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Albert R., Navy, San Diego, captured Spring 1972. tured March 1966. US Prisoners of War who returned alive from the Vietnam War Sorted by Name Military Service Country of Incident Name Date of Incident Date of Rank Return USAF N. Vietnam BEENS, LYNN RICHARD O3 1972/12/21 1973/03/29 USN N. Vietnam BELL, JAMES FRANKLIN O4 1965/10/16 1973/02/12 CIVILIAN S. Vietnam BENGE, MICHAEL 1968/01/28 1973/03/05 Douglas Brent Hegdahl III (born September 3, 1946) is a former United States Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class (E-5) who was held as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The ropes were tightened to the point that you couldnt breathe. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. But you first must take physical torture. John B Navy, Lemoore, Calif. METZGER, Lieut. Meanwhile, Paul was taken prisoner, tortured, placed in solitary confinement in what became known as the "Hanoi Hilton" and fed a diet that was later determined to be about 700 calories a day, which caused him to drop to about 100 pounds. Its easy to die but hard to live, a prison guard told one new arrival, and well show you just how hard it is to live.. "[19], The North Vietnamese occasionally released prisoners for propaganda or other purposes. Thomas R., Navy, not named in previous lists. Leslie H. Sabo, Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and a USAF Command Pilot. [10] The prison complex was sarcastically nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by the American POWs, in reference to the well-known Hilton Hotel chain. HALYBURTON, Lieut. Some of the repatriated soldiers, including Borling and John McCain, did not retire from the military, but instead decided to further their careers in the armed forces.[6]. SEHORN, Capt. BRADY, Capt. [We realize], over time, that we all fall short of what we aspire to be. Only one room in the back is dedicated to American POWs, though it doesnt make any reference to torture there are even videos detailing the kind treatment of the prisoners alongside photos of Americans playing sports on the prison grounds. The agreement also postulated for the release of nearly 600 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam and its allies within 60 days of the withdrawal of U.S. Col. Harlan P., Marines, Fremont, Calif. HELLE, Sgt. Jeremiah A. Jr., Navy, Virginia Beach, Va. and Mobile, Ala., captured December 1965. [29] The old-time POWs cheered even more during the intense "Christmas Bombing" campaign of December 1972,[29][30] when Hanoi was subjected for the first time to repeated B-52 Stratofortress raids. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama. The Hanoi Hilton is the nickname that American prisoners gave the Ha L Prison. Paul Gordon, Marines, Newton, Mass. list of hanoi hilton prisoners - suaziz.com American prisoners of war endured miserable conditions and were tortured until they were forced to make an anti-American statement. Ron Storz. Also, a badly beaten and weakened POW who had been released that summer disclosed to the world press the conditions to which they were being subjected,[14] and the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia heightened awareness of the POWs' plight. "Vietnam War Accounting History". During his time at the Hanoi Hilton, McCains hair turned completely white. If you have not read Bill Gately on LinkedIn: The Hanoi Hilton POW Exhibit at the American Heritage Museum Finally, they set him in a full-body cast, then cut the ligaments and cartilage from his knee. He became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. Day's actions from 26 August 1967 through 14 March 1973 were the last to earn the Medal of Honor prior to the end of U.S. involvement in the war on 30 April 1975, though some honorees (e.g. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. Rodney A., Navy, Billings, Mont. William Kerr, Marines, not named in previous public lists. Who was the most famous prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton? Beginning in late 1965, the application of torture against U.S. prisoners became severe. [16], Operation Homecoming's return of American POWs from Vietnam (aka "Egress Recap") was the subject of David O. Strickland's novel, "The First Man Off The Plane" (Penny-a-Page Press, 2012). The Hanoi Hilton is a 1987 Vietnam War film which focuses on the experiences of American prisoners of war who were held in the infamous Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi during the 1960s and 1970s and the story is told from their perspectives. : A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-of-War Experience in Vietnam, 19641973 (published 1976) and Stuart Rochester and Frederick Kiley's Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 19611973 (published 1999). Kenneth H., Navy, home town unknown, captured. He was transferred to a medical facility and woke up in a room filthy with mosquitoes and rats. While the raid failed to free any POWs and was considered a significant intelligence failure, it had several positive implications for American prisoners. If you get note, scratch balls as you are coming back.. James Stockdale, fearing that he might reveal details of the Gulf of Tonkin incident if tortured, attempted suicide, but survived; he never revealed this information to the enemy. David J Navy, San Diego, Calif. RUSSELL, Comdr, Kay, Navy, San Diego, captured in May, 1967. On a scrap of toilet paper that he hid in the wall by the toilets, he wrote, Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton. [4] During the first six years in which U.S. prisoners were held in North Vietnam, many experienced long periods of solitary confinement, with senior leaders and particularly recalcitrant POWs being isolated to prevent communication. [citation needed] Mistreatment of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese prisoners and South Vietnamese dissidents in South Vietnam's prisons was indeed frequent, as was North Vietnamese abuse of South Vietnamese prisoners and their own dissidents. Individuals are permitted to take their own photographs or videos while touring the museum. [11][13] The goal of the North Vietnamese was to get written or recorded statements from the prisoners that criticized U.S. conduct of the war and praised how the North Vietnamese treated them. Col. Arthur T., Marines, Lake Lure, N. C., cap. Built in the late 19th century, Ha L originally held up to 600 Vietnamese prisoners. American POW soldiers line up at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. [9][11][12] The aim of the torture was usually not acquiring military information. LERSETH, Lieut. and Indiana Governor, Dies at 74", "Vietnam: The Betrayal of A Revolution; Victims of Discredited Doctrine, My People Now Look to America", "American Experience: Return With Honor: Online Forum", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=U.S._prisoners_of_war_during_the_Vietnam_War&oldid=1140276278, Vietnam War crimes committed by North Vietnam, Articles with dead external links from March 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Borling, John: Taps on the Walls; Poems from the Hanoi Hilton (2013) Master Wings Publishing Pritzker Military Library, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 09:35. Over nearly a decade, as the U.S. fought the North Vietnamese on land, air, and sea, more than 700 American prisoners of war were held captive by enemy forces. Unaccounted-For: This report includes the U.S. personnel who are still unaccounted for. PDF US Prisoners of War who returned alive from the Vietnam War - DPAA Prisoners were variously isolated, starved, beaten, tortured, and paraded in anti-American propaganda. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. CRONIN, Lieut. ANGUS, Capt. en-route to Hanoi. This was one of many ways POWs figured out how to communicate. Comdr. BATLEY, Lieut. BALDOCK, Lieut. As Cmdr. Two months later, in what became known as the Hanoi March, 52 American prisoners of war were paraded through the streets of Hanoi before thousands of North Vietnamese civilians. "It's easy to die but hard to live," a prison guard told one new arrival, "and we'll show you just how hard it is to live." McCain spent five and a half years at the Hanoi Hilton, a time that he documented in his 1999 book "Faith of My Fathers." McCain was subjected to rope bindings and beatings during his time as a POW. [4] Within the prison itself, communication and ideas passed. After discussions the twenty men agreed that they should not have been the next POWs released as they estimated it should have taken another week and a half for most of their discharges and came to the conclusion that their early release would likely be used for North Vietnamese propaganda. [29], Of the 13 prisons used to incarcerate POWs, five were located in Hanoi, and the remainder were situated outside the city.[31]. [21] Many POWs speculated that Ho had been personally responsible for their mistreatment. . Vietnam War POW/MIA List - DPAA Bob Shumaker noticed a fellow inmate regularly dumping his slop bucket outside. Robert Ray, Marines, Not named in previous lists. ARCHER, Capt. Comdr. Comdr. An affecting and powerful drama about the experiences of POW's trying to survive a brutal Hanoi prison camp in the midst of the Vietnam War. It was directed by Lionel Chetwynd, and stars Michael Moriarty, Ken Wright and Paul Le Mat.Music was done by Jimmy Webb.. Allen C., Navy, Virginia Beach, Va. CHRISTIAN, Cmdr., Michael D., Na Virginia Beach, Va. COSKEY, Cmdr., Kenneth L., Navy, Virginia Beach, Ve. [5], John L. Borling, a former POW returned during Operation Homecoming, stated that once the POWs had been flown to Clark Air Base, hospitalized and debriefed, many of the doctors and psychologists were amazed by the resiliency of a majority of the men. Operation Homecoming - Wikipedia David A., Navy, St. Simons Island, Ga. GAITHER, Lieut, Comdr. The remaining 266 consisted of 138 United States Naval personnel, 77 soldiers serving in the United States Army, 26 United States Marines and 25 civilian employees of American government agencies. [19] The North Vietnamese also maintained that their prisons were no worse than prisons for POWs and political prisoners in South Vietnam, such as the one on Cn Sn Island. The deal would come to be known as Operation Homecoming and began with three C-141 transports landing in Hanoi on February 12, 1973 to bring the first released prisoners home. [13], The returning of POWs was often a mere footnote following most other wars in U.S. history, yet those returned in Operation Homecoming provided the country with an event of drama and celebration. Charles R., Navy, Miramar, Calif. HAINES, Comdr. Robinson Risner and James Stockdale, two senior officers who were the de facto leaders of the POWs, were held in solitary for three and four years, respectively. FREEAdmission & Parking, Prison locations in North Vietnam. After visiting the Ha L Prison ("Hanoi Hilton") in Vietnam just last month, it is truly awe-inspiring to see the challenges these men had to overcome. [14]:503, Many worried that Homecoming hid the fact that people were still fighting and dying on the battlefields of Vietnam and caused the public to forget about the over 50,000 American lives the war had already cost. The men followed orders, but with the stipulation that no photographs were to be taken of them. They warmed you up and threatened you with death. The lists were turned over following the formal signing of the Vietnam ceasefire agreement. 's Are Made Public by U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/28/archives/hanoi-lists-of-pows-are-made-public-by-us-2-diplomats-listed.html, Bernard Gwertzman Special to The New York Times. It turned out that when Henry Kissinger went to Hanoi after the first round of releases, the North Vietnamese gave him a list of the next 112 men scheduled to be sent home. Wikimedia CommonsThe Hanoi Hilton in 1970. The most notorious POW camp was Hoa Lo Prison, known to Americans as the "Hanoi Hilton." The name Hoa Lo refers to a potter's kiln, but loosely translated it means "hell's hole" or "fiery furnace." Hoa Lo's 20-foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. Tortured in notorious 'Hanoi Hilton,' 11 GIs were unbreakable [13] American pilots were frequently already in poor condition by the time they were captured, injured either during their ejection or in landing on the ground. It was first built in the late 1890s by Vietnam's French colonizers as a central prison (Maison Centrale) for Vietnamese criminals. Navy Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr. spent over eight years as a POW, making him the longest resident of the Hanoi Hilton and the second longest held POW in American history. The "Hanoi Hilton" and Other Prisons The most notorious POW camp was Hoa Lo Prison, known to Americans as the "Hanoi Hilton." The name Hoa Lo refers to a potter's kiln, but loosely translated it means "hell's hole" or "fiery furnace." Hoa Lo's 20-foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. [26], At the "Hanoi Hilton", POWs cheered the resumed bombing of North Vietnam starting in April 1972, whose targets included the Hanoi area. David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesAmerican POW soldiers inside their jail cell at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday at the age of 81, was tortured and held captive for five and a half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, an experience that shaped the rest of. Accounted-For: This report includes the U.S. personnel whose remains have been recovered and identified since the end of the war. Comdr. November 27, 2021. [37] Tin stated that there were "a few physical hits like a slap across the face, or threats, in order to obtain the specific confessions," and that the worst that especially resistant prisoners such as Stockdale and Jeremiah Denton encountered was being confined to small cells. He flew a combined 163 combat, The Most Influential Contemporary Americans, Every Person Who Has Hosted 'Saturday Night Live', The Best People Who Hosted SNL In The '00s. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese did the same to American soldiers. KROBOTH, First Lieut. Charles G. Boyd, USAF pilot, POW for almost 7 years, retired general; the only Vietnam-era POW to reach a four-star rank. Clarence R., Navy, not named in previous lists. And that is where forgiveness comes in. The "Hanoi Hilton" and Other Prisons > National Museum of the United McCLEARY, Lieut. - Firearms* [26] Other parts have been converted into a commercial complex retaining the original French colonial walls. Significant numbers of Americans were also captured during Operation Linebacker between May and October 1972 and Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, also known as the "Christmas Bombings". He was posthumously advanced to the rank of brigadier general effective March 27, 2018, as directed by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. ESTES, Comdr. Alfred H. Agnew, Navy, Mullins, S. C., listed as missing since being shot down on Dec. 29, 1972. Robert H. Navy Wilmington, Del., and Montclair, N. J., captured August, 1965. He was the first living recipient of the medal.Risner became an ace in the Korean War and commanded a squadron of F-105 Thunderchiefs in the first missions of Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965. Prisoners were forced to sit in their own excrement. The increased human contact further improved morale and facilitated greater military cohesion among the POWs. In the Hanoi Hilton, POWs were treated poorly, beaten and . U.S. officials saw this tape and Denton was later awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery. March 29, 1973. I had reached mine. Correspondingly, Richard Nixon and his administration began to focus on salvaging his presidency. [15], In the end, North Vietnamese torture was sufficiently brutal and prolonged that nearly every American POW so subjected made a statement of some kind at some time. The United States, in Paris, provided a list of 26,000 Communist prisoners held by South Vietnam in exchange. It was originally deliberated to hold Vietnamese . - Coolers HANOI, Vietnam Going inside the stone walls of the prison sarcastically dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton" brings a respite from the honking traffic outside until the iron shackles, dark cells and guillotine hammer home the suffering that went on there. But at the same time the bonds of friendship and love for my fellow prisoners will be the most enduring memory of my five and a half years of incarceration.. MONTAGUE, Maj. Paul J., Marines, not named in previous lists. Cmdr, David k., Navy. Edward H., Navy, Coronado, Calif: MAYHEW, Lieut. By Bernard Gwertzman Special to The New York Times. United States prisoners of war during the Vietnam War are most known for having used the tap code. During the Vietnam War, he almost died in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. BROWN, Capt. [5] Harris had remembered the code from prior training and taught it to his fellow prisoners. In some cases, the names were not previously contained on lists of prisoners compiled from various sources. The list left about half the 51 American civilians believed missing or captured unaccounted for. Additionally, soon after the raid all acknowledged American prisoners in North Vietnam were moved to Ha L so that the North Vietnamese had fewer camps to protect and to prevent their rescue by U.S. The rule entailed that the prisoners would return home in the order that they were shot down and captured. Commander Stockdale was the senior naval officer held captive in Hanoi, North Vietnam. So the Vietnamese moved them to a remote outpost, the one the POWs called Alcatraz. Aubrey A., Navy, listed previously as Texan. As many as 114 American POWs died in captivity during the Vietnam War, many within the unforgiving walls of the Hanoi Hotel. William J Navy, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc. There is some disagreement among the first group of POWs who coined the name but F8D pilot Bob Shumaker[11] was the first to write it down, carving "Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton" on the handle of a pail to greet the arrival of Air Force Lieutenant Robert Peel. * Firearms, to include conceal carry and other dangerous weapons, are specifically prohibited in Federal facilities in accordance with 18 USC 930 (c) Of the POWs repatriated to the United States a total of 325 of them served in the United States Air Force, a majority of which were bomber pilots shot down over North Vietnam or VC controlled territory. Many of the future leading figures in Communist North Vietnam spent time in Maison Centrale during the 1930s and 1940s. Cmdr, William M., Navy, Virginia Reach, Va captured December 1965. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese did the same to American soldiers. Claude D., Navy, San Diego, Calif. JENKINS, Capt. Hanoi's list of Americans in captivity is as follows: Clodeon Adkins, Michael D. Benge, Norman J. Brookens, Frank E. Cins, Gary L. Davos, John J. Fritz Jr., Theodore W. Gosta, William H. Hardy, Alexander Henderson, Mihcael H. Kjome, Philip W. Manhard, Lewis E. Mayer, James A. Newingham, Robert F. Olsen, Russell J. In addition to extended solitary confinement, prisoners were regularly strapped down with iron stocks leftover from the French colonial era. Elation, sadness, humor, sarcasm, excitement, depressionall came through.. On March 26, 1964, the first U.S. service member imprisoned during the Vietnam War was captured near Qung Tr, South Vietnam when an L-19/O-1 Bird Dog observation plane flown by Captain Richard L. Whitesides and Captain Floyd James Thompson was brought down by small arms fire. Home. [14]:500 The joy brought by the repatriation of the 591 Americans did not last for long due to other major news stories and events.