Captured Honor

It was fifty years before Jack Elkins could talk about his experiences as a prisoner of war; and he wasn't alone. In Captured Honor, author Bob Wodnik has masterfully compiled the stories of several World War II prisoners-of-war into a non-fiction historical work with the feel of a novel. Readers glimpse the unrelenting physical agony and mental anguish of these young heroes as they struggle for survival, and then, following years of captivity, make the difficult and awkward return to civilization. Intertwined throughout these riveting descriptions are letters hoarded by a quiet night clerk at the seedy Strand Hotel in Everett, Washington, that supply a counterpoint of hometown life back in the states. The patriotism, the rationing, the blackouts, and the missing loved ones all indelibly altered those left stateside, and provide insight into a generation of Americans.