list of hanoi hilton prisoners

Comdr. By tapping on the prison walls, the prisoners would warn each other about the worst guards, explain what to expect in interrogations, and encourage each other not to break. Before the American prisoners gave the prison its now-infamous name, the Hanoi Hilton was a French colonial prison called La Maison Centrale. Tames, Navy, Lakeland, Fla., captured October, 1965. Although North Vietnam was a signatory of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949,[9] which demanded "decent and humane treatment" of prisoners of war, severe torture methods were employed, such as waterboarding, strappado (known as "the ropes" to POWs),[10] irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Cmdr, Paul E Navy, Richmond, Va. NAUGHTON, Lieut. * Firearms, to include conceal carry and other dangerous weapons, are specifically prohibited in Federal facilities in accordance with 18 USC 930 (c) Paul Gordon, Marines, Newton, Mass. HENDERSON, Capt. It was first built in the late 1890s by Vietnam's French colonizers as a central prison (Maison Centrale) for Vietnamese criminals. The prison continued to be in use after the release of the American prisoners. All visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. But others were not so lucky. [11][12] Each POW was also assigned their own escort to act as a buffer between "past trauma and future shock". Fifty-six commandos landed by helicopter and assaulted the prison, but the prisoners had been moved some months earlier and none were rescued. In addition all bags are subject to search and may be placed through an X-Ray machine. Who was the most famous prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton? Everett, Jr. Navy, Santa Clara, Calif., captured August, 1964. But we did the best we could. [14] These names were chosen because many pilots had trained at Nellis Air Force Base, located in proximity to Las Vegas. BRADY, Capt. I thought perhaps I was going to die, said John McCain in this 1999 interview on his time at the Hanoi Hilton. Ralph E., LL Miami. Only one room in the back is dedicated to American POWs, though it doesnt make any reference to torture there are even videos detailing the kind treatment of the prisoners alongside photos of Americans playing sports on the prison grounds. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. He became a naval aviator and flew ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the French colonial period, Vietnamese prisoners were detained and tortured at the Ha L prison. 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. COLLINS, Major Thomas Edward, Air Force, Jackson, Mississippi, captured Oct. 1965. Render, James U. Rollins, Thomas Rushton, Richard H. S auliudin g, Laurence J. Stark, Floyd J. Thompson, Richard W. Utecht, Richard G. Waldhaus, Eugene A. Weaver, and Charles E. Willis. 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. 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.. He was kept there for five and a half years. One of the prerequisites for and provisions of the accords was the return of all U.S. prisoners of war (POWs). Joseph C., Navy, Prairie Village, Kan. POLFISR, Comdr. DANIELS, Cmdr. He flew a combined 163 combat, The Most Influential Contemporary Americans, Every Person Who Has Hosted 'Saturday Night Live', The Best People Who Hosted SNL In The '00s. Render, Navy, Lagrange, Ga., captured Februcry, 1966. If you have not read Bill Gately on LinkedIn: The Hanoi Hilton POW Exhibit at the American Heritage Museum 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. 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. [29], Of the 13 prisons used to incarcerate POWs, five were located in Hanoi, and the remainder were situated outside the city.[31]. Jobs People Learning Dismiss Dismiss. 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. They were finally free to put their enemies behind its bars, and American soldiers became their prime targets. 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. This place held many politicians, great revolutionaries of Vietnam who opposed the French . The film portrays fictional characters . Comdr, Earl G., Jr., Navy, San Diego. Between 12th and 14th Streets [7] During periods of protracted isolation the tap code facilitated elaborate mental projects to keep the prisoners' sanity. John McCain, leads a column of POWs released from the Hanoi Hilton, awaiting transportation to Gia Lam Airport. 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 . Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. 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. The prison was built in Hanoi by the French, in dates ranging from 1886 to 1889[1] to 1898[2] to 1901,[3] when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina. Windell B. Rivers, Navy, Oxnard, Calif. ROLLINS, Lieut, Comdr. Correspondingly, Richard Nixon and his administration began to focus on salvaging his presidency. Built in the late 19th century, Ha L originally held up to 600 Vietnamese 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. Made for smaller wrists and ankles, these locks were so tight that they cut into the mens skin, turning their hands black. 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. [28], "Hanoi Hilton" redirects here. March 29, 1973. See the article in its original context from. 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. Comdr. Forty years later as I look back on that experience, believe it or not, I have somewhat mixed emotions in that it was a very difficult period, he said in 2013. [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. 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. [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. March 29, 1973. He served as President of the Naval War College from October 1977 until he retired from the Navy in 1979. Weapons, Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia. During this later period, it was known to American POWs as the "Hanoi Hilton". (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. Bob Shumaker noticed a fellow inmate regularly dumping his slop bucket outside. 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. GLOWER, Cmdr. His initial operational assignment was in fighter aircraft, then he participated in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior high altitude balloon flight projects from 1956 to 1960, setting a world record for the highest skydive from a height greater than 19 miles (31 km). Then, bowed or bent in half, the prisoner was hoisted up onto the hook to hang by ropes. [19] During 1969, they broadcast a series of statements from American prisoners that purported to support this notion. In North Vietnam alone, more than a dozen prisons were scattered in and around the capital city of Hanoi. It was also located near the Hanoi French Quarter. American POWs gave them nicknames: Alcatraz, Briarpatch, Dirty Bird, the Hanoi Hilton, the Zoo. 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 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. So the Vietnamese moved them to a remote outpost, the one the POWs called Alcatraz. "People & Events: The Hanoi March", PBS American Experience. I had reached mine. The Alcatraz Gang was a group of eleven POWs who were held separately because of their particular resistance to their captors. As of 26 July 2019 the Department of Defense's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency listed 1,587 Americans as missing in the war of which 1,009 were classified as further pursuit, 90 deferred and 488 non-recoverable. 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. NICHOLS, Lieut. 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." Abel L., Marines, Denver, Colo., captured April, 1969. Lawrence Victor, Marines, Huron, S. D. MARVEL, Lieut, Col. Jerry Wen. Home. [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. Accounted-For: This report includes the U.S. personnel whose remains have been recovered and identified since the end of the war. They would have the shortest stays in captivity. 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. In the Hanoi Hilton, POWs were treated poorly, beaten and . WARNER, Capt. SCHOEFFEL, Comdr. It was originally deliberated to hold Vietnamese . Edward D., Navy, Lemoore, Calif. EVERETT, Lieut, (jg.) Prisoners were variously isolated, starved, beaten, tortured, and paraded in anti-American propaganda. [1] The deal would come to be known as Operation Homecoming and was divided into three phases. The name originated from the street name ph Ha L, due to the concentration of stores selling wood stoves and coal-fire stoves along the street in pre-colonial times. Comdr. Conditions were appalling. The list left about half the 51 American civilians believed missing or captured unaccounted for. Jose Jesus, Jr., Marines, Retlugio, Texas, captured January, 1970. list of hanoi hilton prisonersearthquake today in germany. WHEAT, Lieut. For those locked inside the Hanoi Hilton, this meant years of daily torture and abuse. 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. 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. The code was based on two-number combinations that represented each letter. MARTIN, Comdr. NORRINGTON, Lieut. HALL, Lieut. [11] 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. HUTTON, Comdr. [17] Under these extreme conditions, many prisoners' aim became merely to absorb as much torture as they could before giving in. WANAT, Capt. RATZLAFF, Lieut. 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"). [19] The North Vietnamese also maintained that their prisons were no worse than prisons for POWs and political prisoners in South Vietnam, such as the one on Cn Sn Island. [3] A 1913 renovation expanded its capacity from 460 inmates to 600. Prisoners were variously isolated, starved, beaten, tortured, and paraded in anti-American propaganda. [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. 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]. MULLINS, Lieut, Comdr. David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesAmerican POW soldiers line up at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. DOREMUS Lieut. [10] The prison complex was sarcastically nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by the American POWs, in reference to the well-known Hilton Hotel chain. [26] Other parts have been converted into a commercial complex retaining the original French colonial walls. In addition to extended solitary confinement, prisoners were regularly strapped down with iron stocks leftover from the French colonial era. [1], The central urban location of the prison also became part of its early character. The first round of POWs to be released in February 1973 mostly included injured soldiers in need of medical attention. David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesAmerican POW soldiers inside their jail cell at the Hanoi Hilton prior to their release. Alfred H. Agnew, Navy, Mullins, S. C., listed as missing since being shot down on Dec. 29, 1972. [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. 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. Charles G. Boyd, USAF pilot, POW for almost 7 years, retired general; the only Vietnam-era POW to reach a four-star rank. 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. American prisoners of war endured miserable conditions and were tortured until they were forced to make an anti-American statement. Vietnam War POW/MIA List. A majority of the prisoners were held at camps in North Vietnam, however some POWs were held in at various locations throughout Southeast Asia. November 27, 2021. A total of 69 POWs were held in South Vietnam by the VC and would eventually leave the country aboard flights from Loc Ninh, while only nine POWs were released from Laos, as well as an additional three from China. Edward, Air Force, Harrison, N. Y., Quincy, Mass., captured Oct. 1965. U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. U.S. officials saw this tape and Denton was later awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery. Constitution Avenue, NW '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. . Comdr. In addition, Ha L was depicted in the 1987 Hollywood movie The Hanoi Hilton. 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). Who was the most famous prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton? ESTES, Comdr. On February 12, 1973, the first of 591 U.S. prisoners began to be repatriated, and return flights continued until late March. That delightful day in 1973 would not be the last time that some of the prisoners would see the Hanoi Hilton. Collins H., Navy, San Diego. [21] Many POWs speculated that Ho had been personally responsible for their mistreatment. SERE instructor. (U.S. Air Force), Shortly after the war, ex-POW Mike McGrath annotated this detailed map of Hanoi to show the location of prisons. Guards would return at intervals to tighten them until all feeling was gone, and the prisoners limbs turned purple and swelled to twice their normal size. The prison was originally built by the French colonial government in the late 1800s and was . One of them died from the torture which followed his recapture. GOODERMOTE, Lieut. Cmdr, Read Id., Navy, Old Greenwich, Conn. WILBER, Lieut. tured 1967. 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. BRUDNO, Capt. Wayne K., Navy, Berlin, N. Y., captured. He was also a prisoner of war, and recipient of the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. As Cmdr. Now he says when he hears Marie Osmond . [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. DAVIES, Capt. The cells replicated in the museum'sexhibit represent the Hanoi Hilton experience. 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]. 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. The filthy, infested prison compound contained several buildings, each given nicknames such as "Heartbreak Hotel," "New Guy Village" and "Little Vegas" by POWs. 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 . But McCain, for one, still came to terms with his time at the horrific Hanoi Hilton. Charles R., Navy, Miramar, Calif. HAINES, Comdr. Notorious Hanoi prison held both Vietnamese and American prisoners By Michael Aquino Updated on 02/21/21 Prisoner diorama at Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton") in Vietnam. The Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, Vietnam, was dubbed the "Hanoi Hilton" by American prisoners of war (POWs). Usaf/Getty ImagesJohn McCain, leads a column of POWs released from the Hanoi Hilton, awaiting transportation to Gia Lam Airport. 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,. 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. Cmdr, David k., Navy. Significant numbers of Americans were also captured during Operation Linebacker between May and October 1972 and Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, also known as the "Christmas Bombings". - Alcohol The Hanoi prison is located at No.01, Hoa Lo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, known as Hanoi Hilton Prison. [9], In addition, the return of the nearly 600 POWs further polarized the sides of the American public and media. . This Pentagon . 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 Beginning in late 1965, the application of torture against U.S. prisoners became severe. They cut my flight suit off of me when I was taken into the prison, McCain said. 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.

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