High-School Homecoming -- Former Pow Clifford Acree Returns To Many Cheers At Alma Mater

SHORELINE - The lean and lanky Marine Corps officer, his dress shoes gleaming and his chest covered with medals, walked up the steps at Shorecrest High School and under the banner that read, "Welcome back, Lt. Col. Acree."

Clifford Acree returned to a hero's welcome yesterday, arm in arm with his wife, Cindy. It was his first visit to the Shoreline school since his graduation in 1970.

Acree's plane was shot down over Kuwait on Jan. 18 on the second day of the Persian Gulf War. He parachuted to safety but became one of the first U.S. prisoners of war when he landed in the middle of an Iraqi division.

He was taken to Baghdad and held for 48 days before his release last month.

Acree was invited to his alma mater to meet some of his old teachers and speak to students in a packed auditorium.

Describing his ordeal, Acree said his captors kept him blindfolded and in solitary confinement most of the time.

"I'm here to tell you we weren't treated very well," said Acree, who lost 25 pounds on a diet of broth and pita bread served once daily. "I can tell you the interrogation was pretty brutal to begin with."

He described his diet as a "very subtle form of torture."

"Some of my captors were certainly more humane than others," he added.

After graduating from Shorecrest, Acree attended Shoreline Community College before going to officer-candidate school in Quantico, Va. He graduated from flight training at Pensacola, Fla., Naval Air Station in 1980.

Acree credited his faith in his family and in God with helping him through the ordeal.

Also present yesterday were some of Acree's relatives, including parents Bill and Delia Acree of Seattle.

Tam Osborne, activities coordinator at the high school, said Acree was "more of a quiet individual who demonstrated high accountability."

Responding to a student's question, Acree said his fame has reduced the time he spends with his family. He also called Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a "less than desirable" leader, and said he wants the Iraqi people to be free.

Acree was presented with POW bracelets worn by supporters to keep his memory alive while he was interned.

The school also gave him an inscribed plaque that read: "Let peace encircle all the world. Let men walk hand in hand; a living band of brotherhood, a voice from land to land."

Written at the height of the Vietnam War, the wording was taken from Shorecrest High School's 1970 yearbook. It was that graduating class's wish for the future.