Important Message
This Website Terms and Condition of Use Agreement
also known as a 'terms of service agreement'
Will be at the bottom of most web pages!
Please read it before using this website.
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In February and March, 1973, following the Paris Peace Accords, 591 Americans (26 of them civilians) were released by the Communist authorities. All had been held as prisoners of war, principally in North Vietnam, and the vast majority were USAF or USN airmen shot down during operations Rolling Thunder (1965-68) and Linebacker (1972). Some had been held in confinement under inhumane conditions for up to eight years; one of them, USN Lieutenant Everett Alvarez, had been shot down during a Pierce Arrow retaliatory strike on Hon Gai in August, 1964. Any U.S. airman who ejected over the North faced immediate problems. In many cases, the process of ejection led to physical injury. This, coupled with the trauma of suddenly being shot out of the sky and the fact that, as a pale-skinned American, he could not hide among the local people, made evasion extremely difficult. Although air rescue was possible and did occur, most airmen were quickly picked up by the Communist authorities--in many instances not before being beaten by irate civilians.
The usual procedure was for the captive airman to be paraded before the people (and the propaganda cameras) as a "capitalist hired gun" or "imperialist air pirate" before being transferred to the old French colonial prison of Hoa Lo in the center of Hanoi. Here he would be stripped, searched, and--usually after a period of solitary confinement to increase disorientation--interrogated in "New Guy Village," part of the Hoa Lo compound reserved for new arrivals. At this stage, he would be aware that he was in the "Hanoi Hilton" and that escape was impossible. He would be allowed no contact with fellow prisoners.
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This isolation would continue in other compounds--nicknamed "Las Vegas" and "Heartbreak Hotel"--where he would be subjected to more questioning and, more often than not, brutal torture. The latter was in violation of the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of PoWs, but the Communists' view was that because war had not been officially declared, the Americans were acting illegally and so deserved no protection,
There was even talk of war-crimes trials of U.S. airmen being held, although this idea was dropped after intense diplomatic pressure on Hanoi. Under torture--which included tying the prisoners so tightly that joints were dislocated and breathing was restricted-- many Americans wrote "confessions," couched in such ridiculous language that no one took them seriously outside the Communist bloc. One PoW, brought before the press in Hanoi, even winked the word "torture" in Morse code to alert the U.S. Government.
Such bravery was indicative of the resolve of the majority of the PoWs, who maintained their dignity and discipline throughout their ordeal. Contact between them was established by means of a simple code, transmited by tapping pipes, winking, or coughing, and, after the unsuccessful U.S. Son Tay raid in November, !970, most of the men were brought together in the Hanoi Hilton from outlying compounds such as the "Briarpatch" (35 miles northwest of Hanoi) and the "Zoo" (in Cu Loc}. A more communal life was then possible, The prisoners were eventually returned by the Hanoi government to the United States in early 1973--an event that was highly emotional for both the men and their longsuffering friends and families.
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| The personal effects brought home from North Vietnam by an American POW include locally produced cigarettes, matches, and toothpaste. |
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| Lieutenant Colonel James Lindbeg Hughes, shot down over the North in 1967, is marched into custody in Hanoi by his captors. |
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| The layout of the Son Tay prison camp is shown in this aerial view. The U.S. raid on the camp on November 21, 1970, to liberate American PoWs was well exectued but fruitless: the PoWs had previously been moved to another location. |
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| Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Strim is welcomed home by his family in March, 1971. An enormous outpouring of public emotion accompanied the return of the POWs to the U.S |
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This website contains, in various sections, portions of copyrighted material not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This material is used for educational purposes only and presented to provide understanding or give information for issues concerning the public as a whole. In accordance with U.S. Copyright Law Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit. More Information
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I and West Saint Paul Antiques can not be responsible for information others may post on an external website linked here ~ or for websites which link to West Saint Paul Antiques. I would ask, however, that should you see something which you question or which seems incorrect or inappropriate, that you notify me immediately at floyd@weststpaulantiques.com Also, I would very much appreciate being notified if you find links which do not work or other problems with the website itself. Thank You!
Please know that there is no copyright infringement intended with any part of this website ~ should you find something that belongs to you and proper credit has not been given (or if you simply wish for me to remove it),
just let me know and I will do so right away.
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Website Terms and Condition of Use Agreement
also known as a 'terms of service agreement'
By using this website, West Saint Paul Antiques . Com, you are agreeing to use the site according to and in agreement with the above and following terms of use without limitation or qualification. If you do not agree, then you must refain from using the site.
The 'Terms of Use' govern your access to and use of this website and facebook pages associated with it. If you do not agree to all of the Terms of Use, do not access or use the website, or the facebook sites. By accessing or using any of them, you and any entity you are authorized to represent signify your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.
Said Terms of Use may be revised and/or updated at any time by posting of the changes on this page of the website. Your continued usage of the website, or the facebook site(s) after any changes to the Terms of Use will mean that you have accepted the changes. Also, any these sites themselves may be changed, supplemented, deleted, and/or updated at my sole discretion without notice; this establishes intellectual property rights by owner (myself).
It saddens me to include a Terms of Use for West Saint Paul Antiques . Com, but we all realize it is something that is necessary and must be done these days. By using the website, or facebook for West Saint Paul Antiques, you represent that you are of legal age and that you agree to be bound by the Terms of Use and any subsequent modifications. Your use of the West Saint Paul Antiques sites signify your electronic acceptance of the Terms of Use and constitute your signature to same as if you had actually signed an agreement embodying the terms.
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