A former prisoner of war who spent six years in one of North Vietnam's most notorious prison camps will bring his message of survival to the Spa City on June 2, when he presents a speech titled "Characters and Leadership Lessons Learned as a POW" at the Saratoga Hilton.
"I am going to be talking about American culture, American virtue and
American values which we can learn a lot about through the eyes of the
Vietnam POW experience," Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Barry Bridger
said of his speech. "As POWs we represented in essence a portal into
the soul of this country in terms of what we as a nation value about
life, living and being."
Bridger, who was captured after his F-4 Phantom was shot down over North Vietnam on Jan. 23, 1967, has been speaking on his experiences in Vietnam's notorious "Hanoi Hilton" prison camp since he was released in 1973. He explained that the experience shaped everyone's lives that spent time in the prison camps in the sense that it made most of the men who were imprisoned look at life and survival in a much different light.
"It shaped everybody's life quite a bit. I think that you could appropriately say that there wasn't much of a difference in the attitudes of most of us young men who walked into the prison camps in North Vietnam. We all probably thought that success in life was how fast you could run the 100 yard dash, how quickly you could be promoted, how many citations you could achieve, but when you were actually cast into the encroaching environment of a POW prison camp you begin to focus very rapidly on ideas that were more meaningful and happy, which is your faith, family and friends, and doing something that was worth remembering," Bridger said. "We all went into our experience filled with ideas of technology and material things, and we came out of the experience much more philosophical."
Throughout his six years of imprisonment, Bridger learned to use his positive memories to mentally escape the tough times that awaited him inside. He also developed skills in gymnastics to keep his body physically fit and communicated with fellow prisoners by tapping on the walls of his neighbors' cells. For a time in 1971, one of those neighbors was Sen. John McCain.
Bridger's speech on Tuesday will focus on how he and his fellow POWs worked together to survive their years of incarceration. The presentation will also tell a story of survival, bravery, teamwork, patriotism, not to mention the lessons he learned, and how the POW experience helped teach him what is important in life.
"Over time my presentation has evolved because of political circumstances and the nature of the world has changed," Bridger said. "So discussing the things that we went through in the context of the changing world provides an opportunity to continually put to the test the principals of life. These principals haven't changed and so we tend to forget them being caught up in a fast-paced world."
Bridger served 22 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1984. During his time as an F-4 Phantom pilot, Bridger accumulated more than 200 combat flying hours and conducted more than 70 combat missions over North Vietnam. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal with Valor, two Purple Hearts, two Meritorious Service Medals, five Air Medals and the Prisoner of War Medal.
After retiring, Bridger went to work as a financial advisor for First Command Financial Services and today serves the company by spreading his message of courage, discipline and American values to audiences throughout the world.
Bridger said he hopes that people will take away an appreciation of why what you value about life, living and being is so important to survival in tough times.
"The people who founded this great nation passed on to my generation of Americans the things they valued abut life, living and being, which include rugged individualism, caring and respect for others, being of good character, being confident in what you do and being visionary - all the characteristics that made this country great," Bridger said. "They passed those qualities, those values, those ideals along to my generation, and then we were put into a pressure cooker in North Vietnam and we found out how important and how powerful the values that we took into that experience were to our survival and the future growth of our nation."
Bridger will be in Saratoga Springs to give his presentation at the Saratoga Hilton on June 2 at 7 p.m. Admission to the event is free but seating is limited, so people are asked to call Kimberly Harbour at (518) 727-2622 to RSVP.
The event is sponsored by Mary Becker, of First Command Financial Services, and Kimberly Harbour, of Weichert Realtors Northeast Group
Bridger, who was captured after his F-4 Phantom was shot down over North Vietnam on Jan. 23, 1967, has been speaking on his experiences in Vietnam's notorious "Hanoi Hilton" prison camp since he was released in 1973. He explained that the experience shaped everyone's lives that spent time in the prison camps in the sense that it made most of the men who were imprisoned look at life and survival in a much different light.
"It shaped everybody's life quite a bit. I think that you could appropriately say that there wasn't much of a difference in the attitudes of most of us young men who walked into the prison camps in North Vietnam. We all probably thought that success in life was how fast you could run the 100 yard dash, how quickly you could be promoted, how many citations you could achieve, but when you were actually cast into the encroaching environment of a POW prison camp you begin to focus very rapidly on ideas that were more meaningful and happy, which is your faith, family and friends, and doing something that was worth remembering," Bridger said. "We all went into our experience filled with ideas of technology and material things, and we came out of the experience much more philosophical."
Throughout his six years of imprisonment, Bridger learned to use his positive memories to mentally escape the tough times that awaited him inside. He also developed skills in gymnastics to keep his body physically fit and communicated with fellow prisoners by tapping on the walls of his neighbors' cells. For a time in 1971, one of those neighbors was Sen. John McCain.
Bridger's speech on Tuesday will focus on how he and his fellow POWs worked together to survive their years of incarceration. The presentation will also tell a story of survival, bravery, teamwork, patriotism, not to mention the lessons he learned, and how the POW experience helped teach him what is important in life.
"Over time my presentation has evolved because of political circumstances and the nature of the world has changed," Bridger said. "So discussing the things that we went through in the context of the changing world provides an opportunity to continually put to the test the principals of life. These principals haven't changed and so we tend to forget them being caught up in a fast-paced world."
Bridger served 22 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1984. During his time as an F-4 Phantom pilot, Bridger accumulated more than 200 combat flying hours and conducted more than 70 combat missions over North Vietnam. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal with Valor, two Purple Hearts, two Meritorious Service Medals, five Air Medals and the Prisoner of War Medal.
After retiring, Bridger went to work as a financial advisor for First Command Financial Services and today serves the company by spreading his message of courage, discipline and American values to audiences throughout the world.
Bridger said he hopes that people will take away an appreciation of why what you value about life, living and being is so important to survival in tough times.
"The people who founded this great nation passed on to my generation of Americans the things they valued abut life, living and being, which include rugged individualism, caring and respect for others, being of good character, being confident in what you do and being visionary - all the characteristics that made this country great," Bridger said. "They passed those qualities, those values, those ideals along to my generation, and then we were put into a pressure cooker in North Vietnam and we found out how important and how powerful the values that we took into that experience were to our survival and the future growth of our nation."
Bridger will be in Saratoga Springs to give his presentation at the Saratoga Hilton on June 2 at 7 p.m. Admission to the event is free but seating is limited, so people are asked to call Kimberly Harbour at (518) 727-2622 to RSVP.
The event is sponsored by Mary Becker, of First Command Financial Services, and Kimberly Harbour, of Weichert Realtors Northeast Group
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