POW: Promises Kept

by Linda C. Apple (As told by), Walter Mayberry

A huge black cloud filled with metallic splinters burst under the bomber and caused it to rock violently, tearing holes in the aluminum fuselage. Two bursts hit close. The third hit the in-board engine on the right wing and it burst into flame. All was searing smoke and screaming metal and roaring flame. Boots bailed out of the disintegrating plane, falling head first. When he pulled the ripcord it jerked him up with such force it shattered two vertebrae in his neck. His hands were paralyzed and he couldn't guide his parachute. Boots floated helplessly to earth under the billowing thirty-foot silk canopy. All around him was a cacophony of anti-aircraft fire. Shrapnel and wreckage from destroyed airplanes hurtled past him. Fear and dread filled his mind. What if this wreckage hits me or my parachute and drags me down to certain death? In the deafening noise of all this melee, he cried out, "God, help me!" What Boots endured in the German POW camps would test the limits of any man. But near death, he finds hope at his most hopeless and discovers the strength to survive. Through his life, the promises he kept gave meaning and purpose to his life and inspired countless others.

126 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2014

About the author

Linda Apple is the author of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books. Her personal experience stories appear in sixteen Chicken Soup for the Soul volumes. She mentors writers and speaks nationwide and internationally, leading writing workshops and delivering motivational keynotes. She is an inductee of the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame and a past president of both the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. and the Ozark Creative Writers’ Conference.

​Her Winston series includes early reader chapter books and picture books. Winston’s newest picture book, Winston’s First Rodeo, is a Western Writers of America Spur Award Finalist for 2025. Winston’s books are popular choices with elementary school librarians, and he often accompanies Linda when she presents in schools.

Her newest book, Reflect, Ponder & Write, launches the Love, Linda guided journal series, featuring reflections and prompts for personal growth. She is currently writing the next book in that series, as well as the fourth novel in her Moonlight Mississippi series.

​Central to Linda’s work is the belief that writing is not merely a craft to be mastered, but a responsibility. Stories are our legacy. Whether speaking, teaching, or mentoring, her goal is always the same: to help writers recognize the power of words and how to use them intention.

​Linda lives in Northwest Arkansas with her husband, Neal, near their five children and their families. She is the proud grandmother of fourteen grandchildren and mom to her fur and feather babies. Linda loves to travel, tend her garden, and gather with friends and family where stories are shared, laughter is plentiful, and memories are made.