Members of the
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
were held as
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
(POWs) in significant numbers during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
from 1964 to 1973. Unlike U.S. service members captured in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, who were mostly enlisted troops, the overwhelming majority of Vietnam-era POWs were officers, most of them Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps airmen; a relatively small number of Army enlisted personnel were also captured, as well as one enlisted Navy seaman, Petty Officer
Doug Hegdahl
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 U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. After an early release, he w ...
, who fell overboard from a naval vessel. Most U.S. prisoners were captured and held in
North Vietnam by the
People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
(PAVN); a much smaller number were captured in the south and held by the
Việt Cộng (VC). A handful of U.S. civilians were also held captive during the war.
Thirteen prisons and prison camps were used to house U.S. prisoners in North Vietnam, the most widely known of which was
Hỏa Lò Prison
Hỏa Lò Prison (, Nhà tù Hỏa Lò; french: Prison Hỏa Lò) was a prison in Hanoi originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. ...
(nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton"). The treatment and ultimate fate of U.S. prisoners of war in Vietnam became a subject of widespread concern in the United States, and hundreds of thousands of Americans wore
POW bracelet
A POW bracelet (or POW/MIA bracelet) is a nickel-plated or copper commemorative bracelet engraved with the rank, name, and loss date of an American serviceman captured or missing during the Vietnam War.
The bracelets were first created in May 197 ...
s with the name and capture date of imprisoned U.S. service members.
[Michael J. Allen, ''Until the Last Man Comes Home'', (University of North Carolina Press, 2009), pg. 57.]
American POWs in North Vietnam were released in early 1973 as part of
Operation Homecoming, the result of diplomatic negotiations concluding U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. On February 12, 1973, the first of 591 U.S. prisoners began to be repatriated, and return flights continued until late March. After Operation Homecoming, the U.S. still listed roughly 1,350 Americans as prisoners of war or missing in action and sought the return of roughly 1,200 Americans reported killed in action, but whose bodies were not recovered.
[ "Vietnam War Accounting History". Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office.] These missing personnel would become the subject of the
Vietnam War POW/MIA issue The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia. The term also refers to issues related to the tre ...
.
Phases of captures
On March 26, 1964, the first U.S. service member imprisoned during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
was captured near
Quảng Trị
Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà.
History
The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...
, South Vietnam when an
L-19/O-1 Bird Dog observation plane flown by
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Richard L. Whitesides and Captain
Floyd James Thompson
Floyd James "Jim" Thompson (July 8, 1933 – July 16, 2002) was a United States Army colonel. He was one of the longest-held American prisoner of war in U.S. history that was returned or captured by troops, spending nearly nine years in captivity ...
was brought down by small arms fire. Whitesides was killed, and Thompson was taken prisoner; he would ultimately spend just short of nine years in captivity, making him the longest-held POW in American history. The first fighter pilot captured in North Vietnam was Navy
Lieutenant (junior grade)
Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies.
United States
Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is ...
Everett Alvarez, Jr.
Everett Alvarez Jr. (born December 23, 1937) is a former United States Navy officer who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war (POW) in Military history of the United States, U.S. military history. Alvarez was the first U.S. pilot ...
, who was shot down on August 5, 1964, in the aftermath of the
Gulf of Tonkin incident
The Gulf of Tonkin incident ( vi, Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It involved both a proven confrontation on August 2, 1964, carried out b ...
.
[Alvin Townley, ''Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, the Women Who Fought for Them, and the One Who Never Returned'' (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2014)]
American pilots continued to be captured over the north between 1965 and 1968 as part of
Operation Rolling Thunder, the sustained aerial bombing campaign against North Vietnam. After President
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
initiated a bombing pause in 1968, the number of new captures dropped significantly, only to pick up again after his successor, President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, resumed bombing in 1969. Significant numbers of Americans were also captured during
Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker was the codename of a U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 air interdiction campaign conducted against North Vietnam from 9 May to 23 October 1972, during the Vietnam War.
Its purpose was to halt or slow the ...
between May and October 1972 and
Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, also known as the "Christmas Bombings". They would have the shortest stays in captivity.
Severe treatment years
![HanoiHilton1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/HanoiHilton1973.JPEG)
Beginning in late 1965, the application of torture against U.S. prisoners became severe.
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.
Robinson Risner
James Robinson "Robbie" Risner (January 16, 1925 – October 22, 2013) was a Brigadier General, fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and a senior leader among U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War.
During the Vietnam War, Risner w ...
and
James Stockdale
James Bond "Jim" Stockdale (December 23, 1923 – July 5, 2005) was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator, awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years.
Stockdale was the mos ...
, two senior officers who were the de facto leaders of the POWs, were held in solitary for three and four years, respectively. The
Alcatraz Gang
The Alcatraz Gang was a group of eleven American prisoners of war (POW) held separately in Hanoi, North Vietnam during the Vietnam War because of their particular resistance to their North-Vietnamese military captors. These eleven POWs were: Geo ...
was a group of eleven POWs who were held separately because of their particular resistance to their captors.
The POWs made extensive use of a
tap code
The tap code, sometimes called the knock code, is a way to encode text messages on a letter-by-letter basis in a very simple way. The message is transmitted using a series of tap sounds, hence its name.
The tap code has been commonly used by pri ...
to communicate, which was introduced in June 1965 by four POWs held in the Hỏa Lò: Captain Carlyle "Smitty" Harris,
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Phillip Butler, Lieutenant Robert Peel and
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
Robert Shumaker. Harris had remembered the code from prior training and taught it to his fellow prisoners. The code was simple and easy to learn and could be taught without verbal instructions. In addition to allowing communication between walls, the prisoners used the code when sitting next to each other but forbidden from speaking by tapping on one another's bodies. Throughout the war the tap code was instrumental in maintaining prisoner morale, as well as preserving a cohesive military structure despite North Vietnamese attempts to disrupt the POW's chain of command. During periods of protracted isolation the tap code facilitated elaborate mental projects to keep the prisoners' sanity.
U.S. prisoners of war in North Vietnam were subjected to extreme torture and malnutrition during their captivity. Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the
Third Geneva Convention of 1949
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was first adopted in 1929, but significant ...
,
[ p. 655.] which demanded "decent and humane treatment" of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as
waterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water torture, water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the person to experience the sensation of drowning. In the most common method ...
,
strappado
The strappado, also known as corda, is a form of torture in which the victim's hands are tied behind his back and the victim is suspended by a rope attached to the wrists, typically resulting in dislocated shoulders. Weights may be added to t ...
(known as "the ropes" to POWs), irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement.
The aim of the torture was usually not acquiring military information.
Rather, it was to break the will of the prisoners, both individually and as a group.
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.
Such POW statements would be viewed as a propaganda victory in the battle to sway world and U.S. domestic opinion against the U.S. war effort.
During one such event in 1966, then-
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
Jeremiah Denton, a captured Navy pilot, was forced to appear at a televised press conference, where he famously blinked the word "T-O-R-T-U-R-E" with his eyes in Morse code, confirming to U.S. intelligence that U.S. prisoners were being harshly treated. Two months later, in what became known as the
Hanoi March The Hanoi March (known alternatively as the Hanoi Parade) was a propaganda event held on July 6, 1966, involving U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During the march, members of the North Vietnamese Army paraded 52 American POWs through th ...
, 52 American prisoners of war were paraded through the streets of Hanoi before thousands of North Vietnamese civilians. The march soon deteriorated into near riot conditions, with North Vietnamese civilians beating the POWs along the route and their guards largely unable to restrain the attacks.
["People & Events: The Hanoi March", PBS American Experience]
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. As
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
later wrote of finally being forced to make an anti-American statement: "I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine."
Only a small number of exceptionally resilient prisoners, such as
John A. Dramesi
John Arthur Dramesi (February 12, 1933 – September 17, 2017) was a United States Air Force (USAF) Colonel who was held as a prisoner of war from 2 April 1967 to 4 March 1973 in both Hoa Lo Prison, known as "The Hanoi Hilton", and Cu Loc Prison, ...
, survived captivity without ever cooperating with the enemy; others who refused to cooperate under any circumstances, such as Edwin Atterbury, were tortured to death. James Stockdale, fearing that he might reveal details of the Gulf of Tonkin incident if tortured, attempted
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
, but survived; he never revealed this information to the enemy. Under these extreme conditions, many prisoners' aim became merely to absorb as much torture as they could before giving in.
One later described the internal code the POWs developed, and instructed new arrivals on, as: "Take physical torture until you are right at the edge of losing your ability to be rational. At that point, lie, do, or say whatever you must do to survive. But you first must take physical torture."
After making statements, the POWs would admit to each other what had happened, lest shame or guilt consume them or make them more vulnerable to additional North Vietnamese pressure.
Nevertheless, the POWs obsessed over what they had done, and would years after their release still be haunted by the "confessions" or other statements they had made.
As another POW later said, "To this day I get angry with myself. But we did the best we could.
e realize over time, that we all fall short of what we aspire to be. And that is where forgiveness comes in."
The North Vietnamese occasionally released prisoners for propaganda or other purposes. The POWs had a "first in, first out" interpretation of the
Code of the U.S. Fighting Force
The Code of the U.S. Fighting Force is a code of conduct that is an ethics guide and a United States Department of Defense directive consisting of six articles to members of the United States Armed Forces, addressing how they should act in combat ...
, meaning they could only accept release in the order they had been captured, but making an exception for those seriously sick or badly injured. When a few captured servicemen began to be released from North Vietnamese prisons during the
Johnson administration, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of prisoners of war. Initially, this information was downplayed by American authorities for fear that conditions might worsen for those remaining in North Vietnamese custody.
[ Reposted under title "John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account", 2008-01-28. Reprinted in ] Policy changed under the
Nixon administration, when mistreatment of the prisoners was publicized by
U.S. Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...
Melvin Laird
Melvin Robert Laird Jr. (September 1, 1922 – November 16, 2016) was an American politician, writer and statesman. He was a U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as United States Secret ...
and others.
Later years
![HanoiHilton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/HanoiHilton.jpg)
Beginning in October 1969, the torture regime suddenly abated to a great extent, and life for the prisoners became less severe and generally more tolerable.
[Jon A. Reynolds, "Question of Honor", ''Air University Review'', March–April 1977.] North Vietnamese leader
Ho Chi Minh
(: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime ...
had died the previous month, possibly causing a change in policy towards POWs.
[Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', p. 519.] Many POWs speculated that Ho had been personally responsible for their mistreatment. 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,
and the
heightened awareness of the POWs' plight.
[McCain, ''Faith of My Fathers'', pp. 290–291.]
Despite several escape attempts, no U.S. POW successfully escaped from a North Vietnamese prison, although
James N. Rowe
James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe (February 8, 1938 – April 21, 1989) was a United States Army officer and one of only 34 American prisoners of war to escape captivity during the Vietnam War. Colonel Rowe was credited with developing the rigorou ...
successfully escaped from North Vietnamese captivity. On November 21, 1970, U.S. Special Forces launched
Operation Ivory Coast
Operation Ivory Coast was a mission conducted by United States Special Operations Forces and other American military elements to rescue U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. It was also the first joint military operation in United States ...
in an attempt to rescue 61 POWs believed to be held at the
Sơn Tây prison camp
The Sơn Tây prison camp was a POW camp operated by North Vietnam near Sơn Tây and approximately west of Hanoi in the late 1960s through late 1970 and again in 1975. About 65 US prisoners of war were held there during the middle of the Vietna ...
west of Hanoi. Fifty-six commandos landed by helicopter and assaulted the prison, but the prisoners had been moved some months earlier and none were rescued. While the raid failed to free any POWs and was considered a significant intelligence failure, it had several positive implications for American prisoners. The most immediate effect was to affirm to the POWs that their government was actively attempting to repatriate them, which significantly boosted their morale. Additionally, soon after the raid all acknowledged American prisoners in North Vietnam were moved to Hỏa Lò so that the North Vietnamese had fewer camps to protect and to prevent their rescue by U.S. forces.
[Rochester and Kiley, ''Honor Bound''.]
The post-raid consolidation brought many prisoners who had spent years in isolation into large cells holding roughly 70 men each. This created the "Camp Unity" communal living area at Hỏa Lò. The increased human contact further improved morale and facilitated greater military cohesion among the POWs.
At this time, the prisoners formally organized themselves under the 4th Allied POW Wing, whose name acknowledged earlier periods of overseas captivity among American military personnel in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. This military structure was ultimately recognized by the North Vietnamese and endured until the prisoners' release in 1973.
[Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'']
Nevertheless, by 1971, some 30–50 percent of the POWs had become disillusioned about the war, both because of the apparent lack of military progress and what they heard of the
growing anti-war movement in the U.S. and some of them were less reluctant to make propaganda statements for the North Vietnamese.
[Hubbell, ''P.O.W.'', pp. 548–549.] Others were not among them; there were defiant church services and an effort to write letters home that only portrayed the camp in a negative light. Such prisoners were sometimes sent to a camp reserved for "bad attitude" cases.
At the "Hanoi Hilton", POWs cheered
the resumed bombing of North Vietnam starting in April 1972, whose targets included the Hanoi area.
[Timberg, ''An American Odyssey'', pp. 106–107.] The old-time POWs cheered even more during the intense
"Christmas Bombing" campaign of December 1972,
when Hanoi was subjected for the first time to repeated
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
raids. Although its explosions lit the night sky and shook the walls of the camp, scaring some of the newer POWs,
most saw it as a forceful measure to compel North Vietnam to finally come to terms.
North Vietnamese prisons
![Hanoi Hilton Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Hanoi_Hilton_Map.jpg)
Of the 13 prisons used to incarcerate POWs, five were located in Hanoi, and the remainder were situated outside the city.
["POW Camps In North Vietnam," Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.]
* Alcatraz. Located in north central Hanoi, Alcatraz was used to detain 11 particularly defiant American prisoners known as the Alcatraz Gang, including
Jeremiah Denton, future U.S. Senator from Alabama,
Sam Johnson
Samuel Robert Johnson (October 11, 1930May 27, 2020) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the acting ...
, future U.S. Representative from Texas and James Stockdale, later a Vice Admiral and recipient of the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
.
* Briarpatch. The Briarpatch camp, located northwest of Hanoi, intermittently held U.S. prisoners between 1965 and 1971. Conditions at the Briarpatch were notoriously grim, even by the standards of North Vietnamese prisons. Multiple POWs contracted
beriberi
Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The two main types in adults are wet beriberi and dry beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, r ...
at the camp due to severe malnutrition.
* Camp Faith. Located west of Hanoi, Camp Faith became operational in July 1970, when a major consolidation of U.S. prisoners began. At its peak, the population of Camp Faith was approximately 220 POWs. Three days after the Sơn Tây Raid, Camp Faith POWs were moved to Hỏa Lò prison in Hanoi.
* Camp Hope, also known as Sơn Tây, was operational between 1968 and 1970, holding 55 POWs. The camp was closed following the Sơn Tây Raid.
* Dirty Bird. Beginning in June 1967, several locations in the immediate vicinity of the Hanoi Thermal Power Plant were used to house POWs. Approximately 30 Americans were held at the Dirty Bird Camp, possibly in an attempt to prevent the bombing of the power plant. In October 1967, all prisoners held in Dirty Bird were removed to regular POW camps.
* Dogpatch. The Dogpatch camp, located northeast of Hanoi, opened in May 1972, when 220 POWs were transferred there from Hỏa Lò prison. The camp ceased operation in early 1973, when the POWs were transferred to Hanoi for repatriation to the United States.
* Farnsworth. Located southwest of Hanoi, Farnsworth became operational in August 1968, when 28 U.S. POWs captured outside North Vietnam were moved to this location. Over the next two years, several groups of POWs captured outside of North Vietnam were brought to the camp. Following the Sơn Tây Raid, Farnsworth's prisoner population was transferred to the Plantation Camp in Hanoi.
* Hỏa Lò Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton. Located in downtown Hanoi, Hỏa Lò prison was first used by the French colonists to hold political prisoners in what was then
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
. The prison became operational during the Vietnam War when it was used to house Everett Alvarez, Jr., the first American pilot captured in North Vietnam. The prison was used without interruption until the repatriation of U.S. POWs in 1973.
* Mountain Camp. The Mountain Camp, located northwest of Hanoi, became operational in December 1971, when one prisoner from Hỏa Lò and eight prisoners from Skidrow were moved to this location. This camp was used until January 1973 when its POW population was permanently moved to Hanoi for repatriation.
* The Plantation. Located in northeast Hanoi, the Plantation opened in June 1967. It was a
Potemkin village-style camp run by the North Vietnamese as a propaganda showplace for foreign visitors to see and as a preparation camp for prisoners about to be released. Physical mistreatment of prisoners was rarer than in other camps, but did occur to some Plantation prisoners. The camp operated until July 1970, when a major consolidation of U.S. POWs occurred.
* Rockpile. The Rockpile camp, located south of Hanoi, became operational in June 1971 when 14 Americans and foreign POWs captured outside North Vietnam were moved from Skidrow to the Rockpile. The camp was closed in February 1973, when its POWs were moved to Hanoi for repatriation.
* Skidrow. The Skidrow camp, located southwest of Hanoi, became operational as a U.S. POW detention facility in July 1968, when U.S. civilian and military prisoners captured outside North Vietnam were moved there.
* The Zoo. Located in the suburbs of Hanoi, the Zoo opened in September 1965 and remained operational until December 1970, when all U.S. prisoners were transferred to Hỏa Lò prison.
Notable Vietnam-era POWs
*
Everett Alvarez, Jr.
Everett Alvarez Jr. (born December 23, 1937) is a former United States Navy officer who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war (POW) in Military history of the United States, U.S. military history. Alvarez was the first U.S. pilot ...
, USN pilot, the first American airman shot down over North Vietnam and the second longest held prisoner of war in American history.
*
John L. Borling
John Lorin Borling (born March 24, 1940) is a retired major general of the United States Air Force whose military career spanned 33 years. He has piloted many aircraft including the F-15, F16, F-4, the SR-71 Blackbird, the U-2, and B-52 and ...
, USAF pilot, retired Major General.
*
Charles G. Boyd
Charles Graham "Chuck" Boyd (April 15, 1938 – March 23, 2022) was a four-star general of the United States Air Force. Boyd was a highly decorated combat pilot who served in Vietnam and is the only Vietnam War prisoner of war (1966–1973) to ...
, USAF pilot, recipient of the
Air Force Cross, and the only Vietnam-era POW to reach the four-star rank.
*
Ralph T. Browning
Brigadier General Ralph Thomas "Tom" Browning (25 October 1941 – 7 July 2018), was a United States Air Force command pilot who was a prisoner of war (POW) during the Vietnam War, was the commander of two air divisions, and commander of the 58t ...
, USAF pilot, retired Brigadier General,
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
recipient.
*
Phillip N. Butler
Phillip Neal "Phil" Butler (born August 11, 1938) is a retired United States Navy officer and pilot. He was the eighth-longest-held U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, U.S. prisoner of war (POW) held in North Vietnam during the Vietnam W ...
, USN pilot the 8th longest-held POW in North Vietnam, served as president of Veterans for Peace after the war was over.
*
Fred V. Cherry, USAF pilot, veteran of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, recipient of the Air Force Cross, and the senior African American prisoner held in North Vietnam.
*
George Coker, USN bombardier-navigator, recipient of the
Navy Cross.
*
Donald Cook, USMC military advisor with the South Vietnamese Marine Corps. Awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.
*
Bud Day
George Everette "Bud" Day (24 February 1925 – 27 July 2013) was a United States Air Force officer, aviator, and veteran of World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. He was also a prisoner of war, and recipient of the Medal of Honor and Air For ...
, USAF pilot, recipient of both the Medal of Honor and the Air Force Cross.
*
Jeremiah Denton, USN pilot, recipient of the Navy Cross, former U.S. Senator from Alabama.
*
John P. Flynn
Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General John Peter Flynn (17 July 19225 March 1997) was a Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general in the United States Air Force (USAF) who served in World War II, the Korean War and t ...
, USAF pilot, retired Lieutenant General and recipient of the Air Force Cross.
*
John W. Frederick Jr., USMC radar intercept officer, veteran of four wars, recipient of the Navy Cross. Died in captivity in 1972.
*
Larry Guarino
Lawrence Nicholas "Larry" Guarino (April 16, 1922 – August 18, 2014) was a United States Air Force officer, and veteran of three wars.Hubbell, John G. ''P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964-1 ...
, USAF pilot, veteran of three wars, recipient of the Air Force Cross.
*
Doug Hegdahl
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 U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. After an early release, he w ...
, USN, released on 5 August 1969 and gave US intelligence the names of 256 US prisoners
*
Sam Johnson
Samuel Robert Johnson (October 11, 1930May 27, 2020) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the acting ...
, USAF pilot, veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
*
James H. Kasler
Colonel James Helms Kasler (May 2, 1926 – April 24, 2014) was a senior officer in the United States Air Force and the only person to be awarded the Air Force Cross three times.Frisbee, John L.(1986). ''AIR FORCE Magazine'', November 1986, Vol. ...
, USAF pilot, veteran of three wars, jet ace during the Korean War, and the only individual to be awarded the Air Force Cross three times.
*
Richard P. Keirn, USAF pilot, prisoner of war in both World War II and the Vietnam War.
*
Joe Kernan Joe Kernan or Joseph Kernan may refer to:
* Joe Kernan (baseball), 19th-century American baseball player
* Joe Kernan (Gaelic footballer) (born 1954)
* Joe Kernan (politician) (1946–2020), American politician
* Joseph D. Kernan (born 1955), Uni ...
, USN pilot, Governor of Indiana
*
Charles Klusmann
Charles Frederick Klusmann (born 7 September 1933) is a retired United States Navy combat pilot who was shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War and later escaped captivity.
Military career Shootdown, capture and escape
He was a navy Lieuten ...
, USN pilot, the first American airman shot down in the Vietnam War over Laos and the first to escape.
*
William P. Lawrence
William Porter "Bill" Lawrence (January 13, 1930December 2, 2005), was a decorated United States Navy vice admiral and Naval Aviator who served as Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1978 to 1981.
Lawrence was a noted pilot, the fi ...
, USN pilot, Vice Admiral; Commander U.S. Third Fleet, Superintendent of U.S. Naval Academy.
*
Hayden Lockhart
Hayden James Lockhart (born June 16, 1938) is a retired United States Air Force officer who is best known for being the first U.S. Air Force pilot to be shot down in North Vietnam.
Early life
Lockhart was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and grad ...
, first US Air Force pilot to become a POW.
*
John McCain III, USN pilot,
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from Arizona, and the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.
*
Pete Peterson
Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane w ...
, USAF pilot, three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.
*
Jon A. Reynolds
Brigadier General Jon Anzuena Reynolds (December 13, 1937 – April 16, 2022) was a United States Air Force (USAF) officer who served in the Vietnam War. He was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam from November 1965 to February 1973. Following hi ...
, USAF pilot, retired Brigadier General.
*
James Robinson Risner
James Robinson "Robbie" Risner (January 16, 1925 – October 22, 2013) was a Brigadier General, fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and a senior leader among U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War.
During the Vietnam War, Risner w ...
, USAF pilot, retired Brigadier General, two-time recipient of the Air Force Cross.
*
James N. Rowe
James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe (February 8, 1938 – April 21, 1989) was a United States Army officer and one of only 34 American prisoners of war to escape captivity during the Vietnam War. Colonel Rowe was credited with developing the rigorou ...
, USA Special Forces, held by the Viet Cong from October 1963 until escaping in December 1968.
*
Robert H. Shumaker
Robert Harper Shumaker (born May 11, 1933) is a retired rear admiral and naval aviator in the United States Navy. He spent eight years and one day as a prisoner of war (POW) in North Vietnam. He notably coined the term "Hanoi Hilton”
for the not ...
, USN pilot, retired Rear Admiral.
*
Lance Sijan
Lance Peter Sijan (April 13, 1942 – January 22, 1968) was a United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot. On March 4, 1976, he posthumously received the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military award, for his selflessness an ...
, USAF pilot, and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor. Died in captivity in 1968.
*
James Stockdale
James Bond "Jim" Stockdale (December 23, 1923 – July 5, 2005) was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator, awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years.
Stockdale was the mos ...
, USN pilot, retired Vice Admiral and recipient of the Medal of Honor.
*
Orson Swindle
Orson G. Swindle III (born March 8, 1937) is a retired United States Marine Corps officer, a decorated Vietnam War prisoner of war, and a former Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States, serving from December 18, 1997 to J ...
, USMC pilot, former Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission.
*
Floyd Thompson, USA Special Forces, POW for nearly nine years, and the longest held prisoner of war in American history.
*
Leo K. Thorsness
Leo Keith Thorsness (February 14, 1932 – May 2, 2017) was a colonel in the United States Air Force who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the medal for an air engagement on April 19, 1967. He was shot ...
, USAF pilot, recipient of the Medal of Honor.
*
Humbert Roque Versace, USA Special Forces, first POW to be awarded the Medal Of Honor for actions as a prisoner. Died in captivity in 1965.
Post-war accounts
![Welcome Home Phil to Tulsa March 1973 Picture 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Welcome_Home_Phil_to_Tulsa_March_1973_Picture_1.jpg)
After the implementation of the 1973
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...
, neither the United States nor its allies ever formally charged North Vietnam with the
war crimes revealed to have been committed there. Extradition of North Vietnamese officials who had violated the
Geneva Convention
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
, which they had always insisted officially did not bind them because their nation had never signed it, was not a condition of the U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam and ultimate abandonment of the South Vietnamese government. In the 2000s, the Vietnamese government has held the position that claims that prisoners were tortured during the war are fabricated, but that Vietnam wants to move past the issue as part of establishing better relations with the U.S.
Bùi Tín, a North Vietnamese Army colonel-later turned dissident and exile, who believed that the cause behind the war had been just but that the country's political system had lost its way after reunification,
maintained in 2000 that no torture had occurred in the POW camps.
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.
Tran Trong Duyet, a jailer at Hoa Lo beginning in 1968 and its commandant for the last three years of the war, maintained in 2008 that no prisoners were tortured.
However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity.
After the war, Risner wrote the book ''Passing of the Night'' detailing his seven years at the Hanoi Hilton. Indeed, a considerable literature emerged from released POWs after repatriation, depicting Hoa Lo and the other prisons as places where such atrocities as murder; beatings; broken bones, teeth and eardrums; dislocated limbs; starvation; serving of food contaminated with human and animal feces; and
medical neglect
In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...
of infections and
tropical disease
Tropical diseases are Infectious disease, diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropics, tropical and subtropics, subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, whic ...
occurred. These details are revealed in accounts by McCain (''
Faith of My Fathers
''Faith of My Fathers'' is a 1999 bestselling non-fiction book by United States Senator John McCain with Mark Salter. Published by Random House, it is part autobiography, part family memoir. It traces the story of McCain's life growing up, during ...
''), Denton, Alvarez, Day, Risner, Stockdale and dozens of others. The Hanoi Hilton was depicted in the 1987
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
movie ''
The Hanoi Hilton
''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. It was ...
''.
In addition to memoirs, the U.S. POW experience in Vietnam was the subject of two in-depth accounts by authors and historians, John G. Hubbell's ''P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964–1973'' (published 1976) and
Stuart Rochester and Frederick Kiley's ''Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961–1973'' (published 1999).
Bibliography
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*
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*
*
*
Karnow, Stanley, Vietnam, A History. Viking Press New York, Viking Press 1983, . Penguin Books 1997 .
*Borling, John: Taps on the Walls; Poems from the Hanoi Hilton (2013) Master Wings Publishing Pritzker Military Library
References
Further reading
* Coram, Robert. ''American Patriot : The Life and Wars Of Colonel Bud Day''. Little, Brown and Company, ©2007. ,
* Denton, Jeremiah A; Brandt, Ed. ''When Hell Was In Session''. Reader's Digest Press, distributed by Crowell, 1976.
*
* McDaniel, Eugene B. ''Scars and Stripes''. Harvest House Publishers, May 1980. {{ISBN, 0-89081-231-4
Torture in Vietnam
Vietnam War prisoner of war camps
Vietnam War-related lists
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Vietnam War crimes committed by North Vietnam
Vietnam War crimes by the Viet Cong