FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- More than 250 10th Mountain Division (LI) Soldiers and Department of Defense Civilians gathered Friday at the Multipurpose Auditorium to hear retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Barry Bridger share his experience as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.

Bridger explained that the POW experience is a story of the power of traditional American values. It was those deeply held beliefs that the service members brought with them into the camps that allowed them to survive.

That's what 2,232 days as a prisoner in the infamous Hanoi Hilton taught him.

"America's prisoners of war in Vietnam quickly learned that the desperate, crushing environment of a POW camp can destroy the mind and the body, but it cannot touch the values of a good heart and spirit," Bridger said.

Bridger explained how their captors continuously attempted to exploit POWs to sway public opinion and discredit the United States. He said that despite being brutally tortured for weeks on end to comply with anti-war propaganda -- to include signing amnesty agreements -- the prisoners did not yield.

"No military information of any significance was given, and 100 percent of the American prisoners walked into the torture chambers rather than sign on the dotted line," he said.

Bridger spoke about the period of "re-education" that was designed to break the prisoners' will to resist.

"Re-education consisted of bombarding us with anti-war broadcasts, showering us with anti-war literature and showing anti-war movies and reading anti-war letters," Bridger said.

He explained that the physical abuse occurred primarily in the first two years of captivity. That was followed by several years of psychological pressures -- threats of more torture, isolation, abandonment and removal. Camp authority figures also read letters of divorce from prisoners' wives, Bridger said, in an attempt to destroy their sense of self-esteem.

"Not all of us were able to handle the trials and tribulations of POW life precisely the same. Some of us were walking on the thin edge of sanity."

He spoke of one service member, who was tortured so badly that he was lost touch with reality. His captors called him "faker" and refused to provide any treatment.

"We had to hold this young man down on the concrete bed twice a day. We cut off the air flow to his nose, forcing him to breathe through his mouth so we can cram food down his throat to keep him alive," Bridger said. "We were not about to let this young man perish while we could care for his life."

He spoke of Navy Capt. Jeremiah Denton, who was beaten into reading a confession on a North Vietnamese broadcast. Using POW code, he repeatedly blinked the word "torture," which Bridger said was understood by the American intelligence community. Bridger said this was just one of many examples of how American POWs thwarted propaganda efforts through stubborn refusal to cooperate.

"Would you believe we had some absolutely terrific resisters because they were obstinate people? In other words, these individuals did not want to be told what to do, whether by a legitimate senior officer or NCO," he said. "They darn sure didn't want to be told by the camp authority."

While Bridger was being interrogated, he was asked how fast his fighter jet could fly. At first, he merely said "very fast." He was asked a second time and then said "200 miles an hour."

"He turns to me and says, 'You lie. It goes much faster.' I said, 'No lie. I'm a junior pilot. I'm not allowed to fly that fast," he said.

While the POWs shared no information with the North Vietnamese government, to each other they were like open books. Bridger said to stave off boredom they would talk about everything -- from home construction to thermodynamics. He said that they spent years with their ears pressed against three-foot-thick concrete walls, listening to the lessons from fellow subject-matter experts through tap code. Bridger said that when they returned home and attended college, many of these former prisoners were able to excel in academia.

"Never underestimate the power of the human spirit and never underestimate the power of knowledge," he said.

Bridger remained on stage after his speech to field a few questions from the audience. Bridger, who was released from captivity in March 1973, was asked if he ever returned to Vietnam. He said that 55 of them would make a trip to Vietnam again, and he told a story about one of his friends who took a tour of the prison camp. The guide was providing some misinformation about how the POWs were fed three meals a day and allowed to play sports. Bridger said his friend set them straight on the facts.

"The guide asked 'Who are you and how can you say that?' and my friend said, 'Because that was my room right there.' And he took over the tour," Bridger said. "The tour guide said, 'I didn't know.'"

This professional development session was hosted by the U.S. Army Garrison - Fort Drum command team of Col. Bryan Laske and Command Sgt. Maj. Kristopher Cook.

Laske said that presentation served as a way for Fort Drum Soldiers and Civilians to learn from Bridger's experience so that they would never have to say "I didn't know."

"It is an absolute privilege to have him here today," Laske told the audience. "We talk about resiliency in the Army today, but in his day they talked about surviving. He has a lot of great lessons for us to learn and a wealth of knowledge to pass on."