The Unexpected Kindness of a Vietnamese Family in Captivity

19min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The chapter recounts a unique and surprisingly positive experience of being protected and treated kindly by a Vietnamese family while being held captive. Despite being tied up and guarded, the family welcomed the narrator into their home, shared food, and protected them from local villagers incited by Communist party leaders. The chapter also mentions the narrator's arrival at a prison near Vin and gives a glimpse into the conditions there.

Leon F. "Lee" Ellis (born October 9, 1943) is a retired United States Air Force colonel, award-winning author, speaker, and consultant.^[1] Ellis gained notoriety when, as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War, he was shot down, captured, and spent 5+1⁄2 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi and surrounding areas with former presidential candidate and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and others.^[2] His capture occurred on November 7, 1967, and he was released on March 14, 1973.^[3] He was one of the youngest, junior members in the camps.^[2] Ellis is an international speaker and consultant on the subjects of leadership and human performance.