American POWs of World War II: Forgotten Men Tell Their Stories

During World War II, thousands of American servicemen were taken prisoner by the Axis powers. They were beaten and tortured; over half never reached home again. Of those who did, many never fully recovered from what they saw, what they lived through, and the feelings that so racked their lives. Almost all have or had a drinking problem. Some suffer such consistently extreme flashbacks that they are forced to use sleeping medication just to help them make it through the night. The ten interviews included in this work were chosen from dozens of contact POW accounts. Theirs are stories of hardship, pain, survival and at times, enlightenment. From the introduction to Mario Garbin’s interview; Mario was one of the more lucky POWs who put to use what he learned from his incarceration in his later life. At the present time, he is retired from over 20 years service with the Chrysler corporation, where he was a high-ranking vice president within the company, reporting directly only to the chairman of the board. As powerful and charismatic as he was eventually recognized as being, he still cried uncontrollably during portions of the interviews .