Fires: The Chinese treated all POWs the same regardless of rank. This resulted in the degradation of discipline among POWs. Do you think this was the intended outcome or just 2nd and 3rd order effects? In addition what would you do to combat the loss of morale among POWs?

Unfortunately, human history is no stranger to torture practices, and the use of humiliation in conjunction with physical harm is just as common. The Romans were especially renowned for their torture practices thousands of years ago. It stands to reason then that the Chinese knew that a lack of structure would overwhelm the prisoners, and it would offset the possibility of an uprising. The author cites the lack of organization, and for some the lack of faith or of will, as the determining factor in whether a soldier lived or died. In fact, and research continually supports this claim, when a person loses a sense of identity, they lose the will to go on. I cannot imagine being in this situation and, regardless of a recognized position, not offering hope. Though I have never been even close to experiencing what these soldiers faced, it is my personal ethos to live my calling with or without my uniform. One such Chaplain, Emil Kapaun, is remembered for just such harrowing an act as continuing to provide spiritual care in the midst of long POW marches and several POW camps, and I look to his example as continual inspiration.