A former prisoner of war who has been threatened with court‐martial for his behavior in captivity, said tonight that the “pressure of conscience and morality” made him change his mind on the war while in captivity.
Capt. Walter E. Wilber of the Navy acknowledged in television interview that he had made antiwar statements while in prison without being tortured. He added that he had never been tortured during his nearly five years of captivity.
His story thus differed sharply from those of other returned prisoners interviewed since repatriation was completed. More than a dozen have publicly described severe physical abuses.
Asked about the statements of other prisoners, Captain Wilber emphasized that he would “not disbelieve or repudiate them in any way.” But he suggested that the whole story had yet to be heard, telling Mike Wallace on the Columbia Broadcasting System’s “60 Minutes” that “each person has to tell his own story.”
