Berry Sara W. - Tap code: the epic survival tale of a Vietnam POW and the secret code that changed everything: a true story

The values of God, family, and country are a reflection of Col. Smitty Harris and what he represents. A true inspiration for all ages.

BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN M. RHODES,
U.S. Army National Guard

The incomprehensibly long ordeal of the Harris family is agonizing. Their love, faith, loyalty, and courage epitomize all that is good about America.

LT. COL. ORSON SWINDLE, USMC (ret.), POW,
Hanoi, 11/11/1966 to 3/4/1973

Tap Code is an incredible story about two American heroes. Col. Smitty Harris and his wife, Louise, epitomize the definition of commitmentto God, to country, and to family. This tale of extreme perseverance will restore your faith in the human spirit.

BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN NICHOLS, USAF

Tap Code is a hard road of reminiscence for those of us who were there, but an excellent history for those who have never known the terrors of war behind the lines of the enemy. The prison camps of North Vietnam were hell on earth, and those who know little about the POWs held captive will do well to read this book.

SAM JOHNSON, former U.S. representative
from Texas, Colonel USAF (ret.),
and ex-Alcatraz POW

Smitty Harris is one of the truest examples of our Air Force core valuesintegrity, service before self, excellence. As a pilot, I can attest to how Smittys Tap Code is an integral piece of our training today as we cultivate bold, innovative leaders who will continue the Long Blue Line and be ready, lethal pilots in the worlds greatest Air Force.

COLONEL SAMANTHA WEEKS, Commander,
14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus
Air Force Base, Mississippi

Col. Smitty Harris proudly served our great nation during the Vietnam War, and it is an honor to call him a trusted friend. He is known for his unwavering faith and loyalty to America.

TRENT KELLY, U.S. representative from Mississippi

Tap Code tells the true story of Col. Carlyle Smitty Harris, who was shot down in North Vietnam on April 4, 1965. From the first sentence you find yourself thrust from his fighter jet and into the hands of people who want to kill the young pilot. Smitty has the reader living his stay in the Hanoi Hilton, surviving brutal interrogations, and celebrating his homecoming. This is a remarkable story of the unbreakable American spirit forged by combat, capture, and faith.

PHIL BRYANT, governor of Mississippi

If youre interested in what it was like to be a POW of the North Vietnamese, or to be the wife of one, grab a copy of Tap Code immediately. No one has told this story better.

GENERAL CHUCK BOYD, USAF (ret.)

ZONDERVAN

Tap Code

Copyright 2019 by Carlyle S. Harris and Sara W. Berry

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ISBN 978-0-310-35911-1 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-310-35913-5 (audio)

ISBN 978-0-310-35912-8 (ebook)

Epub Edition September 2019 9780310359128

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Art direction: Curt Diepenhorst

Cover design: Tim Green / Faceout Studio

Cover photography: Getty Images

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

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To all prisoners of war

who endured untold hardship,

this is for you.

To all the families of these POWs

who endured untold heartache,

this is for you.

To all captives everywhere,

whether captives in body or in soul,

this is for you.

May the words you find here

fill you with enduring hope, strength, and peace.

May you, with unveiled faces,

see the glory of the One

who came to set the captives free.

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess, says the LORD.

JEREMIAH 30:23

CONTENTS

You are about to venture into a story so amazing that its difficult to imagine. As one who has known Smitty and Louise Harris for almost fifty years, I can tell you that its true and they are the real deal. These two are bright, wise, adventurous, and highly successful at everything they do. At the same time, they are highly regarded by others for their kindness and strong faith. They are also down-to-earth, fun-loving, and delightful to be around. They are uniquea married couple where both are superstars and both are elegantly humble.

On April 4, 1965, Smitty was the sixth American POW captured in the air war over North Vietnam. By the time I arrived two-and-a-half years later, he had already survived some of the worst treatment of the entire POW experience. Though a quiet captain and not the senior leader in the camp, Smitty had a monumental impact on the POW experience.

When writing and speaking about life as a POW, I refer to Smitty as the code bearer. As a young man spurred by his insatiable curiosity, Smitty learned a communication technique that we later called the Tap Code. What seemed like happenstance at the time now seems like a divine intervention to equip Smitty, one of the early arrivals in the camps, with a tool we all would desperately need in the days ahead.

In that medieval bastille known as the Hanoi Hilton, our captors goal was to divide and conquer the POWs. The prisons sixteen-inch masonry walls were designed to isolate prisoners. Smitty took great risk and through resourcefulness and creativity spread the code that enabled our covert communication. Using the code, we could softly tap messages of encouragement to lonely neighbors and pass along resistance policies from our leaders. These vital communications lifted our spirits and gave us a united front throughout the camps. Admiral Stockdale (senior Navy POW) has commented that communications were the blood and sinew that kept us alive. Smitty was the code bearer who enabled us to connect and communicatethe two most vital needs of every POW.