Cmdr. In 1967, McCain joined the prisoners at the Hanoi Hilton after his plane was shot down. 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. Michael P., Navy, Berkeley, Calif. DAIGLE, Lieut. 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 . 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. During his first four months in solitary confinement, Lt. Cmdr. 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". Leonard R., Jr., Malic esstot named in previous public lists. Who was the most famous prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton? James M., Navy, Lemoore, Calif. HIGDON, Lieut. Giles R Navy, Albany, Ga., Sanford, Fla. PENN, Lieut. Prisoners were variously isolated, starved, beaten, tortured, and paraded in anti-American propaganda. 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 Comdr. John McCain returned to Hanoi decades later to find that most of the complex had been demolished in order to make room for luxury high-rise apartments. RATZLAFF, Lieut. It was first built in the late 1890s by Vietnam's French colonizers as a central prison (Maison Centrale) for Vietnamese criminals. Finally, on the fifth day of protest Colonel Norm Gaddis, the senior American officer left at the Hanoi Hilton, went to the men's cell and gave them a direct order that they would cooperate. March 29, 1973. The name Ha L, commonly translated as "fiery furnace" or even "Hell's hole",[1] also means "stove". 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"). MOORE, Lieut. [4] Within the prison itself, communication and ideas passed. [14] 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. Many of the returned POWs struggled to become reintegrated with their families and the new American culture as they had been held in captivity for between a year to almost ten years. As Cmdr. [23][24], The post-raid consolidation brought many prisoners who had spent years in isolation into large cells holding roughly 70 men each. He had led aerial attacks from the carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. [28] Such prisoners were sometimes sent to a camp reserved for "bad attitude" cases. [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. While on a bombing mission during, James Bond 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. 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. John B Navy, Lemoore, Calif. METZGER, Lieut. forces. So the Vietnamese moved them to a remote outpost, the one the POWs called Alcatraz. The museum is a fantastic publicity enterprise with so little link to the horrors that . 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. Many former prisoners of war have suffered the hell of torture. [2] These missing personnel would become the subject of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. en-route to Hanoi. Clarence R., Navy, not named in previous lists. The Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, Vietnam, was dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton" by American prisoners of war (POWs). On January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, officially bringing to an end the American war in Vietnam. 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. - Service animals They would have the shortest stays in captivity. 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. Correspondingly, Richard Nixon and his administration began to focus on salvaging his presidency. [26], At the "Hanoi Hilton", POWs cheered the resumed bombing of North Vietnam starting in April 1972, whose targets included the Hanoi area. The "Hanoi Hilton" and Other Prisons The most notorious POW camp was Hoa Lo Prison, known to Americans as the "Hanoi Hilton." The name Hoa Lo refers to a potter's kiln, but loosely translated it means "hell's hole" or "fiery furnace." Hoa Lo's 20-foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. The rest became a museum called the Ha L Prison Memorial. Comdr. 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. 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. Hoa Lo Prison, more popularly known as the "Hanoi Hilton", is a museum near the French Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam. CHAPMAN, Lieut. The cells replicated in the museum'sexhibit represent the Hanoi Hilton experience. Comdr. In addition all bags are subject to search and may be placed through an X-Ray machine. 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. Dismiss. They were finally free to put their enemies behind its bars, and American soldiers became their prime targets. 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. 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. John Owen, Air Force, Reading, Pa., captured February, 1967. The prison was built by the French in 1896, with the French name Maison Centrale. Also, a badly beaten and weakened POW who had been released that summer disclosed to the world press the conditions to which they were being subjected,[14] and the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia heightened awareness of the POWs' plight. During the Vietnam War, Risner was a double recipient of the Air Force Cross, the second highest military decoration for valor that can be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force, awarded the first for valor in aerial combat and the second for gallantry as a prisoner of war of the North Vietnamese for more than seven years. [7], Overall, Operation Homecoming did little to satisfy the American public's need for closure on the war in Vietnam. Commander Stockdale was the senior naval officer held captive in Hanoi, North Vietnam. Senator John McCain tops our list. Kenneth H., Navy, home town unknown, captured. Cmdr, Paul E Navy, Richmond, Va. NAUGHTON, Lieut. [5] Harris had remembered the code from prior training and taught it to his fellow prisoners. List of Famous Prisoners at the Hanoi Hilton ranked by fame and popularity. The POWs had a "first in, first out" interpretation of the Code of the U.S. Fighting Force, meaning they could only accept release in the order they had been captured, but making an exception for those seriously sick or badly injured. Locked and with nowhere to move or even to go to the bathroom vermin became their only company. DAVIES, Capt. Dennis A., Marines, not named in previous lists. 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. By 1954, when the French were ousted from the area, more than 2,000 men were housed within its walls, living in squalid conditions. [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. Charles R., Navy, Miramar, Calif. HAINES, Comdr. March 14, 1973. (j.g.) Theres even an old French guillotine. NORRINGTON, Lieut. Hanoi's list of Americans in captivity is as follows: Clodeon Adkins, Michael D. Benge, Norman J. Brookens, Frank E. Cins, Gary L. Davos, John J. Fritz Jr., Theodore W. Gosta, William H. Hardy, Alexander Henderson, Mihcael H. Kjome, Philip W. Manhard, Lewis E. Mayer, James A. Newingham, Robert F. Olsen, Russell J. 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. - Firearms* Most U.S. prisoners were captured and held in North Vietnam by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN); a much smaller number were captured in the south and held by the Vit Cng (VC). American POW soldiers inside their jail cell at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. 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. 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). [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. Wikimedia CommonsJohn McCains alleged flight suit and parachute, on the display at the former Hanoi Hilton. Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. list of hanoi hilton prisonersearthquake today in germany. '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. "[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. Unlike U.S. service members captured in World War II and the Korean War, 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, who fell overboard from a naval vessel. Joseph E., Navy, Washington, D.C., caplured in Spring 1972. NICHOLS, Lieut. David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesAmerican POW soldiers inside their jail cell at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. 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. March 29, 1973. Among those acknowledged as prisoners in South Vietnam were Michael D. Ebge, Norman T. Brookens, and Richard W. Utecht, who worked for the Agency for International Development and were captured during the Tet offensive of 1968. Together, these 11 men were the most unbreakable prisoners at 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 bracelets with the name and capture date of imprisoned U.S. service members.[1]. BALLARD, Lieut. For the 1987 film, see, (later Navy Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker). The men had missed events including the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the race riots of 1968, the political demonstrations and anti-war protests, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon and the release of The Godfather. Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday at the age of 81, was tortured and held captive for five and a half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, an experience that shaped the rest of. Permitted Items: Whats more, the museum displays a flight suit and parachute labeled as belonging to McCain, from when he was shot down over Hanoi except theyre fake. On his next deployment, while Commander of Carrier Air Wing Sixteen aboard the carrier USS Oriskany (CV-34), his A-4 Skyhawk jet was shot down in North Vietnam on September 9, 1965. ANZALDUA, Sgt. 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." - Purses Prisoners were variously isolated, starved, beaten, tortured, and paraded in anti-American propaganda. March 29, 1973. By the time the Americans sent combat forces into Vietnam in 1965, the Ha L Prison had been reclaimed by the Vietnamese. [7] During periods of protracted isolation the tap code facilitated elaborate mental projects to keep the prisoners' sanity. Paul Gordon, Marines, Newton, Mass. 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.. The name Hoa Lo refers to a potter's kiln, but loosely translated it means "hell's hole" or "fiery furnace." Newly freed prisoners of war celebrate as their C-141A aircraft lifts off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, on Feb. 12, 1973, during Operation Homecoming. Cmdr, Walter E., Navy, Columbia Crass Roads, Pa. and Virginia Beach, Va., captured 1968. The pilots called it, sarcastically, the . SWINDLE, Mai, Orson G., Marines, captured November, 1966. BATLEY, Lieut. Consequently, in adherence with their code, the men did not accept release by refusing to follow instructions or put on their clothes. November 27, 2021. KAVANAUGH, Sgt. [35] However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity. Cmdr, Robert D Navy, Garden City, Mo. [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. At that point, lie, do, or say whatever you must do to survive. Tames, Navy, Lakeland, Fla., captured October, 1965. McGrath also made drawings of his captivity, several of which appear in this exhibit. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. - Diaper bags The American soldier followed his instructions, and even managed to leave his own note, identifying himself as Air Force Capt. James J. Jr., Marines, not named in previous lists. Comdr. 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. David J Navy, San Diego, Calif. RUSSELL, Comdr, Kay, Navy, San Diego, captured in May, 1967. [3] During the early part of Operation Homecoming, groups of POWs released were selected on the basis of longest length of time in prison. [25], Nevertheless, by 1971, some 3050percent 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. John L. Borling, USAF pilot, POW for 6 12 years, retired major general. Fifty-six commandos landed by helicopter and assaulted the prison, but the prisoners had been moved some months earlier and none were rescued. Col. Harlan P., Marines, Fremont, Calif. HELLE, Sgt. - Strollers "It's easy to die but hard to live," a prison guard told one new arrival, "and we'll show you just how hard it is to live." MULLINS, Lieut, Comdr. Jeffrey E. Curry, Chinh T. Nguyen (1997). William M., Navy, Center Hill, Fla. HICKERSON, Comdr. [27], Only part of the prison exists today as a museum. The Hanoi Hilton was depicted in the 1987 Hollywood movie The Hanoi Hilton. Made for smaller wrists and ankles, these locks were so tight that they cut into the mens skin, turning their hands black. [17] Under these extreme conditions, many prisoners' aim became merely to absorb as much torture as they could before giving in. [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. Individuals are permitted to take their own photographs or videos while touring the museum. Between 12th and 14th Streets They eventually decided on using the tap code something that couldnt be understood by North Vietnamese forces. Render, Navy, Lagrange, Ga., captured Februcry, 1966. U.S. officials saw this tape and Denton was later awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery. 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. The march soon deteriorated into near riot conditions, with North Vietnamese civilians beating the POWs along the 2 miles (3.2km) route and their guards largely unable to restrain the attacks. Nevertheless, the aircraft has been maintained as a flying tribute to the POWs and MIAs of the Vietnam War and is now housed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. One of the prerequisites for and provisions of the accords was the return of all U.S. prisoners of war (POWs). [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. Initially, this information was downplayed by American authorities for fear that conditions might worsen for those remaining in North Vietnamese custody. HARDMAN, Comdr. Edward D., Navy, Lemoore, Calif. EVERETT, Lieut, (jg.) 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"). [11][12] Each POW was also assigned their own escort to act as a buffer between "past trauma and future shock". HALL, Lieut. As of 2016, he is the only person to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. The rule entailed that the prisoners would return home in the order that they were shot down and captured. . 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. 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. All visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. Bruce R., Marines, Pensacola, Fla., captured March, 1968. [14] These names were chosen because many pilots had trained at Nellis Air Force Base, located in proximity to Las Vegas. 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. On February 12, 1973, the first of 591 U.S. prisoners began to be repatriated, and return flights continued until late March. The Alcatraz Gang was a group of eleven POWs who were held separately because of their particular resistance to their captors. Edward, Air Force, Harrison, N. Y., Quincy, Mass., captured Oct. 1965. Rio Helmi/LightRocket/Getty ImagesDuring the French colonial period, Vietnamese prisoners were detained and tortured at the Ha L prison. He was transferred to a medical facility and woke up in a room filthy with mosquitoes and rats. The French called the prison "Maison Centrale" which was a common euphemism of prisons in France. 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. On January 27, 1973, Henry Kissinger (then assistant to President Richard Nixon for national security affairs) agreed to a ceasefire with representatives of North Vietnam that provided for the withdrawal of American military forces from South Vietnam. Cmdr, Read Id., Navy, Old Greenwich, Conn. WILBER, Lieut. MILLER, Lieu, Edwin F., Navy, Franklin Lakes, N. J. MOBLEY, Lieut, Joseph S., Navy, Manhattan Beach, Calif. MOLINARE, Lieut. [1], The central urban location of the prison also became part of its early character. 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. American POWs gave them nicknames: Alcatraz, Briarpatch, Dirty Bird, the Hanoi Hilton, the Zoo. This was one of many ways POWs figured out how to communicate. The United States, in Paris, provided a list of 26,000 Communist prisoners held by South Vietnam in exchange. 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. Hanoi Hilton. They cut my flight suit off of me when I was taken into the prison, McCain said. And that is where forgiveness comes in. During his time at the Hanoi Hilton, McCains hair turned completely white. In addition all bags are subject to search and may be placed through an X-Ray machine. Robert Ray, Marines, Not named in previous lists. Henry D., Navy, identified on previous lists only as Carolina native, captured July 1972. Elation, sadness, humor, sarcasm, excitement, depressionall came through.. and Indiana Governor, Dies at 74", "Vietnam: The Betrayal of A Revolution; Victims of Discredited Doctrine, My People Now Look to America", "American Experience: Return With Honor: Online Forum", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=U.S._prisoners_of_war_during_the_Vietnam_War&oldid=1140276278, Vietnam War crimes committed by North Vietnam, Articles with dead external links from March 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Borling, John: Taps on the Walls; Poems from the Hanoi Hilton (2013) Master Wings Publishing Pritzker Military Library, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 09:35.