list of hanoi hilton prisoners

The first phase required the initial reception of prisoners at three release sites: POWs held by the Viet Cong (VC) were to be flown by helicopter to Saigon, POWs held by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) were released in Hanoi and the three POWs held in China were to be freed in Hong Kong. [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. Last edited on 25 December 2022, at 21:17, U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, Learn how and when to remove this template message, In the Presence of Mine Enemies: 19651973 A Prisoner of War, "Former Vietnam POW recalls ordeal, fellowship", "He was a POW in Hanoi Hilton: How Mississippi man's 'tap code' helped them survive", "F-100 Pilot Hayden Lockhart The First USAF Vietnam POW", "Hoa Lo Prison Museum | Hanoi, Vietnam Attractions", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ha_L_Prison&oldid=1129517630, This page was last edited on 25 December 2022, at 21:17. Hoa Lo's 20-foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. 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. Comdr. 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.[35] Bi Tn, 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,[36] maintained in 2000 that no torture had occurred in the POW camps. Dennis A., Marines, not named in previous lists. Made for smaller wrists and ankles, these locks were so tight that they cut into the mens skin, turning their hands black. Jose Jesus, Jr., Marines, Retlugio, Texas, captured January, 1970. Hanoi - Today, I had the opportunity to visit the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, also known as the "Hanoi Hilton." We rented the audio guide which was extremely useful in explaining the suffering of the Vietnamese political prisoners and their liberation. Alan J., Marines, not named in previous lists. [4] The last POWs were turned over to allied hands on March 29, 1973 raising the total number of Americans returned to 591. Overall, the POWs were warmly received as if to atone for the collective American guilt for having ignored and protested the majority of soldiers who had served in the conflict and already returned home. I thought perhaps I was going to die, said John McCain in this 1999 interview on his time at the Hanoi Hilton. 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. The displays mainly show the prison during the French colonial period, including the guillotine room, still with original equipment, and the quarters for male and female Vietnamese political prisoners. Col, Edison WainWright, Marines, Tustin and Santa Ana, Calif.; Clinton, Iowa, shot down Oct. 13, 1967. David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesAmerican POW soldiers inside their jail cell at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. 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. He was finally released in 1973, although his war time injuries have caused permanent damage to his right arm. Our tapping ceased to be just an exchange of letters and words; it became conversation, recalled former POW James Stockton. The rest became a museum called the Ha L Prison Memorial. During a routine torture session with the hook, the Vietnamese tied a prisoners hands and feet, then bound his hands to his ankles sometimes behind the back, sometimes in front. Jeffrey E. Curry, Chinh T. Nguyen (1997). 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. So the Vietnamese moved them to a remote outpost, the one the POWs called Alcatraz. [12] 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. WALSH, Capt. [35] However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity. Synonymous in the U.S. with torture of American pilots captured during the Vietnam War . This created the "Camp Unity" communal living area at Ha L. The Hanoi Hilton is the nickname that American prisoners gave the Ha L Prison. Comdr. 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. Dismiss . The POWs made extensive use of a tap code to communicate, which was introduced in June 1965 by four POWs held in the Ha L: Captain Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, Lieutenant Phillip Butler, Lieutenant Robert Peel and Lieutenant Commander Robert Shumaker. Hoa Lo Prison, more popularly known as the "Hanoi Hilton", is a museum near the French Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam. NORRINGTON, Lieut. [26] Other parts have been converted into a commercial complex retaining the original French colonial walls. Thomas R., Navy, not named in previous lists. [2] It was intended to hold Vietnamese prisoners, particularly political prisoners agitating for independence who were often subject to torture and execution. Groth, Wade L. USA last know alive (DoD April 1991 list) Gunn, Alan W. USA last known alive (DoD April 1991 list) Hamilton, John S. USAF believed to have successfully got out of his aircraft and was alive on the ground. See the article in its original context from. Prisoner Sam Johnson, later a U.S. representative for nearly two decades, described this rope trick in 2015: As a POW in the Hanoi Hilton, I could recall nothing from military survival training that explained the use of a meat hook suspended from the ceiling. GILLESPIE, Miramar, Capt. CHAPMAN, Lieut. The film focuses on the experiences of American POWs who were held in the infamous Hoa Lo Prison during the 1960s and 1970s and the story is told from their perspectives. Many of the future leading figures in Communist North Vietnam spent time in Maison Centrale during the 1930s and 1940s. The American soldier followed his instructions, and even managed to leave his own note, identifying himself as Air Force Capt. MONTAGUE, Maj. Paul J., Marines, not named in previous lists. While the raid failed to free any POWs and was considered a significant intelligence failure, it had several positive implications for American prisoners. The first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war left Hanoi in a C-141A, which later became known as the "Hanoi Taxi" and is now in a museum. Cmdr. Who was the most famous prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton? WASHINGTON, Jan. 27The State Department tonight released the list of American civilians acknowledged by North Vietnam as having been captured in South Vietnam during the Vietnam war. Izvestia, a Soviet newspaper, accused The Pentagon of brainwashing the men involved in order to use them as propaganda, while some Americans claimed the POWs were collaborating with the communists or had not done enough to resist pressure to divulge information under torture. He had led aerial attacks from the carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. American POW soldiers line up at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. The Briarpatch camp, located 33 miles (53 km) northwest of Hanoi, intermittently held U.S. prisoners between 1965 and 1971. 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 of infections and tropical disease occurred. He mentions the last years of the prison, partly in fictional form, in Ha L/Hanoi Hilton Stories (2007). HALL, Lieut. SCHOEFFEL, Comdr. Leonard C., Navy, Bemardson, Mass. [17] Under these extreme conditions, many prisoners' aim became merely to absorb as much torture as they could before giving in. Conditions at the Briarpatch were notoriously grim, even by the standards of North Vietnamese prisons. DAVIES, Capt. Richard D., Navy, La Jolla, Calif. NAKAGAWA, Comdr. [We realize], over time, that we all fall short of what we aspire to be. Ralph E., LL Miami. Extradition of North Vietnamese officials who had violated the Geneva Convention, 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. The Hanoi prison is located at No.01, Hoa Lo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, known as Hanoi Hilton Prison. Render, Navy, Lagrange, Ga., captured Februcry, 1966. The French called the prison Maison Centrale,[1] 'Central House', which is still the designation of prisons for dangerous or long sentence detainees in France. [12], Beginning in early 1967, a new area of the prison was opened for incoming American POWs;[13] it was dubbed "Little Vegas", and its individual buildings and areas were named after Las Vegas Strip landmarks, such as "Golden Nugget", "Thunderbird", "Stardust", "Riviera", and the "Desert Inn". William M., Navy, Center Hill, Fla. HICKERSON, Comdr. 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. By 1954, when the French were ousted from the area, more than 2,000 men were housed within its walls, living in squalid conditions. Please note the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is not responsible for items left in vehicles. Abel L., Marines, Denver, Colo., captured April, 1969. 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. Porter A., Navy, Tucker, Ga., captured 1965. 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.

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