March 14th is an IMPORTANT day in our family

Thirty-eight years ago today, March 14, 1973, my father, along with several hundred other Vietnam Prisoners of War, were released by North Vietnam as part of a phased American withdrawal from that long and difficult conflict. More than five and a half years of my father's twenty year Air Force career of honorable service to his country was spent in captivity, much of it in horrible conditions of stiflingly hot summers, bone chilling winters, solitary confinement, repeated torture and violations of the Geneva Convention, poor diet and sanitation, inadequate medical care for the sick and injured (some severely), and very limited correspondence with his family.

After taking a jungle survival training course before being deployed to Southeast Asia, and having been briefed on what the US military knew about North Vietnamese mistreatment of POWs, my father had decided that he'd rather die than be captured alive. So when his plane was hit during a mission over North Vietnam near the Chinese border and caught fire, he changed his mind and made what I think was a wise decision to try to stay alive and ejected. Many times during his long imprisonment he survived by just focusing on staying alive one day at a time. For several years he was classified as MIA (Missing in Action) and the military did not know whether he was alive or dead. He was persistent and tenacious and outlasted his captors. Eventually he was allowed to write to his family to confirm our faith and belief that he was alive.

My father was 37 years old when he was shot down over North Vietnam. Not withstanding the difficulty of his ordeal, and the lingering physical and emotional scars, he has now lived more years since his release than he did before he was captured. I'm grateful that he chose to fight each day to overcome very difficult challenges to live another day and eventually return home to the land of the free and the home of the brave. His example has taught me to never give up and to remember that EVERYDAY IS A GOOD DAY when you have a working doorknob on your side of the door.

As a tribute to my father, several years ago I compiled a blog posting of many of the articles available on the Internet that have been written about him and tributes he has received.
http://camswebpage.blogspot.com/2008/10/belated-national-powmia-recognition-day.html

Thirty-three years ago today, March 14, 1973, Kim Riggs took a VERY BIG CHANCE on a naive, but committed young return missionary when she agreed to be sealed to him for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. Our lives have had many ups and downs since then. We still love each other very much and look forward to sharing the rest of this life and eternity together as we grow from our experiences and better learn how to serve and to love.

Three years ago today, March 14, 2008, Jayson and Celeste were sealed in the Newport Beach Temple for time and all eternity. They got off to a fast start in the family department with twin boys who are two and a daughter who recently celebrated her first birthday. They now live in San Angelo, Texas.

I was also reminded that March 14th is also the birthday of my Dad's wife's (Michelle) mother, Dyan Clark.

How's THAT for an important day for one extended family?!


On another subject...this is a newspaper article about Primary children from two families in our stake holding fund raising events to raise money to donate to the Red Cross for Japan earthquake relief.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/earthquake-292141-children-lundell.html