A couple of months back, I was driving on LA AFB behind a man with Prisoner of War license plates. We were both headed into the base exchange parking lot, so when he parked, I parked near him. I hung back to meet him--a small, white-haired man--and stuck out my hand: “I just wanted to say ‘hi’ and thank you for your service. I also want to say ‘welcome home.’”
“Can I have a hug instead?”
He got one.
The gentleman had been a Korean War POW. His take on the matter? “I was dumb enough to get captured and fortunate enough to be released and live to tell about it.”
