I'm No Hero
I'm No Hero is the narrative of Charlie Plumb, but it is also the story of all POWs who were forced to endure a life of degradation, loneliness, monotony, hunger, and misery.
It's not a pleasant tale. It describes the torture room with walls meant to muffle human screams, the "rope trick" and "fanbelt" procedures used to get a guy to talk, disease, and insanity. It also describes the men's brilliance and innovation in outsmarting their guards and establishing communication systems, classes, escape plans, and maintaining their line of command.
It's an eye-opening tale. It depicts guys who have been stripped down to their bare essentials on all levels: physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. It demonstrates how these problems may be overcome while maintaining personal integrity and pride.
It recounts the development of deepening ties with God as a result of dire necessity. It describes how a closed society develops laws that allow members to live in peace with one another.
It's a hopeful narrative, because it shows that the tactics employed by POWs to survive their circumstances may be applied to comparable situations encountered in everyday life.
