Why Didn't You Get Me Out? - Frank Anton

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

Frank Anton was serving his country as a soldier in the Vietnam conflict. He was taken captive by the Vietcong and held captive in a jungle camp for years before finally being taken up to the Hanoi Hilton, a march of half a year. Just shortly after his arrival in Hanoi, he and the other POWs were released and brought home to the United States, emaciated, sick, and suffering any number of physical and psychological scars. "Why Didn't You Get Me Out?" is Anton's story, told in his own words, of the things he endured as a POW.

This book is a rare find. So few of the POWs that were taken captive in South Vietnam survived. Of those that did survive, so few of them have published their experiences. It is relatively easy to find books written by POWs captured in the north. Frank's book gives us some understanding as to why that might be.

When a POW was taken captive in the south of Vietnam, they would be moved from camp to camp. They slept in huts on narrow, hard beds when they were lucky; at other times, in cages too small to allow them to be comfortable, and subjected to the elements. They were forced to work. Their food and medicine was deplorable. They developed awful skin diseases, dysentery, and suffered every other symptom of malnutrition. But the emotional trauma was much worse. Daily harassed, daily demeaned, these men had only their inner strength to see them through from day to day. Too much of the time, they could not hold out against the extreme physical hardship and they lost their lives in Vietnam. For quite a while, Anton himself was not sure he would be one of the survivors, but he was.

After his return, he was shown overhead pictures of the camps where he had been held, and he was told that the Army had known where he was the entire time. Anton's focus shifted. No longer was he concerned with adjusting back to life at home; he wanted answers, and he wanted them now. If they knew where he was, why on earth didn't they get him out?

This book is not a light read. It does contain a little of the language that was in common use at the time. It tells the story of these men, their struggles, and the things they endured. While I would not recommend it for a reader under the age of fourteen, I would definitely recommend it to an older reader who wants to know what was going on in the south of Vietnam while all the attention was focused on the north. Everyone knows about the Hanoi Hilton; so few know of the jungle camps in the south. This book was educational, eye-opening, and it made me appreciate even more those men and women who serve their countries so we might enjoy freedom.

Related Blogs:

The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty

Faith of My Fathers

The Story of Mankind

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I am a stay-at-home mom, author of eight published books, a freelance editor, and the mother of four incredible children. I enjoy scrapbooking, watching good movies, and taking naps.

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