Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, a former Marine Corps pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, is interviewed for NTD's "The Nation Speaks" on May 28, 2022. Screenshot/NTD
Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, a former Marine Corps pilot, was a prisoner of war (POW) who spent over six years in Vietnam’s infamous Hanoi Hilton prison camp where he was subjected to deprivation, isolation, and torture. He said receiving a patriotic and faith-based education helped him survive his experience and sacrifice for his country, the United States of America.
Swindle said he is concerned by the state of society today because some people are trying to erase history and seem to want to destroy this country.
“I’m extremely distressed by what I see. I see people that want to tear down history, and as some great intellect said, you know, history is not for you to erase. History exists so that the rest of us can learn, and in the proper way, change things that were wrong and capitalize and expand on things that are good,” Swindle told NTD’s “The Nation Speaks” program during a recent interview.
Over the past two years, many on the political left, including some Democratic lawmakers, have called for scrubbing names and statues of historical confederate figures from U.S. military bases, buildings, and public spaces because they were “racist.” Some leftist protesters have also targeted statues of President Abraham Lincoln, under similar claims.
Protesters gather at Lincoln Park to demand the Emancipation Memorial be taken down in Washington on June 23, 2020. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
“I have fought all my life to uphold these beliefs, these standards, out of pride in my country, and that is not to say naïve pride,“ he said. ”I pay attention to history and I’m well aware of the failures of our country, and the shortcomings of our country, but we keep evolving and getting better at this thing called democracy and freedom.”
Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, a former Marine Corps pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, in 1976. Courtesy of Orson Swindle
Through studying history, Swindle said he learned about the sacrifices the Founding Fathers made and understands that freedom is something earned.
He said he was struck by a story about a young Abraham Lincoln giving a speech about the marvels of the United States, and particularly the question of whether the nation could ever be defeated or occupied by an outside force.
“He said, ‘Not a chance.’ He said, in essence, if we die, we die by our own hand. We die of suicide—national suicide,” said Swindle, adding that President Ronald Reagan also warned that freedom is not guaranteed and must be kept alive by each generation.
Swindle credits the values of honesty, commitment, loyalty, patriotism, and faith that he learned in his upbringing for helping him survive as a POW and sacrifice for this country.
“Our education was, to me, boundless, because I recall to this day things that I was taught by these wonderful teachers, most of them ladies, and we were raised that way,” he said.
Swindle said these values enabled him to adhere to the POW Code of Conduct. It has six pillars, including, “I will never forget that I am an American fighting man, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in God and in the United States of America.”
The Prisoner of War Code of Conduct. Screenshot/NTD
He also said there were “absolutely marvelous leaders and courageous men” who helped guide him through it all. To stave off the isolation and fear, the POWs found a way to communicate through the walls of their prison cells through a system of “tapping,” attributing each letter of the alphabet to a different pattern of sounds, similar to Morse code.
“Every one of those men were special in every respect that I can come up with, and we just did our job: duty, honor, country. That was our job, and we knew it,” he said.
A reunion of Vietnam POWs in summer 2014. Courtesy of Orson Swindle
Swindle said he was part of the first group of children born to the “Greatest Generation” of men who fought in the Second World War and came home to the United States, struggling but looking for opportunity after serving their country honorably.
But he said he doesn’t see young people getting the same type of educational foundation he received, and that worries him.
He said he sees college students talking about their insecurities and the need to have “safe spaces” to be protected from the way the world is.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,“ he said, speaking rhetorically to the younger generation. ”You don’t have any idea of what sacrifice and courage are all about, and you ought to really learn or it’s going to be on your heads what happens.”
Swindle said what’s happening in the United States now is part of a long continuum of efforts to tear down the country, and that if Americans don’t wake up, the effort may be successful.
“My generation, we’ve done about all we can do,” he said. “I’m not overly optimistic but, you know, I never give up.”
Masooma Haq began reporting for The Epoch Times from Pakistan in 2008. She currently covers a variety of topics including U.S. government, culture, and entertainment.
‘History Is Not for You to Erase’: Former POW in Vietnam
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Lt. Col. Orson Swindle, a former Marine Corps pilot, was a prisoner of war (POW) who spent over six years in Vietnam’s infamous Hanoi Hilton prison camp where he was subjected to deprivation, isolation, and torture. He said receiving a patriotic and faith-based education helped him survive his experience and sacrifice for his country, the United States of America.
Swindle said he is concerned by the state of society today because some people are trying to erase history and seem to want to destroy this country.
Over the past two years, many on the political left, including some Democratic lawmakers, have called for scrubbing names and statues of historical confederate figures from U.S. military bases, buildings, and public spaces because they were “racist.” Some leftist protesters have also targeted statues of President Abraham Lincoln, under similar claims.
“I have fought all my life to uphold these beliefs, these standards, out of pride in my country, and that is not to say naïve pride,“ he said. ”I pay attention to history and I’m well aware of the failures of our country, and the shortcomings of our country, but we keep evolving and getting better at this thing called democracy and freedom.”
Through studying history, Swindle said he learned about the sacrifices the Founding Fathers made and understands that freedom is something earned.
He said he was struck by a story about a young Abraham Lincoln giving a speech about the marvels of the United States, and particularly the question of whether the nation could ever be defeated or occupied by an outside force.
“He said, ‘Not a chance.’ He said, in essence, if we die, we die by our own hand. We die of suicide—national suicide,” said Swindle, adding that President Ronald Reagan also warned that freedom is not guaranteed and must be kept alive by each generation.
Swindle credits the values of honesty, commitment, loyalty, patriotism, and faith that he learned in his upbringing for helping him survive as a POW and sacrifice for this country.
“Our education was, to me, boundless, because I recall to this day things that I was taught by these wonderful teachers, most of them ladies, and we were raised that way,” he said.
Swindle said these values enabled him to adhere to the POW Code of Conduct. It has six pillars, including, “I will never forget that I am an American fighting man, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in God and in the United States of America.”
He also said there were “absolutely marvelous leaders and courageous men” who helped guide him through it all. To stave off the isolation and fear, the POWs found a way to communicate through the walls of their prison cells through a system of “tapping,” attributing each letter of the alphabet to a different pattern of sounds, similar to Morse code.
“Every one of those men were special in every respect that I can come up with, and we just did our job: duty, honor, country. That was our job, and we knew it,” he said.
Swindle said he was part of the first group of children born to the “Greatest Generation” of men who fought in the Second World War and came home to the United States, struggling but looking for opportunity after serving their country honorably.
But he said he doesn’t see young people getting the same type of educational foundation he received, and that worries him.
He said he sees college students talking about their insecurities and the need to have “safe spaces” to be protected from the way the world is.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,“ he said, speaking rhetorically to the younger generation. ”You don’t have any idea of what sacrifice and courage are all about, and you ought to really learn or it’s going to be on your heads what happens.”
Swindle said what’s happening in the United States now is part of a long continuum of efforts to tear down the country, and that if Americans don’t wake up, the effort may be successful.
“My generation, we’ve done about all we can do,” he said. “I’m not overly optimistic but, you know, I never give up.”
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