Lawrence letter: POW story
The Statesman article of Feb. 21, “Pilot who was POW in Vietnam for over 7 years dies at 87,” told of Fred Cherry and his fellow prisoner Porter Halyburton, and how they became lifelong friends, is very inspiring and noteworthy.
However, one item was missing. The original story in The Washington Post has two more paragraphs, on the essential resource that carried Mr. Cherry through:
“I know that the faith in God, love and respect for my fellow man that my parents and family instilled in me during my youth carried me through some very difficult years as prisoner-of-war in Vietnam,” Col. Cherry wrote in the 1999 collection of POW war stories.
“I was always taught to love and respect others and forgive those who mistreat, scorn or persecute me. . . . [This] allowed me overcome the damages of discrimination, Jim Crow, and the social and economic barriers associated with growing up a poor dirt farmer... My standard for making decisions is based on doing what is right.”
If it was OK to mention religious faith in the Washington, D.C. edition, would not such a mention be appropriate for publication in Boise, Idaho?
Ralph Lawrence, Boise
This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Lawrence letter: POW story."