Letters From A Captive Heart

by Russell Lunsford

Letters From A Captive Heart captivated me.  I was drawn into the book immediately and did not want to put it down.  And when, by necessity, I had to, Dan, Leo, Martha and Howard were alive in my thoughts.  I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Set during the Korean War, Letters is a work of fiction based on fact.  It details the horrendous treatment the American POWs had to endure at the hands of the Koreans and the Chinese communists.  No Geneva Convention here.  Using his extensive research, Russell Lunsford has taken a dark period in our history and exposed it to the light.  This is a story of loss and survival -- both by the POWs and their families back home.

This book is relevant to our times.  As I read Letters From A Captive Heart, one of the lead news stories was the closing of the American base at Gitmo where we house the terrorists captured in the Middle East.  Hearing how the terrorists are being treated -- three meals a day designed for their special dietary needs, good housing and medical treatment, and the ability to practice their own religion contrasted sharply with the treatment of Americans during the Korean War.  Our men -- American POWs -- barely had enough to eat.  In fact, the Chinese policy was slow starvation coupled with communist indoctrination.  For housing the men had shacks with self-woven grass mats to lie on and one blanket.  To survive the extremely cold winters they had to huddle together, generating enough body heat to try to keep each other warm.

Through all these hardships the spirit of the men comes through.  It was truly upligting to read of them helping each other and resisting the Communist propaganda in any small ways they could.

On the home front friends and neighbors banded together to help the families of the missing men -- helped in many physical ways and in keeping their spirits up.  The war, instead of tearing America apart, united Americans.