♪ GERRON: I AM JARED BOWEN.

TONIGHT ON "GREATER BOSTON," ONE-ON-ONE WITH GOVERNOR HEALEY ON HOW THE STATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH IS AFFECTED BY THE STATE OF THE ARTS.

HER PUSH TO INCREASE LIVE THEATER ACROSS THE STATE.

AND WHAT TO DO WITH THE NAME STILL CHISELED ONTO THE WALLS OF THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

AND 50 YEARS AFTER PRISONERS OF WAR ARE RELEASED FROM THE SO-CALLED HANOI HILTON IN VIETNAM, A GROUP OF THEM ARE TELLING THEIR STORIES IN AN EXHIBITION AT THE AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM.

♪ WE HEAR FROM GOVERNOR HEALEY EVERY DAY OF SOME MONTH OF MOST CRITICAL ISSUES IN OUR STATE FROM SKYROCKETING HOUSING PRICES TO THE EVER TROUBLED MBTA TO HOMELESSNESS, ADDICTION AND ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE.

TURNS OUT SHE HAS ALSO BEEN CARVING OUT TIME TO FOCUS ON THE ARTS, ONE OF THE STATES BLESSED TALKS ABOUT ECONOMIC ENGINES.

I DISCUSSED HER PLAN TO INVEST IN ARTS AND ARTISTS, THE CULTURE WARS RESULTING IN BANS ON BOOKS AND DRUG, AND WHERE HER CULTURE CRAVINGS TAKE HER.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

GOV.

HEALEY: IT'’S GREAT TO BE WITH YOU.

JARED: WE WILL TALK ABOUT YOUR ARTS AGENDA IN THE MOMENT, BUT FIRST, LET'’S TALK ABOUT YOU AND THE ARTS.

WHAT IS YOUR GO TO WHEN YOU NEED YOUR FIX?

>>GOV.

HEALEY: AREN'’T WE LUCKY HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS, NOT JUST IN GREATER BOSTON, BUT ACROSS THE STATE?

IT IS SOMETHING I APPRECIATE WHETHER IT IS GOING TO A MUSEUM OR A BOOKSTORE TO LOOK FOR THE LATEST EDITIONS, GOING TO EXPLORE SOME OF OUR OPEN STUDIOS OR GALLERIES.

I LIKE TO LISTEN TO MUSIC AND WE HAVE A VARIETY OF MUSIC HALLS AND CONCERT VENUES ACROSS THE STATE.

SO NO SHORTAGE OF THINGS TO TAKE IN.

JARED: YOU ARE A LIVE MUSIC PERSON.

WE SAW BRANDI CARLILE AT YOUR INAUGURATION.

GOV.

HEALEY: I LOVE BRANDI.

I ENCOURAGED HER TO PLAY AT MY INAUGURATION WHICH SHE DID.

SHE WILL BE BACK IN MASSACHUSETTS IN A FEW MONTHS AND HOPEFULLY I WILL SEE HER AGAIN.

SO MANY GREAT ACTS, SPRING IS COMING AND OUR OUTDOOR VENUES WILL BE AVAILABLE AND IT IS JUST GREAT.

JARED: YOU SPENT A COUPLE YEARS IN EUROPE PLAYING BASKETBALL, BUT AUSTRIA, SUCH A VERY ARTS-RICH ENVIRONMENT.

DOES THAT INFORM HOW YOU LOOK AT THE ARTS AND WHAT SHOULD BE DOING HERE IN THE COUNTRY AND IN MASSACHUSETTS?

GOV.

HEALEY: IT STARTS FURTHER BACK.

I GREW UP LOVING ARTS AND ANTIQUITIES AND AUCTIONS, MY FAMILY WAS INVOLVED IN THE AUCTION BUSINESS, PARTICULARLY ANTIQUITIES.

I THINK THAT IS WHERE SOME OF THIS AGAIN.

CERTAINLY -- THEY LIVED IN SALZBURG.

IT IS HOME TO MOZART.

THAT WAS NEXT-LEVEL IN TERMS OF EXPOSURE TO ARTS.

AND THROUGHOUT EUROPE, I TRAVELED A LOT IN EUROPE AND YOU ARE ABLE TO VISIT DIFFERENT MUSEUMS AND THE LIKE.

THERE IS DOUBT.

AND HERE WITHIN MASSACHUSETTS, PARTICULARLY AFTER COVID, WE REALLY I THINK HAVE COLLECTIVELY DEVELOPED A NEW APPRECIATION FOR THE ARTS AND CULTURE AND SHOWS AND THINK THAT WE COULDN'’T SEE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.

HOPEFULLY THAT HELPS FOLKS UNDERSTAND JUST HOW IMPORTANT AND FUNDAMENTAL THEY ARE TO OUR WAY OF LIFE, TO THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF COMMUNITY.

TO WHO WE ARE.

AND THAT IS WHY I COME TO THIS JOB NOW IS YOUR GOVERNMENT WANTING TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO BOTH CELEBRATE ARTS AND CULTURE HERE IN THE STATE, AND ALSO INVEST IN IT LIKE WE HAVEN'’T BEFORE.

JARED: IS IT WORTHY OF A CABINET-LEVEL POSITION WITH YOU?

>> GOV.

HEALEY: I CAN TELL YOU WE ARE NOT WASTING ANY TIME IN GETTING STARTED WITH OUR INVESTMENTS, RECORD INVESTMENTS PROPOSED FOR MASS CULTURAL COUNCIL.

WE ALSO PROPOSED SOME TAX CREDITS, RELIEF FOR THOSE ENGAGED IN MOVIE PRODUCTION IN THE STATE, ALSO FREE BROADWAY AND PASTA BROADWAY PRODUCTIONS.

THE IDEA WILL BE TO PROVIDE SOME LIVE THEATER TAX CREDITS TO BOTH ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE AND TALENT TO MASSACHUSETTS, AND THOSE IN THE BUSINESS.

$3 MILLION IN A FUND JUST FOR OUR INDEPENDENT MOVIE THEATERS TO HELP THEM BUY NEW SCREENS.

THE FUNDING FOR WORKFORCE AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM SO THE ARTS.

AS WELL AS TOURISM.

WE HAVE A $6 MILLION PROGRAM THAT HELPS DIRECT PEOPLE TO COOLER PLACES IN THE ARTS TO VISIT ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS.

SO YOU WILL HEAR OUR ADMINISTRATION NOT ONLY INVESTING IN THE ARTS, BUT VISITING OUR WONDERFUL ARTS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE STATE, TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO REALLY LIFT THEM UP AND CELEBRATE THEM.

JARED: GOING BACK TO THE THEATER TAX CREDIT HE JUST MENTIONED, WE KNOW VERY WELL ABOUT THE MOVIE TAX CREDIT HERE, WE SEE IT AROUND US, BUT THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN ATTRACTION FOR A LIVE THEATER CREDIT.

WHAT WAS THE FULCRUM POINT FOR YOU TO SEE VALUE IN THAT?

GOV.

HEALEY: WE HAVE SO MANY SHOWS COMING THROUGH MASSACHUSETTS AND SO MUCH PRODUCTION WITHIN MASSACHUSETTS, BUT WE COULD DO EVEN MORE TO SUPPORT LIVE THEATER IN THE STATE.

AGAIN, THIS IS A SPACE THAT IS SO HARDHEADED DURING THE PANDEMIC SO MY VIEW WAS, LET'’S FIND WAYS TO SUPPORT LIVE THEATER THROUGHOUT MASSACHUSETTS.

MANY OF THESE ARE SMALL BUSINESSES, RIGHT?

WE HAVE ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE, $78 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT THIS SPECIAL TARGETED TAX CREDIT FOR THOSE DOING LIVE THEATER.

JARED: I TALKED TO ARTISTS ALL THE TIME, AND THERE ARE A MYRIAD OF ISSUES THEY ARE FACING FROM LOST REVENUE TO LACK OF REHEARSAL SPACE, LACK OF STUDIO SPACE, WHAT HAVE YOU IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL AREAS OF NEED IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW?

GOV.

HEALEY: I THINK HOUSING HAS TO BE FAR AND AWAY THE TOP ISSUE.

I WAS IN EAST SOMERVILLE THE OTHER DAY AND THERE IS A WONDERFUL POTTERY GALLERY THERE.

POTTERS WORKING AND THEY DO ALL SORTS OF TRAINING.

THEY HAVE SCHOOLKIDS IN AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN TAKE CLASSES.

AND THERE IS ALSO STUDIO SPACE.

I WAS TALKING TO A NUMBER OF THE ARTISTS THERE AND TO A PERSON, THEY ALL TALK ABOUT THE HIGH COST OF HOUSING.

RENTS HAVE GONE UP.

HOUSING PRICES HAVE GONE UP.

ONE OF THE TOP GOALS OF OUR ADMINISTRATION IS TO INCREASE HOUSING PRODUCTION AROUND THE STATE, BECAUSE WHETHER YOU ARE IN THE BERKSHIRES OR THE CAPE AND ISLANDS, OR IN SUSSEX COUNTY, ACROSS THE STATE, WE NEED TO FIND WAYS TO INCREASE HOUSING PRODUCTION AND LOWER COSTS AND MAKE HOUSING MORE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE.

THAT IS REALLY I THINK A TOP PRIORITY RIGHT NOW.

JARED: THE ARTS AS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE -- WHAT HAS KIND OF BEFUDDLED ME AND MADE ME CROSS OUR TIMES IS THE FACT THAT PEOPLE DON'’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE.

ARTS BRINGS.

.

PRE-PANDEMIC IT WAS 2.5 -- DON'’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ARTS BRINGS.

PRE-PANDEMIC IT WAS 2.2 BILLION DOLLARS, THOUSANDS OF JOBS.

HOW DO YOU SEE THAT AS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE, THE ARTS AS A WHOLE?

GOV.

HEALEY: HAS SEEN GREAT SHOWS LATELY.

"HAMILTON" AGAIN.

"INTO THE WOODS" WAS IN TOWN AS WELL.

I LOOK AT THE ARTS AND WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND OUR STATE, AND THEY TRULY ARE SO ESSENTIAL.

THINK ABOUT THE JOBS CREATED.

THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO INVEST MORE.

OUR STATE ACTUALLY LAGS BEHIND OTHERS AND IT COMES TO INVESTMENT IN ARTS.

THIS IS A SPACE THAT IS A 2 BILLION-DOLLAR CONTRIBUTOR TO OUR ECONOMY, $128 MILLION IN REVENUE EVERY YEAR ALONE.

WE COULD BE DOING EVEN MORE.

.

PART OF WHAT WE HAVE PROPOSED IN THE BUDGET AND IN OUR TAX RELIEF PACKAGE ON WAYS TO REALLY MAKE THAT INVESTMENT -- RELIEF PACKAGE, ARE WAYS TO REALLY MAKE THAT INVESTMENT IN ARTS.

WE HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT A LOT EVEN IN THE STATEHOUSE.

WHO HAS NOT BEEN REFLECTED, WHO HAS NOT BEEN UPLIFTED IN THE ARTS?

>> IN THIS MOMENT, I THINK THERE IS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR GREATER REPRESENTATION.

WE ARE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION GENERALLY.

BUT I THINK WITHIN THE ARTS, ONE OF THE THINGS I AM LOOKING TO DO AS GOVERNOR IS TO UPLIFT AND AMPLIFY VOICES, FACES, STORIES, ARTISTS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN AS WIDELY PROFILED.

AND I AM HOPING TO EVEN BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THAT WITHIN THE STATEHOUSE.

JARED: TO SEE THEIR WORK?

IN WHAT WAY?

GOV.

HEALEY: THEIR WORK ON VIEW.

HAVING GREATER DIVERSITY OF ARTIST REPRESENTATION IN OUR PUBLIC BUILDINGS, IN OUR PUBLIC SPACES, RIGHT?

I ALSO THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO BRING ARTISTS INTO OUR AGENCIES.

IMAGINE OUR ROADWAYS AND BRIDGES.

.

SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.

YOU THINK ABOUT THE WAYS WE CAN INCORPORATE ART INTO THAT.

A LOT OF CITIES HAVE DONE THIS.

.

THEY HAVE DONE THIS VERY WELL AND BEAUTIFULLY.

I THINK WE COULD DO THAT ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL WHEN IT COMES TO SOME OF THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE AND STATE PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

I THINK IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE REALLY COME TO APPRECIATE.

JARED: ANOTHER THREAT TO THE ARTS RIGHT NOW IS THE BROOKE BUR -- THE BOOK BANS WE ARE SEEING, THE TENNESSEE BOOK BANNED.

IT WAS CONSTANT SCHOOL WOULDN'’T ALLOW A SONG BY DOLLY PARTON AND MILEY CYRUS TO BE PERFORMED BECAUSE IT WAS TOO SUGGESTIVE OF LGBTQ ISSUES.

HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT THIS MOMENT WHERE WE ARE IN CULTURE WARS AGAIN?

GOV.

HEALEY: YEAH.

ISN'’T IT DISTRESSING?

I CAN'’T BELIEVE SOME OF THIS IS BEING RESURRECTED AGAIN.

BUT IT IS JUST WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE DYNAMICS, PARTICULARLY THE POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY OF SOME OF THIS.

RIGHT?

>> THE PERPETRATION OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF BIGOTRY, HOMOPHOBIA AND RACISM, IN THE GUISE OF EITHER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OR SO-CALLED PARENTAL RATES, WHAT HAVE YOU.

MY VIEW IS, THE WAY TO FIGHT BACK IS DOUBLE DOWN ON THOSE INVESTMENTS.

MASSACHUSETTS IS HOME TO THE FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY.

EDUCATION IS ENSHRINED IN OUR CONSTITUTION.

WE ARE ALSO HOME TO THE FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY.

AND I AM PROUD THAT IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET WE MADE INVESTMENTS IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.

IT'’S MY RESPONSE.

WE BELIEVE IN BOOKS AND WE BELIEVE CHILDREN SHOULD BE EXPOSED TO A DIVERSITY OF BOOKS FOR EXAMPLE.

WE STAND UP FOR THOSE IN PERFORMANCE ARTS, WE STAND UP AND STAND BEHIND THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY IN MASSACHUSETTS.

JARED: MOVING TO HARVARD FOR A MOMENT, YOU ARE A HARVARD ALUM, OF COURSE, ALSO ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LEAD THE CHARGE AS ATTORNEY GENERAL AGAINST THE SACKLERS, OF COURSE, FOR THEIR ROLE IN THE PROLIFERATION OF OXYCONTIN IN THIS COUNTRY.

THE SACKLER NAME IS STILL ON THE HARVARD ART MUSEUM.

SHOULD IT COME DOWN?

GOV.

HEALEY: I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT TAKEN DOWN, ABSOLUTELY.

I HAVE HAD A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THE SACKLERS AND THE DEVASTATION THEY CAUSED TO SO MANY FAMILIES AROUND MASSACHUSETTS AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IT IS MY VIEW THAT THEIR NAME HAS NO PLACE ON ANY BUILDING OF SIGNIFICANCE ANYWHERE.

OF COURSE, THAT IS SOMETHING FOR INDIVIDUAL UNIVERSITIES TO ADDRESS.

JARED: THE CURRENT PRESIDENT -- OF COURSE HE IS ON HIS WAY OUT -- BUT HE HAS SAID IT IS INAPPROPRIATE TO TAKE IT DOWN, ASU BECAUSE OF CONTRACTUAL NEGOTIATIONS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

BUT IS THERE ANY JUSTIFICATION AT THIS POINT FOR AN INSTITUTION, UNIVERSITY, MEDICAL CENTER TO KEEP THAT NAME UP?

GOV.

HEALEY: THERE MAY BE LEGAL REASONS, AND I AM NOT PRIVY TO ALL OF THE CONTRACTS.

I JUST LOOK AT ALL OF THIS AS BLOOD MONEY.

I THINK IT'’S A SHAME WHEN NAMES LIKE THAT ARE ASCRIBED TO BUILDINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPORTANCE JUST AS A GENERAL MATTER.

JARED: GOVERNOR HEALEY, IT'’S A GREAT JOY TO TALK ABOUT ART WITH YOU AND SEE HOW YOU WILL MOVE IT FORWARD, THANK YOU.

GOV.

HEALEY: THANK YOU AND I FORWARD TO MORE CONVERSATION.

JARED: NEXT UP, IT HAS BEEN 50 YEARS SINCE THE AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR WERE FIRST BROUGHT HOME FROM THE H?A LO PRISON IN VIETNAM.

KNOWN TO PRISONERS AS THE HANOI HILTON, IT HELD HUNDREDS OF AMERICAN PRISONERS INCLUDING THE LATE SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN.

50 YEARS AGO AT THE END OF THE VIETNAM WAR, THE FIRST OF THOSE VISITORS WERE RELEASED AND FLOWN HOME TO THE UNITED STATES.

SOME 600 AMERICAN POWS LATER DESCRIBE THE EXTREME TORTURE, ISOLATION, AND STARVATION THEY ENDURED THE THERE.

>> THEY BLINDFOLDED ME AND GUIDE ME, PUT ME ON A TRUCK AND TOOK ME INTO THE HANOI HILTON TO BEGIN SIX YEARS.

I AM PUT IN THE CELL, I HAVE NOT SEEN ANOTHER SOUL AND I AM LEFT BY MYSELF.

AND IT WAS THE WORST PERIOD IN MY LIFE, INCLUDING THE TORTURE.

I WANTED TO DIE.

THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT, I WAS -- EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM ME.

JARED: THEIR CAPTURE, IMPRISONMENT AND EVENTUAL RELEASE, IS THE FOCUS OF THE NEW EXHIBITION AT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM.

FEATURING AN ORIGINAL SOW SHIPPED FROM VIETNAM FIRST-HAND , ACCOUNTS FROM SOLDIERS, AND INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS, THE EXHIBIT OFFERS A LOOK AT THE BRUTAL CONDITIONS FACED BY AMERICAN PRISONERS.

I WAS RECENTLY JOINED BY ROB COLLINGS, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I JUST OUTLINED IN THE BROADEST SENSE -- WE WILL TALK ABOUT WHY IT WAS CALLED THE HANOI HILTON, WHAT IT WAS LIKE, BUT WHAT WAS THE ESSENCE OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING THERE?

GOV.

HEALEY: THE HANOI HILTON WAS A PRESENT THAT WENT BACK TO THE LATE 1800S, A FRENCH COLONIAL PRISON, AND A LOT OF THE AIRMEN WERE SOLDIERS -- THE AIRMEN AND SOLDIERS WERE HELD THERE.

THEY ENDURED SOME OF THE MOST BRUTAL, PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE.

THEY WOULD BE IN ISOLATION, IN MANY CASES, FOR THREE OR FOUR YEARS BEFORE THEY SAW ANYONE ELSE.

IT IS AN AMAZING STORY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT, HOW THEY SURVIVED THIS.

THEY REALLY CAME TOGETHER AND PULLED ONE ANOTHER UP WHEN THEY HAD THESE AWFUL DAYS.

JARED: I TOURED THIS WITH YOU RECENTLY, AND THE EXPERIENCE, I FELT THAT I HAD THERE, WAS INCREDIBLE.

LIKE ANY MUSEUM EXPERIENCE WHERE YOU CAN HAVE FIRST-HAND CONTACT WITH SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY EXISTED THAT I THINK MANY OF US PICTURE FROM THE JOHN MCCAIN PICTURES, ACTUALLY KNOWING WHERE HE SUFFERED -- WHAT IS THE EXPERIENCE YOU EXPECT VISITORS WILL HAVE WHEN THEY COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH AN ACTUAL PRISON CELL?

GOV.

HEALEY: EVERYONE KNOWS THE POW MIA FLAG.

IT'’S UBIQUITOUS.

IT'’S EVERYWHERE.

BUT WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

WHAT THEY GO THROUGH.

TO GO INSIDE ONE OF THOSE CELLS AND STAND ON THE CONCRETE WHERE THEY WERE STANDING, THESE CONCRETE BED SLABS WITH SHACKLES THAT THEIR LEGS WOULD BE SHACKLED TO, IT BRINGS A WHOLE NEW UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE.

IT IS STILL MIND-BOGGLING TO ME, GOING IN THERE DAY AFTER DAY, THAT THEY COULD HAVE ENDURED THAT.

JARED: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS SO IMPACTFUL TO ME, WE SAW ONE OF THE ACCOUNTS FROM YOUR MUSEUM, THE INTERVIEWS WITH SURVIVING.

W IS ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE.

ONCE YOU ARE HEARING ABOUT THE BRUTALITY THAT THEY ENDURED AS YOU ARE LOOKING AT THIS PRESENT, IT'’S NEARLY INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

BUT YOU HAVE WORKED WITH THE SURVIVING POWS FOR THIS EXHIBITION.

HOW DID YOU WORK WITH THEM?

>> HOW DID THEY SHARE?

>> I IMAGINE THIS IS SOMETHING THEY DON'’T PARTICULAR YOU WANT TO REMEMBER.

ROB: THE POWS WE WERE WORKING WITH ARE AN AMAZING GROUP OF GENTLEMEN.

WHAT THEY WANT THROUGH, HOW NORMAL THEY ARE TODAY.

>>, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT TORTURE AND ABUSE THEY WENT THROUGH, PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY THEY ARE SO AMAZING.

BUT WE NEEDED THEM FOR MULTIPLE REASONS.

ONE IS THAT THERE ARE NO PHOTOS OF WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE.

THE VIETNAMESE DID NOT TAKE ANY PICTURES OF WHAT THE TORTURE ROOM LOOKS LIKE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, YOU HAD TO GO BACK AND GET THOSE ACCOUNTS FROM THEM.

ONE OF THOSE GENTLEMEN, MARK MCGRATH, BUT HE HAS A REMARKABLE MEMORY SO WHEN HE CAME HOME, HE WAS SKETCHING EVERYTHING, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

THOSE ARE YOUR FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS, REALLY, OF WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE.

THAT WAS PART OF IT, FOR THIS RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CELLS, BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN DECONSTRUCTED.

THEY CAME TO US AS PALLETS OF BRICKS AND CONCRETE SLABS AND SO FORTH AND THEY HAD TO BE PUT TOGETHER AGAIN.

BUT THEN IT IS THAT HUMAN STORY, THE ESSENCE OF WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH.

TO HAVE THEM ON FILM PROJECTED IN THESE CELLS, TELLING THE STORY OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE MAKES IT EXCEPTIONALLY REAL FOR PEOPLE WHEN THEY GO THROUGH.

JARED: HOW DID THEY SURVIVE?

SOME OF THESE MEN WERE THERE UP TO SEVEN YEARS.

IT'’S NOT JUST MEN, IN SOME CASES THERE WERE WOMEN AS WELL.

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.

NO ACCESS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, NOT SUPPOSED TO EVEN BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER PRISONERS.

HOW DID THEY SURVIVE?

ROB: IT'’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK THEY SURVIVED, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE ISOLATION.

THE FIRST AIRMAN SHOT DOWN AS A POW WAS THERE IN 1964.

IT IS A LONELY THOUGHT, TO BE IN A PRISON CELL IN SOLITARY, AND WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE -- I CAN'’T BEGIN TO IMAGINE.

THEN THERE WAS A SECOND.

A THIRD.

THEY GAVE ME IN.

SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THEY ESTABLISHED THIS TAP CODE.

IT WAS ARRANGING THE ALPHABET IN A FIVE BY FIVE.

THEY WOULD BE TAPPING TO ONE ANOTHER MESSAGES.

NOW, GETTING CAUGHT DOING THAT MEANT YOU WOULD GO INTO THE SHACKLES, AND IN SOME CASES, FOR MONTHS ON END.

AND I DON'’T MEAN AT NIGHTTIME, THEY WOULD BE IN LEG SHACKLES FOR MONTHS ON A CONCRETE SLAB.

BUT IT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE.

LIKE WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW.

CAN YOU IMAGINE THREE OR FOUR YEARS WITHOUT COMMUNICATING WITH ANOTHER HUMAN BEING?

EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST TAPPING THROUGH A WALL AND YOU ARE ABLE TO LET THEM KNOW ON THE OTHER SIDE THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE -- THAT WAS AMAZING.

NOW, LATER IN THE WAR, AFTER ABOUT 1970, THEY WERE PUTTING A LOT OF PRISONERS TOGETHER FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.

THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR THEM.

YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THE LITTLE CELL AND IT WAS CROWDED AND THERE WERE FOUR GUYS IN, THERE BUT THAT WAS FOUR GUYS WHERE YOU COULD START TO SUCK INFORMATION OUT OF THEIR HEADS.

THEY CALLED IT HANOI UNIVERSITY.

YOU MIGHT SPEAK GERMAN, I MIGHT SPEAK SPANISH, WE WILL TEACH YOU ANOTHER LANGUAGE.

JARED: IT'’S SOMETHING TO DO.

ROB: KEEP YOUR MIND OCCUPIED, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST THING.

KEEPING YOUR MIND OCCUPIED.

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS IMAGINABLE.

YOUR MIND JUST STARTS RUNNING AWAY ALL THE TIME.

JARED: HE ALSO ILLUSTRATED IN THIS EXHIBITION, THE TERROR THAT THEY HAD.

THEY WOULD HEAR THE KEYS JANGLING AND THEY KNEW THAT MEANT THEY WOULD BE PULLED OUT OF THE CELL AND TORTURED.

WE KNOW THAT JOHN MCCAIN COULD NEVER LIFT HIS ARM ABOVE A CERTAIN LEVEL BECAUSE THEIR ARMS WERE PULLED OUT OF THEIR SOCKETS.

AND YET, GOING BACK TO THE HANOI HILTON, THERE WAS A SENSE OF HUMOR THEY HAD.

IT WAS THEIR TITLE, THE HANOI HILTON, IN THE MIDST OF THIS TRAUMA.

ROB: THE NAME HANOI HILTON CAME WITH A SECOND PRISONER.

AND HE JUST WROTE IT IN A LITTLE TINY PIECE OF TOILET PAPER, THAT WAS THEIR PAPER IF THEY WERE LUCKY TO HAVE ANY.

HE WROTE DOWN A MESSAGE WHAT HE SAW THIS THIRD AIRMAN LOOKING THROUGH A HOLE.

"WELCOME TO THE HANOI HILTON."

IT WAS A SENSE OF HUMOR.

IT WAS JOKING.

HUMOR WAS IMPORTANT TO THEM.

THEY ALL BROKE, AT SOME POINT.

THEY WENT PAST THE CODE OF CONDUCT -- NAME, RANK, SERIAL NUMBER.

BUT THEY WOULD HAVE THESE STORIES.

BECAUSE THE VIETNAMESE COULDN'’T BELIEVE, LIKE, AN F4 PHANTOM COULD FLY OFF AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER.

IT NEEDS A THOUSAND FOOT RUNWAY.

AND THEY WOULD SAY, WE HAVE A LOT OF SHIPS, WE LINE THEM UP IN A ROW.

THEY MAKE 5000 FEET.

THEY WOULD DO ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT FOR THEM, WHERE THEY WENT BACK TO THEIR CELL, IT BROUGHT THEM A SENSE OF JOY ALMOST, THAT THEY WERE HAVING THESE JOKES THAT THEY COULD HAVE.

JARED: FOR THE OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION RECENTLY, YOU HAD A NUMBER OF POWS THERE.

WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

ROB: THAT WAS AN AMAZING DAY TO HAVE 19 OF THOSE POWS AT THAT EXHIBIT, AND TO HAVE THEM ON STAGE AND TO HEAR THEIR STORIES.

AND IT WASN'’T WHAT YOU WOULD THINK.

IT WAS NOT THE GLOR GORY STORIES OF WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH WITH AS YOU SAID, DISLOCATING SHOULDERS WAS A POPULAR THING FOR THE VIETNAMESE TO DO FOR TORTURING.

BUT IT WAS THE STORIES OF RESILIENCE.

IT WAS A STORY WE COULD ALL RELATE TO.

WE HAVE ALL HAD DIFFICULT DAYS, AND THEY HAD REALLY DIFFICULT DAYS, BUT THEY WERE THERE FOR ONE ANOTHER.

HOW THEY CAME TOGETHER AND BROUGHT ONE ANOTHER BACKUP WHEN THEY WERE AT THEIR LOWEST POINT, THAT WAS INSPIRATION FOR ME.

JARED: AS MENTIONED, WE ARE NOW IN THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CYCLE OF WHEN THE POWS STARTED COMING FIRST HOME.

WHAT WAS THEIR EXPERIENCE LIKE?

BECAUSE I THINK WE RECALL THE EXPERIENCE WERE A LOT OF VIETNAM VETERANS, THEY WERE COMING BACK TO A COUNTRY THAT WAS VERY HOSTILE TO THEM FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE WAR.

ROB: SO WE HAVE THESE POWS RETURNING TO THE U.S., TO A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE THAN WHAT THEY LEFT.

THEY MISSED OUT ON A LOT OF WHAT WENT ON.

YOU KNOW, THE FIRST GUY WAS SHUT DOWN, THE BEATLES HADN'’T COME TO THE U.S. BY THE TIME HE CAME OUT, THE BAND HAD BROKEN UP.

A MAN HAD WALKED ON THE MOON.

MLK HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED.

THE EVENTS THAT DEFINE THE PERIOD.

BUT THEY DID HAVE SOMETHING.

THEY HAD A LOT OF RESOURCES EXPENDED ON THEM FOR THEIR PHYSICAL CONDITION, FOR THEIR MENTAL CONDITION, AND ALSO, THEY WERE CELEBRITIES WHEN THEY CAME BACK.

THEY CAME BACK TO MORE OF A HERO'’S WELCOME.

THEY HAD A DINNER AT THE WHITE HOUSE WITH JOHN WAYNE AND ALL OF THESE PEOPLE.

AND TO A DEGREE SURVIVOR'’S , THEY FELT A SURVIVOR'’S GUILT.

THEY SAID, WE CAME HOME TO THIS, TO A WHITE HOUSE DINNER, YET EVERYONE ELSE CAME HOME TO GETTING SPIT ON AT THE AIRPORT.

AND THOSE GUYS LOST LEGS AND ARMS.

SO IT IS AMAZING HOW SOMEONE WHO COULD GO THROUGH SUCH A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE STILL FEELS SURVIVOR'’S GUILT.

JARED: I HAVE TO QUICKLY ASK, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT SHOOTING DOWN THESE UFOS.

IT'’S A PHENOMENON THAT SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING NOW.

BUT IT'’S NOT A NEW ONE, AS YOU POINTED OUT TO ME WHEN I WAS AT YOUR MUSEUM.

WHEN DID THIS START, AS YOU CAN PROVE?

ROB: BALLOONS FOR OBSERVATION GO BACK TO THE CIVIL WAR.

AND IN WORLD WAR I, THEY WERE A MAINSTAY OF OBSERVATION BEHIND ENEMY LINES, LOOKING AT WHAT WAS THE OTHER SIDE DOING?

>> MOVING MATERIALS AND TROOPS TO THE FRONT?

WE HAVE A WORLD WAR I AIRCRAFT, ACTUALLY AMERICA'’S FIRST FIGHTER PLANE, A FRENCH BUILT AIRCRAFT , AND THOSE WERE PREDOMINANTLY USED FOR SHOOTING DOWN OTHER AIRCRAFT, BUT BALLOONS WERE A BIG PART OF THAT, AND A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TARGET.

BECAUSE BALLOONS WERE TETHERED AND HAD LARGE ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS.

NOW WE HAVE F-22'’S SHOOTING DOWN BALLOONS, WHICH IS A MUCH EASIER PROSPECT.

BUT 110 YEARS ON, THINGS ARE BACK TO THE SAME.

JARED: YOURS IS STAYING PUT, THOUGH, IT HASN'’T BEEN CONSCRIPTED YET.

ROB: NO, IT HAS NOT BEEN SCRIPTED YET.

JARED: THE EXHIBITION HAS STAYED WITH ME FOR THE DAYS SINCE I SAW IT ABOUT THE HANOI HILTON.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

ROB: MY PLEASURE, THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

JARED: THAT IS ALL FOR TONIGHT.

WE WILL BE BACK TOMORROW.

I AM JARED BOWEN.

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

♪ ♪ >> ♪ IT'’S THE GREAT STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS ♪ >> YOU KNOW THIS SONG, RIGHT?

OF COURSE YOU DON'’T.

NOBODY DOES!

AND YET IT'’S AN OFFICIAL STATE SONG OF MASSACHUSETTS.

NOW, THAT'’S AN OFFICIAL, NOT THE OFFICIAL, BECAUSE MASSACHUSETTS HAS SEVEN DIFFERENT STATE SONGS.

NOW, THAT MIGHT SOUND LIKE A LOT OF SONGS FOR JUST ONE SMALL STATE, AND YET THEY DON'’T REALLY COME ANYWHERE CLOSE TO CAPTURING THE TRUE FULL MUSICAL LEGACY OF THE GREAT STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.

>> ♪ HEAR THE ROCKET'’S FIRST SHOT UPWARD?

>> DO THEY REPRESENT WHO WE ARE?

DO THEY REPRESENT THE BEST OF WHO WE ASPIRE TO BE?

AND I THINK THAT THAT'’S WHAT ANYTHING THAT IS LABELED AS A STATE "“ANYTHING"” SHOULD BE.

>> ♪ PACE SETTER FOR THE REST.

THE BAYSTATE.

♪ >> LET'’S HEAR WHAT WE GOT.

FIRST UP IS THE ORIGINAL, "“ALL HAIL TO MASSACHUSETTS.

"” IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE 1950S BY A WELLESLEY MUSIC TEACHER AND BECAME THE BAY STATE'’S FIRST OFFICIAL SONG IN THE 1960S.

>> ♪ ALL HAIL TO MASSACHUSETTS.

♪ >> SOUNDS PRETTY PATRIOTIC, BUT IT'’S NOT THE OFFICIAL PATRIOTIC SONG OF THE COMMONWEALTH.

LOCAL BUSINESSMAN AND SHOWMAN AT HEART, BERNARD DAVIDSON, WROTE THE PATRIOTIC SONG IN THE MID-1980S AND CAMPAIGNED TIRELESSLY TO GET IT OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE.

HIS DREAM CAME TRUE IN 1989.

MASSACHUSETTS ALSO HAS AN OFFICIAL ODE.

♪ THIS ONE IS BY JOSEPH "“ONE-MAN BAND"” FALZONE.

A LONG TIME SUFFOLK DOWNS EMPLOYEE WHO MOONLIGHTED AS A MUSICIAN AND COMEDIAN.

THIS SONG GOT THE OFFICIAL NOD FROM THE STATE IN THE YEAR 2000.

RATHER HAVE AN INTIMATE ACOUSTIC SESSION BRIMMING WITH STATE PRIDE?

AH!

THERE IS A STATE FOLK SONG FOR YOU.

>> ♪ BURNING BRIGHT IN MASSACHUSETTS ♪ >> NOW, IF DANCING IS MORE YOUR THING, YOU COULD STOMP IN STRIDE TO THE STATE CEREMONIAL MARCH.

OR YOU COULD CUT LOOSE WITH SOME TRIPLE STEPS AND PROMENADES TO THE OFFICIAL STATE POLKA.

♪ AND THEN THERE IS THE STATE GLEE CLUB SONG, WRITTEN HASTILY BY A WORCESTER PERMUTATI POLITICIAN AND HIS MUSICIAN PAL, AS A THEME SONG OF SORTS FOR THE 1960 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE JOHN F. KENNEDY.

NOW, AS BEST AS WE CAN TELL, THIS SONG HAS NEVER BEEN RECORDED.

BUT WE FOUND A COPY OF SHEET MUSIC IN THE STATE LIBRARY.

AND WE ASKED AWARD-WINNING A CAPELLA GROUP THE EIGHT TRACKS TO BRING IT TO LIFE FOR US.

>> ♪ THE GREAT STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, HOMELAND FOR YOU AND ME, ♪ >> SORRY, CAN WE JUST -- ISN'’T JUST ME OR DOES IT FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IS MISSING HERE?

I MEAN, WHERE ARE THE ARTISTS OF COLOR?

WHERE ARE THE WOMEN COMPOSERS?

NO HIP-HOP.

NO JAZZ.

NO R&B.

>> SO THE NOTION OF A SONG THAT REPRESENTS "“WE"” IS IRONIC IN A SEASON WHEN WE'’RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT "“WHAT DOES "WE" MEAN?

"” >> SO I ASKED PRICE IF THERE WAS A SONG THAT HE WOULD ADD TO THE ROSTER, AND HE SUGGESTED THAT MASSACHUSETTS DO SOMETHING TRULY UNIQUE -- ADOPT AN OFFICIAL STATE PLAYLIST.

>> THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY, THAT WE ARE NOT PRIVILEGING ONE SOUND OVER ANOTHER, WE ARE NOT PRIVILEGING ONE CULTURE OVER ANOTHER.

I WANT TO HEAR US IN ALL OF OUR GRANDEUR.

I WANT TO HEAR IT ALL!

>> ♪ THE GREAT STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, OF THE FIFTY IT'S THE BEST!

♪ OR AT LEAST