Taylor Baldwin Kiland and Peter Fretwell, authors of “Lessons From the Hanoi Hilton Six Characteristics of High Performance Teams,” tell how prisoners-of-war (POWs) not only survived, but THRIVED in the most infamous camp of the Vietnam War. Led by then-Navy Commander James Stockdale, the prisoners created a “POW culture” which fought efforts to make them propaganda tools. Their weapons of choice… creative resistance while loving and caring for each other. The story of the Hanoi Hilton remains one of the most inspirational chapters in U.S. military history and their ethos can be applied to any organization to build high-performance teams.
Their POW culture helped the prisoners overcome brutal torture and prolonged isolation with only 4% suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder….the lowest rate among all American combat veterans. While in captivity, Stockdale thought he might be court-martialed for his interpretation of the Code of Conduct and his endorsement of this POW culture, but he stayed on course because he believed it was the right path. In the end, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Dr. James Bond Stockdale II, son of Admiral Stockdale, says most books on this subject “struggle to comprehend” the “breadth and depth” of the POW experience. He added, the real value of this book is the “distillation of life lessons for those seeking practical application.” Kiland and Fretwell spent seven years interviewing and researching the POWs and their experiences in the Hanoi Hilton as well as their return home.
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