of sessions,” Swindle said. “They asked us: ‘What can we do to make the time pass by?’ I said, ‘I would like to see film of what we’ve done with the space program.’ The next day the Navy sent in enlisted men and a trunk of 16 millimeter film, and I watched it every opportunity — 24 hours of film of all of our space jobs since I’d been gone.”
At the time of his return, Swindle was living in southeast Georgia. When he arrived, he told them wanted to drive through town before going to his house. There were two main streets, and every store had a sign that said, “Welcome home, Orson Swindle.”
“I was truly a local hero. It was really emotional coming home,” he said.
He and his peers had been together for seven years, and now they were out — by themselves and with their families, he said.
“Our children didn’t know us; people passed away, and we sat down and thought: ‘What the hell do we do next?’” Swindle recalled.
It was difficult, he said.
“We endured lots of torture – simple beatings to the point of death,” Swindle said. “We went through a very bad time and were kept in isolation.
He continued: “I spent a lot of time alone, a lot of time under stress, tortures, beatings and interrogation, hours and hours of sheer boredom, thinking, ‘My God, I’ve been here six or so years’ and you realize what you’ve lost — but, then, there’s nothing like freedom.”
It was an enormous strain, Swindle said
“We had beliefs,” he said. “The Vietnamese tried their damnedest to make us lose faith in our country, faith in religion and faith in each other, and they tried to split us up and divide and conquer.”
Swindle said he and his peers followed American POW Robbie Risner’s leadership who previously set the example of resistance in the North Vietnamese prison complex.
“They were there before me and by virtue of what they had done in resisting these efforts, and their leadership helped us,” Swindle said. “We were seriously resisting. … I have admiration and appreciation for the heroes who helped me survive.”
For Swindle, he was just doing his share, he said.
“That was the nature of it,” he said. “It was up to me and others to set an example of the military kind of belief system. We stuck together and that’s what we were supposed to do.”
Swindle said he was “scared to death” to let down his country, family and friends — and that alone helped him hang in there and not give up.
“We are all positive thinkers; we love our friendships, and we love life,” Swindle said.. “And we didn’t stop. When we came home, I guess we could have been bitter or sat down. None of us sat down. We went on to do great things.”
Some of the American POWs were doctors, presidential candidates, authors and members of Congress, Swindle said.
After his retirement from the military, Swindle served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Reagan administration, and as a commissioner on Federal Trade Commission from 1997 to 2005. Swindle’s military decorations include two silver stars among others.
Today, Swindle, who resides in Morrison, Colorado, said he’s incredibly blessed with friends, his son, stepson, wife, daughters, three grandchildren — triplet granddaughters.
And his friendships have ties to Sikeston, Missouri. Throughout the years Swindle became friends with Sikeston residents Blair Moran and Scott Matthews who were friends with Bud Day who passed in 2013.
“I’m pretty simplistic,” Swindle said. “I think we’re put on this earth to do things. It doesn’t mean you have to do good deeds, but it’s helping people, being a good citizen, being honest, being courageous when it’s time to be courageous. You have to be moral, honest with yourself and honest to others.”
Swindle said he is concerned by today’s society because some are seemingly trying to erase history by removing historical statues or references.
Love history; don’t tear it down, Swindle said.
“It’s not our job to erase history,” he said. “We learn from it — the good and the bad — and do better.”