From Hanoi Hilton to Hilton Head Island: Vietnam POW offers insight to pre-, post-deployment Reservists, families

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Anna-Marie Wyant
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. --  Being a prisoner of war is unimaginable for many servicemembers, but for retired Air Force Col. Lee Ellis, this harsh reality was also a leaning experience he now shares with others.

Colonel Ellis spoke about his Air Force career, focusing mainly on his Vietnam deployment, to approximately 285 Reservists and family members from 12 different bases at Air Force Reserve Command's South Region Yellow Ribbon Program here May 21-22. Colonel Ellis, an F-4C Phantom fighter-bomber pilot during the Vietnam War, was shot down and captured in 1967 and spent more than five years as a POW at the Hao Lo Prison, which prisoners sarcastically called the "Hanoi Hilton." He shared some of his somber experiences with the crowd, discussing his lessons learned as a way to help them cope with recent and upcoming deployments.

Colonel Ellis emphasized on the importance of communication, which was a rare luxury during his time overseas. He reminisced about using tap code, a method of encoding messages letter-by-letter and transmitting them by tapping on a wall, to communicate with fellow POWs.

"We had abbreviations a long time before we ever had texting," he joked. "W-N was for when, U represented you... think, T-K... we go home. That was the most often tapped message, I think."

He said since they found a way to communicate through 16-inch concrete prison walls without phones or Internet, communication should not be a nonissue with today's technology.

"Not only communicate, but over communicate; send your message in multiple media," he said. "Nowadays you can send voicemail, email... you've got to over communicate to get your message through."

Even with myriad methods of communication readily available, he recognized the difficulties family members still face when trying to connect before, during and after a deployment. One problem he recognized was the possible tendency for servicemembers to emotionally shut down following deployment. He said after almost six years as a POW, he was emotionally flat but had to snap out of it for his family.

"It's very difficult to be a good husband, and parent to your kids when you're emotionally shut down," he said. "You show me a man who's emotionally shut down, and I'll show you a man who cannot connect with his 12-year-old daughter. And you know what she's going to do? She's going to find somebody that will connect with her emotionally."

With many fathers in the crowd, this example hit close to home.

Staff Sgt. Engels Sambois, who recently returned from a deployment to the Republic of Djibouti, said he wants to maintain a strong relationship and connect emotionally with his daughter, now three years old.

"What Colonel Ellis said is true," said Sergeant Sambois, a radio operator with the 39th Rescue Squadron, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. "I am definitely close with my daughter. I always try to connect with her, understand her, and make sure she understands why I do what I do."

During the Hilton Head YRP, attendees were given time each day to attend "breakout" sessions that matched their personal interests. Sessions such as Humor Through Deployment, Marriage Enrichment Workshop and Conflict Resolution with Your Kids reiterated Colonel Ellis' emphasis on the importance of proper communication. Master Sgt. Paul Rodriguez, a finance management technician with the 927th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., attended Conflict Resolution with Your Kids, which he said he enjoyed.

"It was a good class where the parents could interact and communicate with each other," said Sergeant Rodriguez, who has two daughters. "I learned how to better communicate with my own kids, like not focusing on 'I' versus 'you.'"

Sergeant Rodriguez said Colonel Ellis' advice to over communicate is spot-on.

"I continually deliver the message and stay on them," he said of communicating with his daughters.

In addition to communication, Colonel Ellis discussed the importance of good leadership, faith, resiliency, adaptation and preparation. Master Sgt. Amy Schmid, YRP registrar for this event, said she was greatly impressed by Colonel Ellis, a first-time YRP speaker.

"Colonel Ellis has a lot of great leadership and coping skills to pass on to our members," said Sergeant Schmid, who has been on staff for 10 other YRP events. "He took what he's learned in his lifetime and applied it to what our members are going through. He's a been-there-done-that kind of guy, and we can all learn something from his experiences."

This was the largest turnout ever for South Region YRP, said Sergeant Schmid, also the YRP manager for the 920th Rescue Wing, which has units at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., Portland Air Force Base, Ore., and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. She said while YRP gets great reviews from attendees, many Air Force Reservists still do not know about the program because attendance is not mandatory. She said she cannot emphasize enough the benefits of attending.

"Yellow Ribbon is everything you need and want to know about deployment," she said. "For me, the very best part is the organization of our people and educating them. It's about bringing together people from twelve different wings to one function--multiple people, multiple career fields--and getting them to communicate and understand with each other that they're not alone in their deployments and issues."

The program truly is for Airmen of all ranks and Air Force specialties, offering them a chance to relax and learn something in a non-threatening environment. Lt. Col. Trace Williams, a pilot in the 317th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C., said he and his family appreciated the opportunity to attend YRP and would recommend it to other Airmen and their families.

"This was an important trip for my family; we needed to get away and de-stress," Colonel Williams said. "Programs like theses ensure we are taking care of the troops the way we should."

YRP was initiated by the Secretary of Defense and mandated by Congress in 2008 to provide information, services, referral and proactive outreach programs to Reservists and Guardsmen and their dependents through all phases of deployment cycles. The program's goals are to prepare service members and their families for mobilization, sustain families during mobilization, and reintegrate service members with their families and communities upon return from deployment.

For more information on the Yellow Ribbon program, visit www.yellowribbon.mil.