list of hanoi hilton prisoners

Operation Homecoming was the return of 591 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam following the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Listen to these wonderful, courageous men tell small parts of their stories. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Although its explosions lit the night sky and shook the walls of the camp, scaring some of the newer POWs,[30] most saw it as a forceful measure to compel North Vietnam to finally come to terms. [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. The Vietnamese, however, knew it as the Ha L Prison, which translates to fiery furnace. Some Americans called it the hell hole.. [12] 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. MILLER, Lieu, Edwin F., Navy, Franklin Lakes, N. J. MOBLEY, Lieut, Joseph S., Navy, Manhattan Beach, Calif. MOLINARE, Lieut. Allen C., Navy, Virginia Beach, Va. CHRISTIAN, Cmdr., Michael D., Na Virginia Beach, Va. COSKEY, Cmdr., Kenneth L., Navy, Virginia Beach, Ve. Last known alive. In addition to extended solitary confinement, prisoners were regularly strapped down with iron stocks leftover from the French colonial era. [18], Regarding treatment at Ha L and other prisons, the North Vietnamese countered by stating that prisoners were treated well and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. Richard D., Navy, La Jolla, Calif. NAKAGAWA, Comdr. CHAPMAN, Lieut. Comdr. Michael G Navy, not named in previous lists. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}21131N 1055047E / 21.02528N 105.84639E / 21.02528; 105.84639. Even when the North Vietnamese offered McCain an early release hoping to use him as a propaganda tool McCain refused as an act of solidarity with his fellow prisoners. The rest became a museum called the Ha L Prison Memorial. James Eldon, Air Force, Forest Grove, Oregon, date of capture unknown. In 1967, McCain joined the prisoners at the Hanoi Hilton after his plane was shot down. [37] 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. Frank A. Sieverts, the State Department official charged with prisoner affairs, said that Hanoi apparently did not inelude any information on Americans captured or missing in Laos or Cambodia, despite the provision in the ceasefire agreement to account for all Americans throughout Indochina. [24] However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity. 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. Conditions were appalling. The rule entailed that the prisoners would return home in the order that they were shot down and captured. One escape, which was planned to take place from the Hanoi Hilton, involved SR-71 Blackbirds flying overhead and Navy SEALs waiting at the mouth of the Red . [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. . Prisoners of War during the Vietnam War, National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, the resumed bombing of North Vietnam starting in April 1972, "Vets, Flyers discuss ideology, time in POW camps", "John Dramesi's unflattering memories of his fellow POW John McCain", "Unshakable Will to Survive Sustained P. O. W.'s Over the Years", "Joseph Kernan, Vietnam P.O.W. The code was based on two-number combinations that represented each letter. WALSH, Capt. [23][24], The post-raid consolidation brought many prisoners who had spent years in isolation into large cells holding roughly 70 men each. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. BATLEY, Lieut. Thomas R., Navy, not named in previous lists. The code was simple and easy to learn and could be taught without verbal instructions. After the war, Risner wrote the book Passing of the Night detailing his seven years at Ha L. Page, Benjamin H. Purcell, Douglas K. Ramsey, Donald J. Conditions were appalling. Ha L Prison (Vietnamese:[hwa l], Nh t Ha L; French: Prison Ha L) 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. [15] The Hanoi Taxi was officially retired at Wright Patterson Air Force Base on May 6, 2006, just a year after it was used to evacuate the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. [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). These details are revealed in famous accounts by McCain (Faith of My Fathers), Denton, Alvarez, Day, Risner, Stockdale and dozens of others. Jeremiah A. Jr., Navy, Virginia Beach, Va. and Mobile, Ala., captured December 1965. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. "[18], 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. FREEAdmission & Parking, Prison locations in North Vietnam. The "Hanoi Hilton" and Other Prisons. But you first must take physical torture. Some played mind games to keep themselves sane, making mental lists or building imaginary houses, one nail at a time. SEHORN, Capt. BALLARD, Lieut. He was also a prisoner of war, and recipient of the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. Cmdr, William M., Navy, Virginia Reach, Va captured December 1965. DANIELS, Cmdr. [3] A 1913 renovation expanded its capacity from 460 inmates to 600. Our tapping ceased to be just an exchange of letters and words; it became conversation, recalled former POW James Stockton. Cmdr., Richard R., Navy, Aberdeen, S. D., cap. Then, bowed or bent in half, the prisoner was hoisted up onto the hook to hang by ropes. Dismiss. WHEAT, Lieut. Elation, sadness, humor, sarcasm, excitement, depressionall came through.. John B Navy, Lemoore, Calif. METZGER, Lieut. 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 The most prominent name on the civilian list was that of Philip W. Manhard of McLean, Va., a 52yearold career diplomat, who was taken prisoner in Hue, South Vietnam, when enemy forces seized the city in their 1968 Tet offensive. The prison was demolished in the 90s and is now the site of a historical museum. ENSCH, Lieut John C., Navy, not named in previous public lists. 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. MOORE, Lieut. NICHOLS, Lieut. [14] They even used this code to tell jokes a kick on the wall meant a laugh. The culture of the POWs held at the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison was on full display with the story that would come to be known as the "Kissinger Twenty". The prison was originally built by the French colonial government in the late 1800s and was . They warmed you up and threatened you with death. It was first built in the late 1890s by Vietnam's French colonizers as a central prison (Maison Centrale) for Vietnamese criminals. It was located near Hanoi's French Quarter. [7] During periods of protracted isolation the tap code facilitated elaborate mental projects to keep the prisoners' sanity. Dismiss. [14] Policy changed under the Nixon administration, when mistreatment of the prisoners was publicized by U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird and others. Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), American POW in a staged photograph showing clean, spacious accommodations, 1969, Vietnamese Cigarettes given to Prisoner of War, Prisoner of War Tin Cup with Lacing on Handle, Metal North Vietnamese Army Issue Spoon for POWs, African American History Curatorial Collective, Buffalo Soldiers, Geronimo, and Wounded Knee. [9], In addition, the return of the nearly 600 POWs further polarized the sides of the American public and media. 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,. He was finally released in 1973, although his war time injuries have caused permanent damage to his right arm. After the implementation of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, neither the United States nor its allies ever formally charged North Vietnam with the war crimes revealed to have been committed there. [11][14], During one such event in 1966, then-Commander 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. Joseph C., Navy, Prairie Village, Kan. POLFISR, Comdr. They cut my flight suit off of me when I was taken into the prison, McCain said. Comdr, Earl G., Jr., Navy, San Diego. Comdr. William Kerr, Marines, not named in previous public lists. Alvarez has since been the recipient of the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Heart Medals and the Lone Sailor Award. American POW soldiers inside their jail cell at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. LESESNE, Lieut. Edward, Air Force, Harrison, N. Y., Quincy, Mass., captured Oct. 1965. [27], Only part of the prison exists today as a museum. Notice:Visitors may be filmed, photographed or recorded by the U.S. Air Force for educational and promotional uses, including for posting on public websites and social media. - Food and Soda Drinks [16] As John McCain 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. The American soldier followed his instructions, and even managed to leave his own note, identifying himself as Air Force Capt. Senator John McCain tops our list. After reading about the gruesome conditions that awaited American POWs in the Hanoi Hilton, read about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which first sparked the Vietnam War. Weapons, Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia. Paul telling his story to the crowd at the Freedom Museum. The final phase was the relocation of the POWs to military hospitals.[2]. Now he says when he hears Marie Osmond . The plane used in the transportation of the first group of prisoners of war, a C-141 commonly known as the Hanoi Taxi (Air Force Serial Number 66-0177), has been altered several times since February 12, 1973, to include its conversion (fuselage extension) from a C-141A to a C-141B. [11][12] Each POW was also assigned their own escort to act as a buffer between "past trauma and future shock". On February 12 the first of 591 U.S. military and civilian POWs were released in Hanoi and flown directly to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. [19] As another POW later said, "To this day I get angry with myself. He was kept there for five and a half years. November 27, 2021. 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 name Ha L, commonly translated as "fiery furnace" or even "Hell's hole",[1] also means "stove". Attracted by the smells and screams, rats and cockroaches scurried over their weak bodies. While the raid failed to free any POWs and was considered a significant intelligence failure, it had several positive implications for American prisoners. BRADY, Capt. (For POW returnees and escapees, they are included on two separate lists on the lower right of the page). Col. Arthur T., Marines, Lake Lure, N. C., cap. Leonard C., Navy, Bemardson, Mass. 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. Then learn take a look inside the Andersonville Prison, a brutal POW camp during the Civil War. Congratulations, men, we just left North Vietnam,' former POW David Gray recalled his pilot saying. McGrath also made drawings of his captivity, several of which appear in this exhibit. Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. In the Hanoi Hilton, POWs were treated poorly, beaten and . The most immediate effect was to affirm to the POWs that their government was actively attempting to repatriate them, which significantly boosted their morale. Here, in a small structure. The first group had spent six to eight years as prisoners of war. On February 12, 1973, three C-141 transports flew to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one C-9A aircraft was sent to Saigon, South Vietnam to pick up released prisoners of war. 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. Among the last inmates was dissident poet Nguyn Ch Thin, who was reimprisoned in 1979 after attempting to deliver his poems to the British Embassy, and spent the next six years in Ha L until 1985 when he was transferred to a more modern prison.

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