News-Info-Alerts

Re: Rising High

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: January 08, 2003

"Rising high above the daily grind


A former prisoner of war in Vietnam, now an author and motivational speaker, says he hasn't had a bad day in 36 years.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times

Confined to solitary in a 6- by 6-foot cell, beaten daily by his Vietnamese captors, Ed Hubbard made himself a pledge on Christmas Day 1966.

From then on, Hubbard promised himself, he would never have a bad day.

"I look at every day as a tremendous opportunity to go out and do something productive," the retired Air Force colonel said Tuesday. "I have not had a bad day in slightly over 36 years."

The foundation for his positive outlook grew from necessity, to help him survive six years, seven months and 12 days as a prisoner of war. It crystallized during the year he and his fellow captives had to force feed another prisoner, who was so badly battered he would just lie motionless on the floor.

"Our requirement was to keep this guy alive," said Hubbard, now an author and motivational speaker. "That was the year I was scheduled to die, but I didn't have time because I was too busy helping someone else not to die."

He brings his message of human potential to Spring Hill on Thursday. He hopes the audiences will find some motivation in his words.

"The bottom line is, there's tremendous opportunity for us to improve our lives every day," he said. "But we have to start."

Americans have failed in this regard since Sept. 11, 2001, the date of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, he said.

"That's why the economy is such a disaster," Hubbard suggested. "If everyone had gone back to work the next day and done what they did before, recognizing the threat is different, we wouldn't be facing the problems we are today. . . . If we would have failed to deal with it and failed to step up (in Vietnam), we would have died there."

Americans need to realize that this country has more than any other nation, and they need to stop complaining, Hubbard said. People living in Tel Aviv, Belfast and other cities where the threat of violence is more regular and real seem to cope much better than people here, he observed.

Everyone has a contribution to make and the talent to accomplish something good with his or her life, Hubbard said. If only they would recognize that, for better or worse, their lot in life is all they have.

"We haven't done it. We don't do it as a nation on a daily basis. The reason is, we never had to. But life has changed," he said. "Life is tricky, and you have to deal with it."

It's never a quick transformation, he continued.

Hubbard recalled being a 28-year-old Air Force flier, soaring above Vietnam early one July 1966 morning when surface-to-air missiles came through the clouds and blew up his plane. The crew ejected and wandered eight hours before being captured. They were not released until 1973.

"Initially, you're in shock," Hubbard said. "Virtually everything you do in the first few days is a reaction to everything, based on the training you receive. Over time, you gradually learn how to adjust."

The realization comes that, to survive, you have to accept your situation and make the best of it, he said. Like it or not, he added, you don't get to choose the environment you're in.

In delivering his motivational speeches over the years, Hubbard said, he easily could have become a cynic. Too often, he said, he hears people complaining when they really have little to gripe about.

"I get letters from people who say, 'I haven't had a bad day in the 10 years since I met you,' " he added. "That's why I do it."

-- Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at 754-6115. Send e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com .

If you go

Retired Air Force Col. Edward L. Hubbard will speak twice Thursday in Spring Hill at the following locations:

-- 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Stage West, 8390 Forest Oaks Blvd.

-- 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., VFW Post 10209, 15166 Spring Hill Drive.

The motivational presentations are sponsored by Edward Jones Investments, but are not financial in nature. Call Paul Conrad at 688-0731.


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