A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR…
“Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton”
The Hanoi Hilton was a prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam where American pilots were imprisoned during the Vietnam War. They were not just locked in cells. They were physically and mentally tortured for years.
You may have heard of some of them…Senator John McCain, Admiral Jim Stockdale, and one who lives in Tupelo, MS and is a member of First United Methodist Church – Smitty Harris. I had the privilege to get to know this family while serving their church as a pastor.
Admiral Stockdale was the ranking member in the Hanoi Hilton, and he created a culture in that prison that has been written about in the book Lessons From the Hanoi Hilton, 2013. It describes how men who suffered for years in a torturous environment could emerge to become some of our nation’s most powerful leaders.
Out of the Hanoi Hilton came 16 generals, six admirals, two U.S. ambassadors, two college presidents, two U.S. senators, two U.S. representatives, a state governor, a presidential candidate, several state legislators, doctors, attorneys, corporate CEOs and diplomatic officials.
How is that possible? How can a hellhole like the Hanoi Hilton become a leadership training ground for so many of our nation’s leaders?
This was largely due to the culture developed in the prison by Adm. Jim Stockdale. He created a culture of community, trust, a system of communication, and a sense of mission and purpose.
Here is a lesson for us to consider: You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you will respond.
This will become a prominent theme we will see in Exodus as we transition to part 2 of our sermon series – Israel in the Desert.
Let me end by recounting the experience of one POW, Navy Captain Eugene “Red” McDaniel. I know many of those POW’s in the Hanoi Hilton looked to God to get them through their situation, one day at a time. This was especially true for Captain McDaniel. Here is his account that was included in an article from 2017 titled “Finding God in Hanoi Hilton’s Torture.”
On May 19, 1967, McDaniel and his A-6 jet were shot down over North Vietnam. He ejected and took refuge in a tree, counting on a quick rescue. McDaniel prayed for deliverance, noting, “When I stopped to think about it, I couldn’t remember when I had to pray for anything really crucial like this.”
His hopes soared when American pilots spotted his parachute and reported that rescue helicopters would be at his location within minutes.
But the rescue didn’t come. In its place was a mob of North Vietnamese soldiers and civilians who drove him to Hanoi, kicking and screaming at him along the way.
When the North Vietnamese arrived instead of the expected rescue, McDaniel admitted, “My faith in God had taken a nosedive.”
At his lowest possible moment, McDaniel prayed, “I knew if He didn’t do something, reveal something of Himself to me, I could not make it. And, in my feeble way again, I said, ‘Lord…it’s all Yours…whatever this means, whatever it is supposed to accomplish in me, whatever You have in mind now with all of this, it’s all Yours…”
McDaniel lay at peace, “drawing on that aura of the presence of God.”
He remained in prison until 1973. He knew that “God was not far outside this hell. If I had to go on with this nightmare, then I was sure He was with me. Nothing else mattered.”
Noting that the Apostle Paul wrote that nothing could separate people from the love of God, McDaniel reflects, “The darkness of loneliness and pain was worth it all to enter into the knowledge of that fantastic truth.”
Welcome to Desert University. The Israelite’s journey through this wilderness experience will provide many lessons on how to trust God. They will learn you can’t choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you will respond.
Hope to see you Sunday!
Jimmy