Heartland Community College honored military veterans during a community celebration on Monday, marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps the day before Veterans Day. The keynote speaker was retired Maj. Gen. John L. Borling of the U.S. Air Force.
Borling is a distinguished Vietnam veteran, having spent 6 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. His awards include a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.
Borling recounted his previous encounters with other branches of the armed forces, including the Marines. He said his appreciation for them comes from a common understanding.
“It bespeaks a bigger loyalty, a bigger regard. A sense of mission that continues long after you are in the military,” he said.
Borling said the families of military members and veterans are well aware of their sacrifice, noting they often have it harder than the soldiers themselves.
“As anyone who’s been in the business knows, because they’re left with great unknowns,” said Borling. “They’re left with tremendous responsibilities, and it gets really lonely.”
After getting in a few ribs at his fellow servicemen, Marines included, Borling said those who serve have more similarities than differences. He said they all have baggage and stories of their own, which are OK to look back on — but only briefly.
“Some of it good, some of it not so good. I advise people, it’s OK to look back, just don’t stare. Don’t stare,” he said. “Keep your eye on the prize that’s out there. I mean, you got to pick them up and lay them down. You got to keep marching. We got stuff to do, and we got stuff to inspire.”
Borling’s own story tells of a 33-year career in the military, from the Pentagon and the White House to being chief of staff at Headquarters Allied Forces in North Europe in Stavanger, Norway.
So, Borling has plenty to talk about, including his nearly seven years as a POW. The fighter pilot was shot down by ground fire northeast of Hanoi in 1966. After suffering serious injury, he was captured.
Borling said his time in a POW camp was spent thinking of his wife and child back home. In fact, he wrote a book during his imprisonment now titled, “Taps in the Wall: Poems from the Hanoi Hilton.”
“… And I kept it memorized. Went through every poem in my mind every day for all those years and tapped it through the walls,” said Borling. “So, my wife and little girl, who was 3 months old when I left and she was 7 1/2 when I walked in the door, would have legacy in case I didn’t make it. Well, I did make it.”
One of the poems Borling recalled, was, “A Christmas Letter Never Written.”
He read an excerpt: “And how I’ve sought that special thought with meaning just for you. The memories shared, how dreams have fared, the things that we will do. But how to tell what feelings well, what message to impart? Perhaps, dear wife, just hear my life, so beats my constant heart."
Borling said, years later, one of the former POWs with him in Hanoi came to him asking about those poems. Borling told the U.S. senator from Arizona and one-time Republican nominee for president that he had to ask his wife first.
“Forty years after release, [the late U.S. Sen.] John McCain came to me, I lived with John, and said, ‘When are you going to publish those damn poems that you made us all memorize?’” Borling said. “And I said, ‘It’s up to Myrna,’ because one of the poems is so intensely personal.”
Borling was released from in February of 1973, a one month before McCain's release.
The poem Borling considered so personal was his Christmas letter that was never written. Still, he asked his wife, Myrna, again with a request from McCain. This time, Myrna said it was OK. Now, Borling has published more than 35,000 copies of his book.
After his release, Borling continued his service until 1996. He said no matter how long it has been since a soldier leaves the service, the call to serve never leaves.
“It’s a charge to you all because the country wants to be glad you can help. But more than that, you want to be glad. You can continue to help,” he said. “No matter the age, no matter the infirmity, no matter your station. The country is still counting on us vets.”
“Let’s make sure we answer the call. Let’s bring it forth, we know how to do that.”
Borling also said veterans are charged with a responsibility to give back, and with being leaders in their communities. He said people talk a lot about leadership, but they never define it.
“Leadership is a process of example and persuasion whereby the leader, or the leadership group more likely, agree to pursue certain goals and objectives,” said Borling, “There’s a difference between a goal and objective. Objective is a hill you got to take ... the goal is to win the war, whatever the war is, of whatever domain that you find yourself in.”
The event concluded with a cake-cutting ceremony, involving the youngest and oldest veterans in the building.
The youngest was 25-year-old Suave White of Bloomington, a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and recruiter. The oldest was Roger Lancaster, 89, a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force. Lancaster is a veteran of the Korean War, serving from 1955 to 1959 as a photogrammetrist.
