list of hanoi hilton prisoners

The pilots called it, sarcastically, the . William J Navy, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc. Kittinger served as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, and he achieved an aerial kill of a North Vietnamese MiG-21 jet fighter and was later, James Robinson "Robbie" Risner (January 16, 1925 October 22, 2013) was a general and a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. This created the "Camp Unity" communal living area at Ha L. [10]:845 The former prisoners were slowly reintroduced, issued their back pay and attempted to catch up on social and cultural events that were now history. So the Vietnamese moved them to a remote outpost, the one the POWs called Alcatraz. [11][12] Each POW was also assigned their own escort to act as a buffer between "past trauma and future shock". [9][16][17] When prisoners of war began to be released from this and other North Vietnamese prisons during the Johnson administration, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of prisoners of war. A large number of Americans viewed the recently freed POWs as heroes of the nation returning home, reminiscent of the celebrations following World War II. March 14, 1973. In the North Vietnamese city of Hanoi, hundreds of American soldiers were captured and kept prisoner in the Ha L prison, which the Americans ironically dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton." Operation Homecoming has been largely forgotten by the American public, yet ceremonies commemorating the 40th anniversary were held at United States military bases and other locations throughout Asia and the United States. - Diaper bags Robert H. Navy Wilmington, Del., and Montclair, N. J., captured August, 1965. DAVIES, Capt. [citation needed]. That delightful day in 1973 would not be the last time that some of the prisoners would see the Hanoi Hilton. But you first must take physical torture. - Strollers Paul Gordon, Marines, Newton, Mass. The monument includes a water fountain with a large rotating sphere, as well as a statue of Van Loan based on a photo taken after he was released from the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war . The Hoa Lo Prison was built by the French in Hanoi from 1886 to 1889 and from 1898 to 1901 when the country was part of French Indochina. Prohibited Items: What It Was Like for Soldiers to Return Home, Basic and Advanced Training for the Troops, John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 August 25, 2018) was an American politician and military officer, who served as a United States senator from Arizona from January 1987 until his death. Built in the late 19th century, Ha L originally held up to 600 Vietnamese prisoners. Leo T., Navy, Palo Alto, Calif. PURRINGTON, Lieut. [2] It was intended to hold Vietnamese prisoners, particularly political prisoners agitating for independence who were often subject to torture and execution. The Hanoi Hilton was depicted in the 1987 Hollywood movie The Hanoi Hilton. [14] Policy changed under the Nixon administration, when mistreatment of the prisoners was publicized by U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird and others. Another State Department officer on the captured list was Douglas K. Ramsey, 38, who was captured on Jan. 17, 1966, in Haung Hia, South Vietnam. "[14] Only a small number of exceptionally resilient prisoners, such as John A. Dramesi, survived captivity without ever cooperating with the enemy; others who refused to cooperate under any circumstances, such as Edwin Atterbury, were tortured to death. Prisoners were forced to sit in their own excrement. Comdr. 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. - Food and Soda Drinks [16] Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949,[16] which demanded "decent and humane treatment" of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as rope bindings, irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement. SWINDLE, Mai, Orson G., Marines, captured November, 1966. NORRINGTON, Lieut. RIVERS, Capt. 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. Leonard C., Navy, Bemardson, Mass. On February 12, 1973, the first of 591 U.S. prisoners began to be repatriated, and return flights continued until late March. - Box cutters 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. They would have the shortest stays in captivity. Located about 35 miles west of Hanoi, this prison was opened in the late summer of 1965 to accommodate the overcrowding at Hoa Lo ("Hanoi Hilton"). troops. 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. The POWs held at the Hanoi Hilton were to deny early release because the communist government of North Vietnam could possibly use this tactic as propaganda or as a reward for military intelligence. The agreement included the negotiated release of the nearly 600 prisoners of war being held by North Vietnam in various prisons and camps including the Hanoi Hilton. Comdr. [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. 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. - Coolers Multiple POWs contracted beriberi at the camp due to severe malnutrition. - Water bottles (clear, sealed bottle, up to 20 oz.) This Pentagon . * Firearms, to include conceal carry and other dangerous weapons, are specifically prohibited in Federal facilities in accordance with 18 USC 930 (c) [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. [23][24], The post-raid consolidation brought many prisoners who had spent years in isolation into large cells holding roughly 70 men each. "[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. - Camera bags Col, Edison WainWright, Marines, Tustin and Santa Ana, Calif.; Clinton, Iowa, shot down Oct. 13, 1967. U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese did the same to American soldiers. Our tapping ceased to be just an exchange of letters and words; it became conversation, recalled former POW James Stockton. During the 1910s through 1930s, street peddlers made an occupation of passing outside messages in through the jail's windows and tossing tobacco and opium over the walls; letters and packets would be thrown out to the street in the opposite direction. [8] Thereafter the prison served as an education center for revolutionary doctrine and activity, and it was kept around after the French left to mark its historical significance to the North Vietnamese. A majority of the prisoners were held at camps in North Vietnam, however some POWs were held in at various locations throughout Southeast Asia. The most notorious POW camp was Hoa Lo Prison, known to Americans as the "Hanoi Hilton." Comdr. 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. 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. [7] During periods of protracted isolation the tap code facilitated elaborate mental projects to keep the prisoners' sanity. Unaccounted-For: This report includes the U.S. personnel who are still unaccounted for. Williams J., Air Force, not named in previous public lists. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese did the same to American soldiers. 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. Cmdr, William M., Navy, Virginia Reach, Va captured December 1965. The list that the North Vietnamese turned over to American officials in Paris today named 27 American civilians as prisoners of the Vietcong, and listed seven other Americans as having died in captivity. FRIESE, Capt. 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. [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. - Purses Col. Arthur T., Marines, Lake Lure, N. C., cap. Then learn take a look inside the Andersonville Prison, a brutal POW camp during the Civil War. [2] By 1954 it held more than 2000 people;[1] with its inmates held in subhuman conditions,[3] it had become a symbol of colonialist exploitation and of the bitterness of the Vietnamese towards the French. Prisoners were variously isolated, starved, beaten, tortured, and paraded in anti-American propaganda. The Hanoi Hilton is the nickname that American prisoners gave the Ha L Prison. 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.. [5], Conditions for political prisoners in the "Colonial Bastille" were publicised in 1929 in a widely circulated account by the Trotskyist Phan Van Hum of the experience he shared with the charismatic publicist Nguyen An Ninh. The former prisoners were to then be flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines where they were to be processed at a reception center, debriefed, and receive a physical examination. [14][24] 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. Claude D., Navy, San Diego, Calif. JENKINS, Capt. Anyone can read what you share. Render, Navy, Lagrange, Ga., captured Februcry, 1966. Tames, Navy, Lakeland, Fla., captured October, 1965. Vietnam War POW/MIA List. Last known alive. Accounted-For: This report includes the U.S. personnel whose remains have been recovered and identified since the end of the war. It was directed by Lionel Chetwynd, and stars Michael Moriarty, Ken Wright and Paul Le Mat.Music was done by Jimmy Webb.. Then they really got serious and gave you something called the rope trick.. A portion of the original Hanoi Hilton prison has been transported and built in the museum. 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. Members of the United States armed forces were held as prisoners of war (POWs) in significant numbers during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1973. American prisoners of war endured miserable conditions and were tortured until they were forced to make an anti-American statement. As of 2016, he is the only person to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. Hanoi Lists of P.O.W. The Horrifying Story Of Bobby Joe Long: From Classified Ad Rapist To Serial Killer, Larry Eyler Was Caught During His Murder Spree Then Released And Killed Dozens Of Young Men, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. During the Vietnam War, he almost died in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. 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. Many former prisoners of war have suffered the hell of torture. By May 1973, the Watergate scandal dominated the front page of most newspapers causing the American public's interest to wane in any story related to the war in Vietnam. [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. After Operation Homecoming, the U.S. still listed about 1,350 Americans as prisoners of war or missing in action and sought the return of roughly 1,200 Americans reported killed in action and body not recovered. BATLEY, Lieut. Made for smaller wrists and ankles, these locks were so tight that they cut into the mens skin, turning their hands black. [28] Such prisoners were sometimes sent to a camp reserved for "bad attitude" cases. David A., Navy, St. Simons Island, Ga. GAITHER, Lieut, Comdr. Listen to these wonderful, courageous men tell small parts of their stories. 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. It enabled prisoners to establish a command structure, keep a roster of captives, and pass information. Despite the endless torture, the American soldiers stayed strong the only way they knew how: camaraderie. 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. John McCain, leads a column of POWs released from the Hanoi Hilton, awaiting transportation to Gia Lam Airport. They eventually decided on using the tap code something that couldnt be understood by North Vietnamese forces. (For POW returnees and escapees, they are included on two separate lists on the lower right of the page). They exercised as best they could. Comdr. Comdr. The Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, Vietnam, was dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton" by American prisoners of war (POWs). William J., Navy, New Manchester, W. Va. McKAMEY, Comdr. DANIELS, Cmdr. James A. Jr., Navy, Virginia Beach, Va., and Lawrence, Mass., captured March, 1966. Finally, after the U.S. and North Vietnam agreed to a ceasefire in early 1973, the 591 American POWs still in captivity were released. Also shown is a toothbrush a POW received from a package from home, a towel that was issued to POWs, a sweater issued to Lt. Jack Butcher, a brick from the "Hanoi Hilton," a fan used during the hottest months and a folding fan. [6][7], Following the defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the 1954 Geneva Accords the French left Hanoi and the prison came under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. 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. Fifty-six commandos landed by helicopter and assaulted the prison, but the prisoners had been moved some months earlier and none were rescued. Clarence R., Navy, not named in previous lists. A considerable amount of literature emerged from released POWs after repatriation, depicting Ha L 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. [24] However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity. Initially, this information was downplayed by American authorities for fear that conditions might worsen for those remaining in North Vietnamese custody. In North Vietnam alone, more than a dozen prisons were scattered in and around the capital city of Hanoi. 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. As, 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. March 29, 1973. Synonymous in the U.S. with torture of American pilots captured during the Vietnam War . At the end of the war, these soldiers were finally freed from their own personal hell, many of them including the late Arizona Senator John McCain going on to become prominent politicians and public figures. 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. Cmdr., Richard R., Navy, Aberdeen, S. D., cap. [4] Within the prison itself, communication and ideas passed. Porter A., Navy, Tucker, Ga., captured 1965. [35] However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity. ESTES, Comdr. [19] As another POW later said, "To this day I get angry with myself. 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. 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 Hoa Lo Prison, after all, is a place best known in the West as one of the prisons where American pilots who had been shot down and captured were kept as prisoners of war (although, technically, the North Vietnamese did not regard the pilots as "prisoners of war" in a legal sense). On a scrap of toilet paper that he hid in the wall by the toilets, he wrote, Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton. Elation, sadness, humor, sarcasm, excitement, depressionall came through.. Robert E., Navy, Ohio, and Lemoore, Calif., captured May, 1972. Home. It was introduced in June 1965 by four POWs held in the Ha L ("Hanoi Hilton") prison: Captain Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, Lieutenant Phillip Butler, Lieutenant Robert Peel, and Lieutenant Commander Robert Shumaker. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. [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. The first fighter pilot captured in North Vietnam was Navy Lieutenant (junior grade) Everett Alvarez, Jr., who was shot down on August 5, 1964, in the aftermath of the Gulf of Tonkin incident.[3]. The museum is a fantastic publicity enterprise with so little link to the horrors that . '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 was presumed, however, Mr, Sieverts said, that any Americans believed to be missing in South Vietnam, and not on the list, were probably dead. Permitted Items: Henry D., Navy, identified on previous lists only as Carolina native, captured July 1972. Rio Helmi/LightRocket/Getty ImagesDuring the French colonial period, Vietnamese prisoners were detained and tortured at the Ha L prison. (U.S. Air Force photo), DAYTON, Ohio - North Vietnamese uniform of the type worn by prison guards on display in the Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia exhibit in the Southeast Asia War Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Joseph E., Navy, Washington, D.C., caplured in Spring 1972. 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. This military structure was ultimately recognized by the North Vietnamese and endured until the prisoners' release in 1973. Windell B. Rivers, Navy, Oxnard, Calif. ROLLINS, Lieut, Comdr. 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. For the 1987 film, see, (later Navy Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker). 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. The prison had no running water or electricity . The rule entailed that the prisoners would return home in the order that they were shot down and captured. WALSH, Capt. This was one of many ways POWs figured out how to communicate. Hoa Lo's 20-foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. [10]:79 No matter the opinion of the public, the media became infatuated with the men returned in Operation Homecoming who were bombarded with questions concerning life in the VC and PAVN prison camps. 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. At the same time, the Defense Department began releasing, in batches, the names of the military prisoners in Communist hands who were on the list turned over in Paris along with the civilians. 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. Who was the most famous prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton? Jeremiah A. Jr., Navy, Virginia Beach, Va. and Mobile, Ala., captured December 1965. Thomas R., Navy, not named in previous lists. 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. [29], Of the 13 prisons used to incarcerate POWs, five were located in Hanoi, and the remainder were situated outside the city.[31]. He was also the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon, and the first man to fully witness the curvature of the earth. Richard D., Navy, La Jolla, Calif. NAKAGAWA, Comdr. The name Hoa Lo refers to a potter's kiln, but loosely translated it means "hell's hole" or "fiery furnace." [5] Harris had remembered the code from prior training and taught it to his fellow prisoners. [2] It was nevertheless often overcrowded, holding some 730 prisoners on a given day in 1916, a figure which rose to 895 in 1922 and 1,430 in 1933. Michael P., Navy, Berkeley, Calif. DAIGLE, Lieut. The American soldier followed his instructions, and even managed to leave his own note, identifying himself as Air Force Capt. Hundreds were tortured there with meat hooks and iron chains including John McCain. LEWIS, Lieut. [26] Others were not among them; there were defiant church services[27] and an effort to write letters home that only portrayed the camp in a negative light. SERE instructor. BLACK, Cmdr, Cole, Navy, Lake City, Minn., San Diego, Calif., captured June 1966. Edward, Air Force, Harrison, N. Y., Quincy, Mass., captured Oct. 1965. 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]. Thirteen prisons and prison camps were used to house U.S. prisoners in North Vietnam, the most widely known of which was Ha L Prison (nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton"). 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. - Backpacks ddd hoa lo prison historic site hell on earth background: in the last decades of the 19 th century, hanoi had dramatically transformed the situation due to the ANZALDUA, Sgt. Jeremiah Denton later said, They beat you with fists and fan belts. [10]:80, The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the U.S. Department of State each had liaison officers dedicated to prepare for the return of American POWs well in advance of their actual return. Joseph C., Navy, Prairie Village, Kan. POLFISR, Comdr.

How To Change Calendar Dates In Word Template, Articles L