White House Boys Guestbook for Comments

URGENT!  Anyone who attended Okeechobee School for Boys in the 1950s or 1960s, PLEASE CONTACT JERRY COOPER URGENTLY!  We need your name, date of birth, approximate time you were at Okeechobee URGENTLY.  There is presently an investigation to find those records, so you must send your info immediately.  Either call Jerry at 239-994-1280 or email him HERE with your information!
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An Essay by White House Boy, Mike Sapp, about being a Survivor:

Make Being A Survivor Mean Something To Those Around You

Don't Let It Go To Waste

According to the dictionary a survivor is “a person who lives through an event in which others died”. That definition certainly is appropriate for the White House Boys. Some boys saw death, and watched children -- young, skinny kids – wore down to the bone with hard work and slave-type labor. They would slowly wane away to nothing but skin and bones – and then some just disappeared. We've seen the pictures – little boys – mostly looking scared to death.. They were not near old enough or big enough to physically take the beatings administered by large, grown adult men.

Why are there so many of us? Usually there's only a handful of survivors left to struggle through the painful memories of living a nightmare on any given night. Not one single night goes by that grown men don't cry as they remember the fear that accompanied their sleep.

So why are there so many survivors of our particular cause? Is it because we earned extra credit for surviving such a life-altering event?

Why so many? Over 500 little boys shed the same tears, and live the same fears for oh, so many years? Why us? And why did You, Father God, keep each of us alive? Why me Lord? What have I ever done? To deserve even one of the pleasures you've shown?

What is there still left for each of us to do? We're old and most grateful just to be alive! Physically, we are exactly where you want us. Some are better off still, others quiet. But we are indeed giving You the glory for all the success we have had. Especially for life itself. As we assemble ourselves at the foot of mercy, we lift Your Name high above all names.

Yet many of us are still blind and we beseech You to remove the scales of blindness so all may see the foot of the Cross and meet Jesus on a personal level. Lead us, oh Lord, through the power of Your Holy Spirit as we travel this road we are on – the Road to Justice against child abuse. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

You said that those who hurt the little children would be better off if a millstone was tied around their neck and them be dropped into the deepest sea*. We, as survivors, claim that promise today Lord. We forgive them, to the best of our ability, but still believe they must pay the penalty. Have mercy on them Father. We pray for our enemies at Dozier Boys School -- those who mistreated us, those who beat us and those who watched and did nothing. Living with that is punishment enough... until Judgment Day.

Look how far we have come. From a nobody group of old and tired men to being world renown. We have made TV, radio and major newspapers all around the world. And, as our accounts of old are proven true through modern day technology, the gravity of the situation is finally being recognized as accurate and true. Nobody believed something this terrible could happen a stone's throw away from our State Capitol. They could hear the screams from there.

Today we are extremely grateful to still be alive, able to hug and kiss our families, friends and WHB brothers. To still be in the fight for justice and truth – just the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We will be completely satisfied when all the truth is finally revealed. Will we be here? Maybe, maybe not?

So, we must continue to do our part, however little it may be, and keep the ultimate goal in the foremost of our mind. We do it so this type of poison can be erased from human life.

We must continue to stand up strong and brave, and always vigilant against the intrusion of those who seek to harm our little ones. Cradle them when they're babies. Cuddle them when they want to wiggle.

And always remember how precious they are. And, how dependent upon you for their everything. Be tender, patient, long-suffering, and always quick to forgive and forget. Children need love, guidance and protection. Always remember how the mistreatment of little children will be judged one day.

Never forget what you survived, but let it go and try to make the best out of what you have now. You are alive and mostly well. Some do better then others, but accept your lot. Spend more time being thankful, because some are worse off. Spend your latter years trying to “Live As If It Never Happened”, while you try to help somebody along the way.

That's the message here today. Help somebody along the way. It doesn't have to be a big deal -- little things mean so much. Help a WHB or a neighbor with a problem. Pay for a mother's groceries at the supermarket. Give back without expecting anything in return. Make being a survivor mean something to those around you.

Don't let it go to waste. Share even if you only have love, then share your love! Share your compassion! Open your heart to the joy of being a survivor who cares. There are many survivors in our organization, but we are looking for survivors who care. Who cares enough to join us in our search for justice. The key word “join” means: help us, get involved, do something to promote our plight to the world.

Be a doer and not just a survivor. Be more than a survivor. Be a survivor who cares enough to put forth some effort helping others, especially children, along the way.

*Matthew 18:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁶ but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,^[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.