"Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam"
by James S. Hirsch

Two Souls Indivisible is the harrowing story of two POWs, Porter Halyburton, a white Naval lieutenant (and former Bristol resident), and Fred Cherry, a black major in the US Air Force, both shot down by enemy fire over Vietnam and imprisoned for seven years. They suffered brutal abuse by their captors. After four years of solitary confinement in freezing, rat-infested cells, existing on a diet of moldy bread and watery soup containing cockroaches, Halyburton's resolve to live was waning. At the very nadir of his existence, he became the cellmate of a very seriously injured Fred Cherry, on the verge of death, his shoulder wrenched from its socket, the entire arm dangling limp. Halyburton's order:"You must take care of Cherry." And so began one of the most remarkable encounters in military history.

Halyburton, a product of the South, had been raised to believe that blacks were intellectually inferior, and had never known a black pilot. Similarly, Cherry was wary of this young white lieutenant and assumed that Halyburton might be a mole. While cellmates, Halyburton taught Cherry a code of communication involving tapping which Cherry later used by knocking his head against the cement wall. Even in agony, he was transmitting information about enemy tactics, and his defiance, resilience, and resourcefulness made him a legend among POWs. Halyburton, too, was subjected to the most sadistic forms of torture. But the most awe-inspiring portion of the book is how these two men were victorious in their exercise of humanity over inhumanity.

During their imprisonment together, each man gave the other the incentive to resist and endure. In Cherry's most weakened state—85 lbs, frail, wasted, unable to stand—his friend cared for him as best he could; screamed and demanded medical care, citing the rules of the Geneva Convention, demanding blood transfusions and intravenous antibiotic. Halyburton tended to Cherry's every need, doing all in his power to assuage his partner's suffering. "He kept me alive," declared Cherry; "It was a privilege," asserted Halyburton. "Our friendship renewed my spirit and motivated me to find meaning in my captivity...the task of caring for him gave a definite purpose to my immediate existence."

These two individuals, as do so many other unheralded heroes, reflect our country's highest ideals of sacrifice and honor. In the horrendous atmosphere of a prison camp, together, through mutual respect, compassion, and humanity, Halyburton and Cherry created "a more perfect America," which should be the goal of all Americans on this Independence Day.

Donna DeLeo Bruno is a native Bristolian and a retired teacher of writing and literature. She now splits her time between Bristol and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where she gives book reviews at the local library as well as at book clubs and women's clubs. Her book "One Who Reads Is Always Booked" is scheduled to be released in fall 2016, with a second title coming out in winter 2016.