(aircraft engine roaring)

- They wanted me to lead in

the first run at the target.

An exploding round hit my airplane.

(bomb exploding)

- They said, Miss Harris,Smitty has been shot down.

His plane was seen in a ball of fire

and there was no chute sighted.

- [Narrator] For ColonelCarlyle "Smitty" Harris,

a childhood dream of being a pilot

became a reality when he enlisted

in the US Air Force in1951 during the Korean War.

- I thought it was important

as a support of our country

and I really wanted to be a part of it.

- [Narrator] The war endedbefore Smitty was able

to fly in Korea, however,he earned his wings

and went on to advanced training,

and in 1959, whileassigned as a check pilot

at Bainbridge Air Base in Georgia,

he met Louise who hemarried the same year.

- When we took our vows, we meant them.

- [Narrator] Smitty and Louise had no idea

to what extent those vows would be tested.

(bomb exploding)

It was now the 60s, and the US conflict

in Vietnam was escalating.

- [Newscaster] ContinuingViet Cong attacks

on American installations trigger

a further escalation of US involvement.

- I was hoping I wouldgo to Vietnam. (laughing)

I really wanted to be a part of it.

That was my training and

we trained and trained and trained

to do that job very well.

- [Narrator] Smitty got his wish

and he and his family shipped to Okinawa.

By this time, he and Louisehad two young daughters

and a baby on the way.

- It was a pretty big move,

but I knew that he would bethere and we would be fine.

- [Narrator] On April 4th, 1965,

not long after settling,Smitty received an order

to bomb a bridge in North Vietnam.

- There was just allkinds of guns down there,

and so every gun onthe ground is shooting.

I dropped my bomb.

An exploding round hit my airplane.

Immediately, I lost my engine

and, with no power, and it on fire,

I ejected from the airplane.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile,Louise received the news

that every military spouse dreads.

- Of course, I worried.

I cried, and the children, we'dpray every night for Daddy.

- [Narrator] Smitty was quickly captured

and taken as a prisoner of war.

The interrogations were brutal,

as he and other prisonerswould endure all manner

of torture, but Smitty foundthe strength to resist.

- You don't have a choice.

Training was part of it.

We knew deep down, you had to believe

in something bigger than yourself.

We believed that was God, and we prayed.

- [Narrator] Several months passed.

Still not knowing the fate of Smitty,

Louise and the children were sent

back home to Tupelo, Mississippi.

Then, one day, she got a phone call.

- The postmaster called me and he said,

"Mrs. Harris, I may be crazy,

but I think I have a letterfrom your husband here.

And it was like manna from Heaven.

Louise finally had proofthat Smitty was alive.

His letters would continue to trickle in

as the years passed, andhe still wasn't home.

- He always tried toreassure me that he was well,

and that he was being well treated,

which I knew wasn't so.

When I would pray everynight, "Take care of him."

and that if he washurting, help soothe him,

and it made me feel a connection to him.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, Smitty knew

that in order to survive,

they needed to somehowencourage each other.

So he introduced them to a World War II

form of communication,using tapping sounds.

- So I taught them the tap code

and the people in the other cells

and then a couple knew

because I'd just camein and a couple left.

And wherever any POW went

and had communication with another POW,

they would teach them the tap code.

(copter blades whirring)

- [Narrator] Because hope was kept alive,

hundreds of POWs lives werestrengthened and saved.

- [Newscaster] For thePOWs and their loved ones,

the long and lonely times are ended

as the men boardevacuation planes in Hanoi.

- [Narrator] On January 27th, 1973,

eight years after Smittyhad been captured,

the Paris Peace Accord was signed

and Smitty and thousandsof POWs went home.

- Thank you, God. (laughing)

Oh, I was just overcome, really.

- I always believed he'd come home.

I had never dreamed in my wildest dreams

it would be that long.

- [Narrator] It's been almost 50 years

since the Harris family was reunited

and they have neverdwelled on the negative,

choosing instead to embrace the optimism

Smitty has always clung to.

- Every day is such a blessing to us.

And we enjoy every day so much.

- More by example thananything else, I guess,

we tried to instill the same kinda values

in our children and grandchildren.

That is going to be a greatinfluence in their lives.

(dramatic music)