My brother loaned me a book and told me to read it, which I did. It was written by a Vietnam POW and he told of the torture and struggles the POW’s endured and went through while in captivity. It not only told of the pain and punishment the POW’s went through it also told about what his wife and children faced while he was confined.
The story is true and called TAP Code. It was written by retired Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris and Sara W. Berry. As a Vietnam veteran myself I hurt for him at what he endured during eight years of captivity. My year in Southeast Asia seemed like a picnic compared to what the Air Force and Navy Pilots, that were shot down and captured, went through as Prisoners of War. Don’t get me wrong, my time in Vietnam was anything but fun and I lost many friends and companions who didn’t get to come home.
Communication was the main thing that kept the prisoners in touch with each other and helped them keep their sanity. Smitty taught the other prisoners a tap code because they were not allowed to talk to or see each other for many years they were held captive. Most were isolated in small cells for years before the Paris Peace Talks began in the 70’s.
