“Jerry and I lived in the same cell for the last 31/2 years we were in prison. We developed a pretty good kinship because Jerry was raised in Modesto, California and I was raised in Salinas just over the hill from Modesto. He was the ‘Modesto Flash’ and I was the ‘Salinas Streak.’ We actually developed these code names because someday if we had had to revert to passing messages in code again, it would be from Flash to Streak. Fortunately things never got that bad again. Jerry was a joy to live with. I never met a more even tempered individual or bigger optimist than Jerry. He was also somewhat of a visionary with a Bohemian streak. A wonderful artist, he tried to teach me how to paint in prison, which I failed at miserably. He also wrote poetry in his head and recited it. (In fact, I am a product of the Jerry Coffee international toastmasters Hanoi Chapter.) Every once in a while Jerry would sit back against the wall and come back to the same theme about the future. He’d say, “Ev, you know someday we’re going to go home and people back home aren’t going to understand what we’ve been through. It’s going to be so hard to conceive. And there’s a message here, a message we need to tell.” I didn’t grasp the full meaning of what he was saying for a long while, but it finally came. Jerry has mastered the ability to articulate the essence of the experience and those values and principles that are our legacy: honor, commitment, sacrifice, integrity, and faith. Nobody tells this story better than Jerry Coffee. I can’t tell you how many times - all over the country - I run into people who say, “Do you know this fellow Jerry Coffee?”, because they’ve just been somewhere and heard him speak. And I say, sure I know him, and they go “Wow! Boy, he blew our socks off. He’s tremendous.”
~Everett Alvarez, Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.), longest held Vietnam POW 8-5-64 – 2-12-73, Deputy Director, Peace Corps; Deputy Director, Veterans Administration; founder, Alvarez and Associates
“My dear friend Jerry Coffee is a man I’ve become as close to as practically anyone I’ve ever known. It would be very difficult for me to describe all Jerry’s achievements from the Cuban Missile Crisis to his bravery and courage in the Vietnam conflict. I will just say that in prison after the treatment had improved rather dramatically I had the great fun and privilege of living in the same cell with him for a couple of years. I think I found his company a lot more agreeable than he found mine, given my always even-tempered, unemotional approach to things. And although Jerry is a lousy bridge player, I have never known a more kind and generous American. I am very proud that for so many years he has traveled the country giving inspirational talks to people from all walks of life and every strata of America - not only because he has a compelling story but because of his particular fashion of describing the attributes associated with duty, honor, and our country.”
~John McCain, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.); Vietnam POW 10/26/67 - 3/14/73; United States Senator, Arizona, 1986 – present
“I have always had this unusual fetish for movies about prisoners of war. In Stalag 17, I was fascinated by how the prisoners in Europe found ways to entertain themselves. After the Sontay raid in 1970 we were finally allowed to be assembled together. I had the privilege of getting to know Jerry Coffee in early 1972. Room 2 held a group of reprobates about 25 strong. By this time, we’d been there five, six, seven years and were pretty cynical about life. The torture had mostly stopped and we were just twiddling our thumbs waiting for the big bombing raids to happen so we could imagine going home someday in the next decade. Then Jerry, who was quite a bit more high-classed than the rest of us, was brought into our midst. There were a number of Marines in the room. John McCain was there, too. We were all groping for ways to entertain ourselves. So Jerry moved in and we discovered he had talents as an artist. After that, he spent hours teaching me and a couple of other rather dumb, uncreative people to draw things using rouge colored roof tile [like chalk] on a concrete floor. Jerry taught me how to draw eyeballs, my specialty. I haven’t pursued that career, but at least he brought some creativity into my life. Jerry Coffee is an incredible individual and eloquent speaker. I honestly believe I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about him. He is a wonderful, wonderful man I am incredibly blessed to have as a friend.”
~Orson Swindle, Lt. Col., USMC (Ret.); Vietnam POW 11/11/66 – 3/4/73; Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission, 1997-2005
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Copyright © 1990 by Gerald Coffee, captain. U.S. Navy (Ret.)
All rights reserved. Revised Edition 2013
In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitutes unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. The author gratefully acknowledges permissions to quote from: “Love Letters,” by Edward Heyman and Victor Young Copyright ©, 1945 Famous Music Corporation Copyright renewed 1972 Famous Music Corporation,15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 International Copyright secured. Made in USA.All right reserved. Used by permission. “High Flight”, by John Gillespie McGee Used by permission of Ferguson Publishing Company Distributed by AudioInk Publishing Cover and Interior Design by Deedee Heathman, AudioInk Publishing Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Coffee, Gerald L. Beyond Survival: Building on The Hard Times-A POW’s Inspiring Story p. cm. Vietnam War, 1961-1975 --Prisoners and prisons, Vietnamese. Vietnam War, 1961-1975 --Personal narratives, American. Prisoners of war --United States --Psychology --Case studies. Prisoners of war --Vietnam --Psychology --Case studies. Adjustment (Psychology) --Case studies. ISBN: 978-1-61339-515-8 For further information contact AudioInk +14255266480 or email [email protected]
This book is dedicated to my dear family whose love and faith sustained me, and to all families touched by the Vietnam war, and by America’s war against terrorism. May it promote healing for all that has been lost, and appreciation for all that has been gained.
FOREWORD
The Vietnam war divided and compartmentalized society, often obscuring those elements of commonality by which we define ourselves as family, be it our immediate family, our national family, or our family of man. Although I dedicate this book lovingly to my immediate family, the writing has caused me to see beyond my narrow definition of family to include those with whom I served, those for whom I served, and even those I served against.
The perspective of over four decades has expanded my appreciation for the human side of the story: the personal lives and experiences of captives and captors alike, and the lives of the people with whom they are connected. These are the stories I have told in this book. In this more personal context, perspective and resolution come easier. It also sharpens our sense of urgency to learn and do better in the future.
Even to this day, the results of the Vietnam War continue to be terribly misunderstood, which I believe is the reason so many Vietnam Vets have been unable to find any positive perspective on their sacrifices there. The fact is, we won
