Guy Gruters grew up with a
singular ambition: to be the best at
whatever he did. And a quick glance at
his developing resume would confirm that he was well on his way; Eagle Scout, first in his graduating class in
Engineering Science at the United States Air Force Academy, a Master’s degree
in Aeronautical Engineering in less than one year, pilot training and fighter
gunnery school. And a beautiful wife and
two healthy children seemed to round out the picture. But Gruters wanted more.
So he volunteered for Viet
Nam, flew more than 400 successful combat missions, and began collecting awards
there too.
In one spectacular example of courage, Captain Gruters repeatedly flew
his unarmed F-100 jet across a ground target, with the intention of drawing
fire so that he could expose the enemy’s position and minimize the risk for his
fellow pilots. For this, he was awarded
his second silver star for
valor. One month later, in November of
1967, he was shot down over the South China Sea, but was rescued. At 25 years-old, Captain Gruters seemed
remarkably close to golden.
But on December 20, 1967 Gruters was shot down again. And this time there would be no dramatic
rescue. For the next five years and
three months the man who thought he knew what success looked like got a whole
new perspective.
In the Hoa Lo Prison (commonly known as the ‘Hanoi Hilton’), Gruters was
starved, humiliated, tortured, and even forced to watch one of his fellow
pilots beaten to death. Without proper
clothing or ventilation, he froze in the winter and baked in the summer.
Naturally as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into
months, Gruter’s heart hardened. He
decided he’d beat his North Vietnamese captors by holding on to his hatred and
rage. But by the end of his first year
as a prisoner of war, Gruters knew he needed to change his strategy. ‘To be the
best’ he needed to now embrace a role he’d never dreamed of adding to his
resume: prisoner. And he knew what that would involve. In the darkness and filth of his tiny cell
Guy began forgiving his captors, and he credits surviving the final four and a
half years to this life-changing decision.
Peace replaced rage, and humility replaced pride.
Finally on March 14, 1973, after 1,912 days in captivity, Captain Guy
Gruters was released during Operation Homecoming. He and his wife would go on to have five more
children, and today he writes and speaks about the power of forgiveness.
“To be the best”…you can’t give up, but you might need to surrender.
Guy Gruters is a hero you should
know. And I’m Dr. Ross Porter.
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