LETTERS OF HOPE
Crashing into Hope by Colonel Jerry Curtis with Carole Avriett
NO ONE EVER EXPECTS TO ENCOUNTER TRULY DEVASTATING CIRCUMSTANCES IN THEIR LIVES.
I KNOW I DIDN’T. BUT IF YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, HE HELPS YOU MEET THOSE
CHALLENGES WITH HOPE. CONFIDENCE IN HIM IS NEVER MISPLACED. HE HAS REMAINED
WITH ME THROUGH THE YEARS—WITHOUT HIM, I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THE THINGS I’VE
BEEN CALLED UPON TO DO.
– OPENING WORDS FROM UNDER THE COVER OF LIGHT
COLONEL JERRY CURTIS, USAF RET.
Dear Fellow Traveler:
I’m writing to you today as if you were my
own son or daughter, or maybe my grandson or
granddaughter. It will be straight-up talk, mixed
with my prayers that you will find encouragement
and hope as you read.
Life is full of challenges. Difficult things happen
that are completely beyond our control. You
might never have been in prison like I was, but
your circumstances may have made you feel like a
prisoner nonetheless.
You might be facing family conflicts, financial
challenges, addictive behaviors, or other problems
that leave you feeling overwhelmed and helpless.
Or you might really be in prison as you read this
article. Regardless of your situation, I know what
it feels like to have all your freedom taken away,
to be stripped of everything—all your possessions,
all your family and friends—everything you hold
dear. I was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam
for 2,703 days. I’ve endured solitary confinement,
suffocating heat, freezing cold, grueling physical
and psychological torture, constant hunger, and
extreme mental distress.
So I’m going to share with you a few things I
learned while I was incarcerated those long, lonely
years and ask that you consider these things, no
matter what your circumstances are today.
First, look inside. Prison gave me a lot of time
for self-examination. I thought about what I had
done in the past and about what I could have
changed or done better.
Perhaps you can think about this too, wherever
you are along life’s journey. Have you been
following advice that you knew in your heart
would lead you down a path that wasn’t in your
best interest? Have you turned away from people
who loved you? Not taken responsibility in things
you knew you should?
N MEET THOSE
As I lay in solitary confinement in a cell on a
concrete slab, I considered all the times God had
led me to the right places and the right people.
And I thought about the times I had drifted away
from Him. I understood completely that God was
the higher authority who would always give good
advice and tell me the best way to go with my life.
God will do the same for you, if you ask Him.
Second—and this is important—use your
time wisely. Take advantage of anything available
to you to learn. Explore new ideas and continue
to educate yourself. Opportunities for selfimprovement
abound everywhere, even if you’re
reading this in a US prison. Don’t just sit around
talking about how bad your luck’s been or how
you have landed on hard times. I could have given
up many times in prison, but I continued to pray
and trust in God. And He was always there for me.
As prisoners of war, we all realized we had to
keep our minds active with positive influences and
continue to learn as much as possible. We had no
books, no pencils, no paper, nothing. Yet by carefully
listening and memorizing, I learned to speak French
and Spanish from prisoners who could speak those
languages. After I was released, I became a Spanish
teacher and taught for 12 years.
No matter the circumstances, everyone has a
choice in this, including you. Take advantage of
the opportunities available. Broaden your scope;
explore new thoughts and new ideas. Occupy
yourself with things that are worthwhile. Make
your time count for the better while you are alive.
Third, look for the humor in your situation.
Laughter really is the best medicine. We had to
The date was September 20, 1965. The
place was a war zone in North Vietnam.
Rescue helicopter pilot Jerry Curtis received
an SOS distress call at his base in Thailand:
a fighter pilot had been shot down in
enemy territory and needed to be pulled
from the jungle.
Captain Curtis had done this many
times before, always successfully rescuing
the men whose planes had been shot out
from under them. But this day would prove
different. This day would define the rest of
his life.
Jerry and his helicopter crew neared
the site in North Vietnam where the pilot’s
location had been detected by radio. The
crew chief spotted him through the thick
jungle canopy. The crew lowered the hoist,
so the pilot could get into it. Then they
began raising him toward the helicopter.
About that time, however, small-arms
fire erupted. Jerry and the crew found their
helicopter plunging over 100 feet from the
sky through trees, limbs, and bushes. They
crash-landed on the jungle floor.
The men attempted to hide, but they
were soon discovered. Forty heavily armed
North Vietnamese soldiers captured the
airmen, stripped them of their dog tags,
tied their hands behind their backs, and
marched them for a week-long journey
through the jungles and dirt roads to
Hanoi, North Vietnam.
For the next nearly eight years, Jerry
endured brutal treatment, daily hunger, and
the bitter loneliness of solitary confinement.
Only his faith in God sustained him through
the hardships of 2,703 days as a prisoner
of war.
Here now is a letter from Jerry to you:
30 kojministries.org Issue 1 2018 Drawing by Bret A. Melvin
/kojministries.org