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Book Description:

Amazon Best Seller in Military Families and Survival Biographies & Memoirs

“Everything I Know About Love I Learned in a Prisoner of War Camp,” was the second choice title for the book “Captured by Love: Inspiring True Romance Stories from Vietnam POWs.”

The book opens with—

“Once Upon a Time…

“…there were 20 airborne warriors who were captured twice—once by force, and once by love. First, they were blown out of the sky and kept as prisoners of war (POWs) for up to eight years. Second, they returned home to create ‘happily ever after’ marriages where they were again captured, but this time they were also captivated—by love.

“I was one of them—the youngest of the bunch. The bonds we have as comrades-in-arms are deep, but our bonds of love for our wives and families are much deeper. These romance and love stories are amazing and inspiring. And you will see that our war-time experiences taught us lessons that have helped us achieve remarkable marital success. We believe they will also serve you as well.

“You will read about one wife who waited for eight years for the return of her husband, and they have now been happily married for 63! And, a single coed, though not yet engaged, waited for almost six years for the love her life, and they married six weeks after he returned.

“And while there are many great books by and about Vietnam prisoners of war, this is the only one to collect their love stories. We former POWs are forever grateful to our country, our leaders, our people, our families, and our wives. And we want to say “thank you” by sharing a few war stories, but mostly our romantic stories and our lessons for achieving lasting love.”

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“As I’ve written in my Mars Venus books, couples that have attained a higher love are able to grow together in passion and love for a lifetime. The riveting stories in Captured by Love masterfully reveal that these couples have lived this process…”

~ John Gray, author of “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”

“There are well over 1,000 books about the Vietnam War, but this is the only one that gathers the inspirational and sometimes heartbreaking love stories of 20 former POWs. In this book you will see that good can come out of war, and you will learn that happiness and love can arise out of the most horrifying situations. We can all learn from these stories—about love and about life.”

~ LeAnn Thieman, nurse, founder of SelfCare for Healthcare, and coauthor of “Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul.”

(Read all of the endorsements.)

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Retired Air Force fighter pilot and former POW, Ellis co-authored “Captured by Love” with love-expert Greg Godek, author of the #1 bestseller “1001 Ways to be Romantic.” Godek observed, “While psychologists, sociologists and neuroscientists have been working for decades to discover the secrets of happiness, wellness and longevity, Lee and 19 other fellow POWs—and their wives—have simply been managing their marriages by relationship ‘secrets’ of their own devising.”

Ellis discovered seven “Love Lessons” that appeared repeatedly in the stories he gathered from his fellow POWs. “There is something universal and powerful about these lessons. They’re not sophisticated or difficult, but we all need reminders and practice.”

The seven principles are…

1. Shared values. Couples whose values align—be they spiritual or personal or cultural values—have a firm foundation for a happy long-term relationship.
2. Companionship. Your journey through life is easier, more fun and more meaningful if you have a loving partner. Good companions are both independent and interdependent.
3. Respect. Everyone has a deep need to be respected—especially at home. Couples who are intentional about showing appreciation and gratitude strengthen their bonds.
4. Focus on your partner’s strengths. As the song says, “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.” If this were your one guiding principle, it would produce marital harmony and bliss.
5. Trust. It is a cornerstone of all successful relationships. Trust ensures that you can be vulnerable with each other, and this creates intimacy.
6. Optimism. The most successful people in business, life and love share optimism as a core trait. Optimists can handle any challenges.
7. Commitment. Wedding vows—as well as military oaths—are sacred promises to be true to your partner or country. Commitment is the glue that bonds couples together.

The 20 love stories are, by turn, powerful, inspiring and sometimes funny.

• “Hi Jane! It’s me, Tarzan!” were the first words POW Smitty Harris said, on a trans-Pacific phone call to his wife, Louise, in their first conversation after eight years apart. Smitty’s exclamation reconnected them instantly. Pet names are “in jokes” through which couples share a humorous lightness and deep connection.
• Mo Baker was obsessed with flying since he was a boy, and continued after he returned home, after being shot down, captured, and enduring more than five years as a POW. His wife, Honey, understands and accepts his affection for his planes. “Mo was fanatical about flying. I figured I could accept him having a mistress—as long as she was made of metal and weighed 50,000 pounds!”
• Do you believe in Fate? Ralph and Bobbi Gaither do. “I wore a POW/MIA bracelet with Ralph’s name on it for several years before we met. When we finally did meet it was on a blind date! I had no idea it would be him.”

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Book Awards

• 2024 Georgia Author of the Year WINNER in Inspirational Books
• 18th Annual Indie Excellent Awards WINNER in Marriage
• 2023 International Book Awards Finalist in Best Nonfiction Cover Design
• 2023 International Book Awards Finalist in Best Interior Design
• 2023 International Book Awards Finalist in Military History
• 2023 Best Book Award Finalist in Military History
• 2023 Foreword Reviews Indies FINALIST in War & Military
• Amazon Best Seller in Military Families and Survival Biographies & Memoirs

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“We love this book! It’s originality and freshness are stimulating and satisfying. Any couple reading this will be inspired to overcome all the challenges of their relationship for the amazing outcome that awaits them. We recommend it to all couples, whether challenged or not.

~ Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D. coauthors of “Getting the Love You Want”

“This is an outstanding collection of love stories, all different and yet all similar. They all share the elements of love, commitment, separation and loyalty. This is a book that needed to be written, and if you like love stories (who doesn’t?) you will be captivated.”

~ George E. Nolly, former Air Force fighter pilot and Vietnam POW

(Read all of the endorsements.)

Key Takeaways:

• Read unique insights and stories from the Vietnam POW camps as told by the husbands in these stories.
• Come alongside and experience the historic actions of the wives back home and how they confronted the State Department’s “quiet diplomacy” policy that drove the DOD (Department of Defense) to have a policy of “Keep Quiet” and ultimately inspired a “Go Public” campaign by DOD Sec. Melvin Laird. Their efforts changed the policy of the US Government and eventually caused our communist captors to stop the torture when Ho Chi Minh died.
• Be insipired by these amazing romance and love stories of these 20 couples. All were married more than 40 years, and some were widowed and later became happily remarried.
• Learn about the great examples of courage and resilience and the specific love lessons that guided these relationships.
• Be surprised by the consistent presence of humor both in the Vietnam POW camps as well as these romantic relationships.

Lee Ellis | Co-Author

Lee Ellis understands and appreciates strong relationships as not many people do. (Few psychologists and relationship experts were Air Force fighter pilots, and, as far as we know, none have been awarded a Purple Heart!) Lee spent five years as a prisoner of war (POW) during the Vietnam conflict. In order to endure the horrifying torture and abuse he learned a set of skills that kept him not only ALIVE, but allowed him to THRIVE, and to return home without experiencing PTSD.

These skills include communicating, shared values, respect and optimism. His flash of insight came 10 years ago during a reunion with his fellow fighter pilots, when he observed that many of his buddies were living extraordinarily happy and successful marriages—and realized that the survival skills they all learned during their incarceration are the same skills that are required to create what he later described as “happily ever after marriages.” And this was the genesis of “Captured by Love: True Inspiring Romance Stories of Vietnam POWs.”

Lee was no stranger to writing books, as he had already authored two that included many of his skills applied to the business world: “Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton,” and “Engage with Honor: Building a Culture of Courageous Accountability.” Through his firm Leading with Honor, he is a leadership coach and speaker in the fields of leadership and human performance. He has spoken to many Fortune 500 executives and advised C-Level leaders in a broad range of business and military organizations.

Lee was awarded two Silver Stars and a Legion of Merit award. He has a BA in History and an MS in Counseling and Human Development. He and his wife Mary are approaching their Golden Anniversary. “We have learned to celebrate our differences, and to respect each other by listening to each other’s perspective. This is what we POWs did, and it allowed us to not only survive, but to thrive, by bonding us together as a strong team. One of my guiding insights is that a great marriage is a great two-person team.”

Greg Godek | Co-Author

Jay Leno joked about Greg Godek’s first book in his monologue: “There’s a new book called ‘1001 Ways to be Romantic.’ That’s an awful LOT of ways! I mean, guys—if the first thousand ways don’t work…what are the chances she’s gonna stick around when you say, ‘Oh wait! One more!’?!” Appearances on “The Today Show” and articles in “The Sunday New York Times” and “Cosmo,” plus his record-breaking booksigning tour (two years aboard a custom RV, visiting 287 bookstores in 43 states) made Greg’s book a #1 bestseller, with three million copies sold.

Greg’s first dozen books were creative romps through romantic love. But his latest book, coauthored with Air Force fighter pilot and Vietnam POW Lee Ellis, has taken his work into deeper and more profound waters. “With ‘Captured by Love’ we had the unexpected insight that the same skills and beliefs that allowed our POWs to survive inhumane treatment and unspeakable tortures—over five to eight years—are the same skills and beliefs that are necessary for couples to create what we call ‘Happily Ever After Marriages’. I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to interview 20 couples and widows and widowers (between the ages of 78 and 94!) who have lived extraordinary lives and have created some the strongest and happiest marriages I have come across in more than 40 years of relationship work.”

Greg’s guiding conviction is that love is an EMOTION, while romance is an ACTION. “Without action, love is merely a nice idea.” Looking back on his life, career and passion, he observes that, “My life has pretty much been a living laboratory exploring and experiencing the joys and sorrows of couplehood.” Through the writing of “Captured by Love,” coauthors Greg and Lee were delighted to see a series of “Love Lessons” emerge organically from the love stories they were capturing for posterity.

Tony Orlando | Foreword Author

Tony is one of America’s most endearing and iconic entertainers. He continues to bring exhilarating energy, warmth, and humor to a tour of live concert shows across the nation as he celebrates over six decades in the entertainment business.

Grammy Nominee Tony Orlando has sold millions of records, including Five #1 hits. He has 2 Platinum and 3 Gold albums and 15 Top 40 Hits. His smash hit (with Dawn) “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” was the Billboard top song of 1973 and became Orlando’s theme song. It has grown into an American anthem of hope, homecoming, and renewal.

Tony has performed for our armed services around the globe and raised millions of dollars for veteran organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Eisenhower Foundation as well as Tribute to Valor Foundation, an organization that inspires, impacts, and influences young people.

Tony’s musical career has reached the pinnacle of success in recording, television, and the live stage. Tony has performed for five U.S. Presidents. He is the recipient of The Bob Hope Award for excellence in entertainment from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, honoring his efforts on behalf of our nation’s veterans.

Tony was also the General Manager and VP of CBS-Music Division, April-Blackwood Music, from 1966 to 1970. He represented such songwriters and groups as James Taylor, Laura Nyro, and Blood Sweat and Tears. He also signed and produced Barry Manilow’s first recording and represented James Taylor’s music publishing while working for the legendary Clive Davis.

The enormously popular Tony Orlando and Dawn television variety show ran for four seasons, from 1973 to 1977, on CBS. The singers still rank among the Top 100 Billboard Magazine artists of All-Time.

Tony is a recipient of three American Music Awards and two People’s Choice Awards for Best Male Entertainer. Five times he has been awarded the Casino Entertainer of the Year Award, as the “Best All Around Entertainer” in Las Vegas, and received that same award four times in Atlantic City.
Tony has a wife, Francine, a daughter, Jenny, and a son, Jon.

Learn more at TonyOrlando.com.

Gary Sinise | Foreword Author

Gary Sinise’s stage, film, and television career has spanned more than four decades. For his performance as Lt Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, he received nominations for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards, and earned the Best Supporting Actor Award from the National Board of Review. Other film credits include Apollo 13, Ransom, Snake Eyes, Impostor, The Green Mile, Mission to Mars, The Human Stain, and Of Mice and Men.

He starred as Jack Garrett on the series Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, and for nine seasons as Detective “Mac” Taylor on the hit series CSI: NY, both of which aired on CBS. Sinise is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and two-time SAG Award winner for his roles in Truman and George Wallace.
Though he has achieved considerable fame as an actor, Gary has also become well known as an advocate on behalf of America’s service members. In 2003, after several USO handshake tours, he formed the “Lt. Dan Band” and began entertaining troops serving at home and abroad. Over the years, the band has performed hundreds of shows for charities and fundraisers supporting wounded heroes, Gold Star families, veterans, and active-duty troops around the world. Sinise has contributed his time on over 100 USO tours and in support of multiple veteran nonprofits over the years.

To expand upon his individual efforts, in 2011 he established the Gary Sinise Foundation with the mission to serve and honor America’s defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need.

For his humanitarian work he has received many honors including the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor awarded to citizens for exemplary deeds performed in service of the nation. He is only the third actor ever to receive this award.

You can read his personal story in his 2019 autobiography and New York Times Bestseller, Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service. Learn more about Gary at GarySinise.com and his foundation website at Garysinisefoundation.org.