A Veteran's Day story: Hell's Guest campaigns for remembrance

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  While pundits all over the nation recently ended frenzied campaigns in races for political office, one man continues at a slow, but steady pace on his campaign for America. One that's taken years, which he hopes will never end.

His campaign: remembrance.

"I came here to talk about what happened to me and to make it real; to make sure it doesn't happen again," explained Colonel Glenn D. Frazier (Ret.), an American Prisoner of War and Bataan Death March survivor from April 9, 1942 to Sept. 4, 1945.

At 87, the stoic colonel filled out his Army service dress well. While his white hair contrasted his uniform's deep green color, a rack of military medals dangled like weights, pulling down slightly to the right side of his chest - clanging softly when he moved. Among them were: the Medal of Freedom, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and more, coloring his chest with many acts of heroism.

He was awarded four purple hearts in all, but today he would reward Reserve Airmen of the 920th Rescue Wing here with his story. The survivor's gray eyelashes framed his watery blue eyes that were as vivid as his memories.

Airmen from one of the most deployed wings in the nation were honored to listen to his campaign Saturday, November 6, 2010. The evidence was clear; the Air Battle Uniform and flight-suit clad audience was held captive by the Colonel's story, laughing at his anecdotes and sitting still and gravely quiet while he described the unthinkable.

"At my age, I'm in a campaign to pay back my country and the people in the service; they need to know what happened to us in Bataan so it will never, ever happen again," said Colonel Frazier.

The Bataan Death March took place in the Philippines in 1942. After a three-month battle at the start of World War II, about 80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war were captured by the Japanese. The Japanese commanding officer, General Masaharu Homma, found he had too many prisoners to transport by rail so he ordered the forced march of the already starving and disease-ridden men to his prison camp.

The 60-mile trek would be like walking from here to Orlando in the middle of a sweltering August with no food, water or sleep for 6 days. Death surrounded the men as they stepped over the bodies of those who were beheaded for falling. The colonel witnessed his captors shoot and cut the throats of fellow marchers. Some were stabbed with bayonets, and all endured rifle-butt beatings.

Out of about 80,000 prisoners, there were 67,000 Filipino, 1,000 Chinese-Filipinos and 11,796 Americans; only 54,000 made it to the final camp, Camp O'Donnell.

General Homma was eventually found guilty and executed for the atrocities of the death march out of Bataan and the gruesome events at Camp O'Donnell at a war crimes trial.

The brutality and horror the men faced is beyond explanation; but as a survivor, Colonel Frazier, makes it his mission to keep the memories and history alive - so this generation and those to come can learn from his ordeal.

Paying back his country and fellow Americans with information and knowledge is foremost on Colonel Frazier's mind as he sits daily next to a decommissioned battleship, now a museum, in Mobile Bay, the USS Alabama in Alabama, to dedicate and sign a book he authored, "Hell's Guest," detailing the horrific events. He himself is a live museum retelling these events to visitors who stop.

This daily ritual was how Capt. Jason Goetz, 301st Rescue Squadron helicopter pilot, found him, on a family vacation to the USS Alabama.

"I was inspired by his words and book so I invited him to speak to fellow Reservists here during their drill training weekend," said Capt. Goetz.

With the numbers of survivors of the Second World War dwindling at a rate of 1,000 a day, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates, Colonel Frazier is a representative of America and her survivors of war.

"We have to remember how special this country is and what we have to remember it by," said Capt. Goetz. "Colonel Frazier puts it all in perspective."

Tech. Sgt. John J.D. Jones, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter flight engineer, was amazed with the story Colonel Frazier brought to life.

"That was probably the worst thing that could have happened to someone," he said. "I was just humbled listening to him."

"This is a new war, a new generation," said Colonel Frazier. "But we must always remember our past."

Recently, Colonel Frazier was asked to speak at the U.S. Army Base of Ft. Benning, Ga. on the topic of suicide, which has been hitting all military branches harder than war these days.

"Your relationship with your fellow soldiers is so vitally important," Colonel Frazier explained. "You must make friends with those around you; you'll never know when you'll need them."

Today's service members struggle with feelings and emotions not unfamiliar to the colonel as seen in recent rising rates of suicide released by all the services.

"It's hatred that kills us," he said. "I came home with hatred in my heart and it took 30 years for me to forgive - I prided myself in that hatred."

"Once I got rid of that hate, I never had another nightmare, another day that I felt sick or another moment of regret," said the Colonel.

This is one of the many lessons he passes on to fellow service members suffering from war-time stress.

With books being sold daily (One or more books in 95 different countries), appearances on Larry King Live and a Public Broadcasting System's documentary, "The War," Colonel Frazier reaches thousands with his words.

"It's my country. It's our country," he said.

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