POW Christmas: 'I had no idea if they knew I was alive'
BOISE, Idaho -- Still no word about the possible release of a new Taliban video that may show Idaho man PFC Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier known to be held captive in Afghanistan.
But a former Army Air Corps pilot knows something about the uncertainty and isolation of being in enemy hands
B-17 bomber pilot Tom Young of Boise spent Christmas 1944 in a German prison camp, worried about family, especially his wife Mary
"I had no idea if they knew I was alive," Young said. "I had a lot of concern about that. I had no contact with the Red Cross, nothing."
Young had been shot down and captured just the month before.
He says the Germans did not mistreat him.
"I was captured by people who were a Christian nation," Young said. "They were observing Christmas, too. And they were pretty liberal in letting us observe Christmas within the prison camp."
After spending time in solitary confinement, Young has an understanding of what Bowe Bergdahl may be going through.
"Being alone, it's forboding," he said. "You have no idea what the future holds. Every hour of every day you wonder what's next."
Bergdahl, of Hailey, was captured in June and a Taliban video of him appeared two weeks later.
It's unknown if he's being held in Afghanisatan or Pakistan.
But a U.S.-based terrorist tracking organization believes a new video will be released but nobody knows for sure if or when.
But a former Army Air Corps pilot knows something about the uncertainty and isolation of being in enemy hands
B-17 bomber pilot Tom Young of Boise spent Christmas 1944 in a German prison camp, worried about family, especially his wife Mary
"I had no idea if they knew I was alive," Young said. "I had a lot of concern about that. I had no contact with the Red Cross, nothing."
Young had been shot down and captured just the month before.
He says the Germans did not mistreat him.
"I was captured by people who were a Christian nation," Young said. "They were observing Christmas, too. And they were pretty liberal in letting us observe Christmas within the prison camp."
After spending time in solitary confinement, Young has an understanding of what Bowe Bergdahl may be going through.
"Being alone, it's forboding," he said. "You have no idea what the future holds. Every hour of every day you wonder what's next."
Bergdahl, of Hailey, was captured in June and a Taliban video of him appeared two weeks later.
It's unknown if he's being held in Afghanisatan or Pakistan.
But a U.S.-based terrorist tracking organization believes a new video will be released but nobody knows for sure if or when.
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