Point News, 1995 November 14

              Air Force POW presents faith learned through torture STACEY HOPE ALLEYNE
staff writer
On his 81st combat mission
over North Vietnam in May of
1967, Captain Eugene
McDaniel was shot down by
his enemy In describing to
SMC students the horrors of
that war, McDaniel spoke
with dignity and a graceful
humor, creating an attitude of
respect and awe among the
audience for the experience he
w e n t __________________
Courage is not the
absence of fear,
courage is simply
the presence of
faith.
through.
He spoke
to stu­dents
on
M on d a y
November
sixth.
McDaniel
spent six
years as a
prisoner
of war in
Vietnam. n ——
He emphasized his faith in
God and country as the sus­taining
factor in his confine­ment.
“The common thread of my
survival was faith, faith in a
great God and faith in
America, that someday my
country would come to get me
and sure enough they did,”
said McDaniel.
When he was captured in
1967, he was partially para­lyzed
from falling 50 feet and
expected some medical treat­ment.
Unfortunately, he was
subjected to twisting rope tor­ture
for three days for mili­tary
information. McDaniel
was tortured again in 1969 for
an attempted escape attempt.
“During torture every per­son
has a breaking point,” said
McDaniel. “Two men were
there for 9 years. I went for
seven days and nights with­out
sleep, I was beaten with a
fan belt about fifty times, and
given electric shock treatment
about three hours per session.
In that torture room I made
the largest commitment to
God that I had ever made.
Courage is not the absence of
fear, Cour­age
is sim­ply
the
presence of
faith.”
Six years
later Cap­tain
Eu-g
e n e
McDaniel - Captain Eugene finallyre-n
m r v • - g t u r n e d McDaniel home.
...........................— “I came
home on March 4, 1973 with­out
any medical treatment, in
excellent health, and only God
has the power to grant that,”
said McDaniel.
“I was 36 years old, 10 thou­sand
miles from home, in a
communist prison after flying
81 missions to give the Viet­namese
the right of self deter­mination,
the right to vote.
Yet, in my 36 years I’d never
taken the time to go down to
the board of elections and reg­ister
to vote myself and I be­gan
to think of the irony of
that,” said McDaniel.
Upon returning home
McDaniel has never missed
an election to this day.
Air Force POW Eugene
on his experiences as a
McDaniel shared his disap­pointment
in America with
the students of SMC and re­vealed
his shock on discover­ing
America’s knowledge of
POW’s that are still in South
East Asia.
“I learned that my country
had left men in South East
Asia; I saw top secret satellite
photography. A country that
will abandon its fighting men
and women is a country that
needs your help,” said
McDaniel.
He also spoke about the in­justice
that the troops which
fought in Vietnam were faced
with upon returning home.
“Nine million men and women
McDaniel lectures to students last Monday,
Vietnam POW. photo by julie ellis
who had to come home and
apologize to their country for
serving in a losing war. When
you commit the troops, com­mit
the nation to support the
troops. We never committed
the nation to support the
troops,” urged McDaniel.
McDaniel’s message did not
fall on deaf ears and some
members of the audience felt
that they came away with
knowledge that they did not
have before.
“I really got a lot out of it.
The best part of it was it made
you aware of what’s happen­ing.
A lot of people don’t real­ize
that there are a lot of
POW’s still out there,” said
student Wyatt Waro. Another
student was deeply touched
by the courage that Captain
McDaniel showed by talking
about his experience in Viet­nam.
“The big reason I went was
because my father was in Viet­nam
and it’s a big thing in my
family I thought he was in­spirational,
and it took a lot
of courage for him to get up
and talk about it. I was re­ally
amazed that he was able
to get up there and not break
down. I was just glad to hear
someone who believed in
America, and in having faith,”
said student Christina
Landgraff.
Last Presidential Candidate to meet students this Thursday
Third hopeful is chemistry professor and current president of women's college
CHARLES SUTTON
staff writer
The third and final candi­date
to replace Dr. Lewis as
SMC President, Dr. Jane M.
“Maggie” O’Brien, current
president of Hollins College,
will visit with faculty, staff,
and students this Thursday.
She will meet with students
Thursday at 5:30pm at DPC
and Friday at 12:30pm in the
side dining room at Wood’s.
O’Brien received her
bachelor’s degree in biochem­istry
from Vassar College in
1975 and a Ph.D. in chemis­try
from the University of
Delaware. For eleven years,
she taught chemistry at
Middlebury College . ivate
liberal arts college in Ver­mont.
She assumed the presi­dency
of Hollins College in
1991.
Hollins College is a private
women’s liberal arts college
outside Roanoke, Va. Like St.
Mary’s, it has approximately
one thousand students, con­tains
historic sites, and has a
large residential population,
but unlike here, offers
master’s degrees. Hollins Col­lege
is also growing, building
a new library and adding sev­eral
study abroad programs.
“I have no burning desire
to depart [Hollins],” wrote
O’Brien in a letter to the
Presidential Search Commit­tee,
“and many reasons to stay.
The presidency of St. Mary’s
insid/G • • •
holds a certain intrigue,
though. I knew the school
when, and I’m frankly aston­ished
by it now. I’m a growth
oriented president and so this
appears to be an appealing
opportunity.” She described
herself as an “educator com­mitted
to the liberal arts cur­riculum.”
Since 1994, O’Brien has
also been of the Board of Di­rectors
of Landmark Commu­nications
and Norfolk South­ern
Corporation and is a
member of the Virginia Cham­ber
of Commerce. In 1994, the
Hollins administration has
received the CASE Award for
Fundraising Advancement
and been rated as the Best Ad­ministration
by the Princeton
Review Student Access Guide.
Student input about any of
the three candidates, Dr. Wil­liam
Durden, Dr. Borden
Painter, and O’Brien, may be
forwarded through the SGA
Office, the Dean of Students’s
office, or Evan Christman, the
student member of the Board
of Trustees. Christman may
be reached by email at
ewchristman@osprey.
The Search Committee
had considered inviting a
fourth candidate to campus,
but decided against it. The
committee will forward the
names of the three candidates
will to the Board of Trustees,
who will choose the next
president at their December
meeting.
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