Several years ago I heard an amazing story about survival and hope; it’s about a Navy fighter pilot who was shot down over Vietnam, he ejected and was then captured by the NVA (North Vietnamese Army). He spent the next 6 years of his life in a tiny prison cell at the infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ along with other American P.O.W.s.
This former Navy pilot and P.O.W.-turned-motivational-speaker is one of the few who’s been able to successfully make a career of re-telling his story to audiences around the world.
He likes to tell the story of a fellow P.O.W. – a young navy seaman by the name of Doug Hegdahl who through a freak accident fell off his ship into the South China Sea. He was then picked-up by fishermen and turned over to the Viet-Cong (he tells everyone, “I wasn’t captured, I was rescued!”) who took him to the same prison camp.
Of course if you were a guest at the Hanoi Hilton, you were subjected to the most deplorable human conditions imaginable including regular beatings and torture. But anyway, in 1969, the North Vietnamese decided to release a few prisoners as part of a public relations gesture. (Sen. John McCain was one of the P.O.W.s chosen for release because he was the son of an American Admiral, but he refused to go) So Seaman Hegdahl was among the few chosen for release by the senior American officer in the camp.
One of the reasons they chose Hegdahl was because he managed to memorize in alphabetical order the approx 250 names of the other prisoners along with their branch of service, rank, phone number, and the names of their next of kin.
Once in San Diego, he was debriefed by the Navy, State Dept., DOD etc. – telling them about the horrid camp conditions, prisoner’s names and other information. So what does he do next? Remember, this is a young sailor with a pocketful of back pay who hasn’t been with a woman in 2 years. He took it upon himself and started criss-crossing the U.S. from South to North to down South again – then all through the Mid-West and Back East. He contacted either in person or by phone the relatives of every prisoner whose name he could remember and tells the families about their loved one and their condition and so forth. The families had not heard anything about their loved ones – in some cases for years – and in many cases didn’t even know if they were still alive. Talk about an emotional high!
The former pilot refers to individuals like Hegdahl as ‘Parachute Packers’. Like a good coach who mentors and inspires his players or loving parents; they uplift your spirits. They pack your emotional and spiritual parachute for life’s tough challenges up ahead.
The former fighter pilot remembers vividly the time he was sitting at a restaurant in Kansas City ready to eat his lunch when a man a couple of tables away gets up and walks over to his table and points a finger in his face and says, “You’re Capt. Charles Plumb”, “Yes I am.” replied Plumb. “You flew fighter jets off the Kitty Hawk during the Viet Nam War.” “How do you know all this?” asked Plumb. “I packed your parachute” said the man. Captain Plumb was speechless – he stood up and gave the man the most heartfelt hand shake he could muster up.
Upon much reflection, Captain Plumb says that man saved his life in more ways than he knows. His 6 years as a P.O.W. has given him supreme confidence, prepared him for any adversity that comes his way, and of course he incorporates the metaphor of a ‘parachute packer’ into all of his motivational talks.
We’re looking for ‘parachute packers’ on our Blog. If you know of one or are one yourself, please feel free to share your thoughts with us. It will truly be appreciated. With faith there is hope . . . just ask Doug Hegdahl or Capt. Plumb; I’m sure they will tell you. P.W.