Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam

by James S. Hirsch

This is the true story of a friendship that became legendary between two fighter pilots in a Northern Vietnamese POW camp which the inmates called the Zoo.  One prisoner, Fred Cherry, is one of the first black air force fighter pilot officers and the first black officer captured by the Vietnamese.  The other, Porter Halyburton, is a Navy pilot from the south, who at first couldn't believe that the black man could be a fighter pilot.  The Vietnamese put them in the same cell, believing that the racial barrier would torture the two. 
When Halyburton first saw Cherry, he was badly injured.  One arm, which was damaged in the plane crash, hung limp from his shoulder socket, he needed badly to bathe, and he could hardly walk.  Cherry was sure he would soon die.  Halyburton was also in bad emotional shape due to the daily interrogations and torture sessions, as well as being isolated from anyone for months.  He was taken to Cherry's cell, and told to "take care of him".  Both men had their doubts about each other.  One believing that other was a typical southern racist and the other not believing that his cell mate could possibly be a superior officer.  Halyburton began taking care of Cherry and helped him to bath, walked him around the cell to try and bring him "back to life", demanded that the guards give him medical attention, and often sacrificed his own meek rations so Cherry might gain weight. 

Meanwhile, on the home front, Cherry's wife had moved on with another man, had a new baby, and told Cherry's children that he was dead even though she knew he was alive.  Also, she squandered away almost all of his pay from the air force. $122,098.13 of the $147,184.00 that he had earned. 

Halyburton's wife and child remained faithful although he was thought dead and even had a memorial service in his absence.  After six years, she found out that he was alive and we share her mixed emotions, happiness and fear for husband.  She also plays a huge role in the American battle to bring the POWs home. 
In the end the two men tearfully admit that they had saved each other's lives.

I believe this is a really awesome, well researched book.  Hats off to James S. Hirsch for this story.  He has shown us how racial diversity can be overcome by sheer human kindness.  The book was published in 2004 by the Houghton Mifflin Company.