~~ASIAN THANKSGIVING~~

Forty years ago there was a party for POW's in North Vietnam. It's purpose was, of course propaganda. Soldiers and pilots were selected for a day of 'fun.' This included American music, movies, and skits put on by other POW's. And there was a big meal consisting of whatever North Vietnamese thought that should be. The propaganda part was that each man would be allowed to send a letter home about the gala affair. These would be heavily scrutinized, so the men were careful to make them sound good. "Say hello to Mom for me, tell everyone I'm allright and being treated well," and on and on. The letters were verified to be sent to the Pentagon, then to indicated addressees. And all were Ho-hum blah blah. Except one which one of the briefers in my office noticed, roared about, and passed around. One POW was being asked to tell about his dinner. He described delicious chicken, kimshee, other vegetables, and some kind of sweet dessert. He finished by saying to his interviewer "It was a BFD." The interviewer asked what that meant and the POW casually said "Oh, that's 'Big Fine Dinner.' " That was accepted by the head of security there and got sent! Like all such mail it went to the Pentagon first, then to the addressee in its original manuscript.

You can have a lot of fun joking with one another over dozens of really boring top secret messages rercieved daily. But fun was rare, working closely to the Chiefs of Staff. This one, however got a laugh from everybody.