[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 14, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN MEMORY OF NAVY CAPTAIN AND P.O.W. COLE BLACK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 14, 2007

  Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to 
the life and memory of former Navy Captain Cole Black of Escondido, 
California. As a career Naval Officer, Cole's contributions to this 
country are impossible to quantify and the seven years he spent in 
captivity during the Vietnam War are an enduring testament to his 
character and service to America.
  Last Friday, Cole was returning to Southern California after speaking 
to students in Oregon about his experiences as a P.O.W. when mechanical 
difficulties caused his plane to crash. This tragic and unexpected 
event came only weeks before his 75th birthday, which Cole would have 
celebrated on the 28th of November.
  In June 1966, when he was only one week away from returning home to 
his family, Cole's F-8 Crusader was shot down over the skies of North 
Vietnam. He was captured almost instantly after ejecting from his 
aircraft and then forced to spend the next seven years of his life 
between four prison camps, including the infamous Hanoi Hilton.
  Conditions in these prisons were intolerable, and the American 
service personnel who were held in these camps were treated inhumanely 
and without respect for the rules of war. Like so many others held in 
captivity by the North Vietnamese, Cole was confined to a 7 by 9 foot 
cage and fed meals of little to no sustenance--such as boiled greens 
and rice--only twice a day. He was also part of the Hanoi March, where 
prisoners were forced to march the streets of Hanoi as part of the 
Vietnamese propaganda effort, only to be met by people throwing rocks 
and other objects.
  More impressive than Cole's endurance and willingness to survive his 
captivity was his unique perspective on the seven years he spent as a 
P.O.W. After his release in 1973, Cole later said that this time 
``changed his life for the better'' and that he arrived home with a 
``real zest for life.'' Upon retiring from active military service in 
1986, he attended National University and earned a master's in business 
and a real estate broker's license.
  It was not until 1994 that Cole returned to Vietnam for a vacation 
with his wife Karen. While there, he visited the location of the Hanoi 
Hilton just as workers were tearing it down and he took the opportunity 
to pocket a piece of brick from the walls that once kept him confined 
for so many years.
  Madam Speaker, President Reagan once said, ``Freedom is a fragile 
thing and is never more than a generation away from extinction. It is 
not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly 
by each generation, for it comes once to a people. Those who have known 
freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.''
  When President Reagan spoke these words, he was referring directly to 
Americans like Cole, who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice 
for America. Not only did Cole fight to protect freedom as part of the 
American mission in Vietnam, but he fought tirelessly for his own 
freedom everyday he was in captivity. His strength and perseverance 
guaranteed his survival and, although he briefly lost his freedom, he 
was able to endure his captivity and return to a life far removed from 
cruelty and oppression.
  Madam Speaker, my thoughts and prayers are with Cole's wife Karen and 
his children, two of which are currently serving in our nation's Armed 
Forces. His contributions and service to America will forever be 
remembered and I ask that my colleagues join me today in paying tribute 
to this great American hero.

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