The annual remembrance of Veterans Day in America is a tributeto sacrifice, and this year all of Brookhaven has been invited tohear the words of one who knows sacrifice’s face very, verywell.

On Nov. 11, World War II veteran, prisoner of war and publicspeaker Col. Glenn Frazier, of Mobile, Ala., will share hisexperiences in warfare and sacrifice with the students ofBrookhaven Academy and the general public during three appearancesat the school, the Military Memorial Museum and the Lincoln CountyPublic Library.

Frazier is perhaps best known for his appearance in Ken Burns’documentary mini-series, “The War,” which aired on PBS in 2007.Frazier figured prominently in the series.

The general public – and especially local veterans – is invitedto all three of Frazier’s local appearances, which begin at theacademy at 10 a.m. with a speech and reception in the gymnasium,move to a tour of the museum around 1:30 p.m. and culminate at thelibrary around 3 p.m. Frazier’s visits to the academy and thelibrary will feature a book signing, where copies of his warmemoir, “Hell’s Guest,” will be available for purchase. The bookand the speech he plans to deliver chronicle his service in theU.S. Army, especially his endurance of three years of Japanesecaptivity, beginning with the infamous Bataan Death March in1942.

“It’s what a person endures for the purpose of serving theircountry,” Frazier said. “I’ll also be speaking to (students) abouthow they should respect their freedom and their country. Blood hasbeen shed for our freedom over the years.”

Some of that blood was Frazier’s.

He lied about his age and enlisted in the U.S. Army at 16, andwent on to fight during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in1942, when the war, for America, was young. He was with Americanand Filipino forces who, surrounded on the Bataan Peninsula, shortof supplies and weakened by tropical diseases, were forced tosurrender after the three-month Battle of Bataan. The 75,000 POWswere forced to march 60 miles through the tropical heat to a POWcamp, and tens of thousands died along the way, victims ofexposure, thirst and Japanese executions. Frazier would remainimprisoned in Japan until the war ended in late 1945.

During his captivity, Frazier endured torture and faced deathdaily. In his book and during an interview in “The War,” herecounts the story of how he was about to be decapitated by anangry Japanese officer, who superstitiously relented after Fraziertold him his spirit would invade the officer’s body and haunt himforever. The threat saved his life – he was punished with a week ofunderground isolation in total darkness.

Three years of brutality drove Frazier to hate the Japanese. Butthat was then. He said his long recovery from hatred is one of thecentral themes of his speeches.

“I also talk about forgiveness,” Frazier said of his speakingengagements. “I felt like I was justified in hating (the Japanese),so I had to be brought to my knees to get out of that mood. I gotto the point where I had to get rid of it because of my health, ithad manifested into my health. I went to my pastor to get his help.It took me two and one-half years, but when I did it, the nightmarenever came back, and I had extreme nightmares. That went away theminute I completely divested myself of the hate.”

Frazier said he was glad to come to Brookhaven for Veterans Daybecause his exposure in Mississippi has been limited. He said hewas “old shoe” in his hometown of Mobile, where he can be foundsigning copies of “Hell’s Guest” almost daily in the gift shop atBattleship Memorial Park, where the U.S.S. Alabama is permanentlymoored. He is also a regular guest of several Alabama and othersouthern colleges.

“I just want to get out there and get to the people,” Fraziersaid. “If I get to one person, I’d rather do that than get to themasses who don’t care.”

If it weren’t for his appearances at the battleship, Frazierprobably wouldn’t be coming to Brookhaven. That’s where BA teacherJennifer Whittier and her husband, Greg, met him while touring theU.S.S Alabama. Whittier purchased a copy of “Hell’s Guest” for herfather, Military Memorial Museum Chairman Paul Jackson, and hepushed for Frazier to visit the city.

“When I brought (the book) home to daddy, he was so fascinatedwith the story he thought it would be good to invite him to themuseum,” Whittier said. “Since we have the Veterans Day program (atBA), we thought it would work out if we combined those visits.”

BA high school principal Teresa Reed, who authorized Frazier’sbooking for the school program, said she was looking forward to theveteran’s speaking engagement as a “living history lesson.” Shesaid the school is going to make “The War” available for viewing inhigh school classrooms prior to his visit.

“I think the other veterans will enjoy listening to hisexperiences, and I also think it will be educative and informativefor our students to hear, first hand, what it was like to walk inhis shoes,” Reed said.