Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia

DAYTON, Ohio - In this display is a handmade "ditty bag" made from old undershirts, two needles and thread that a POW made from electrical wire by grinding them to proper size and shape on concrete and sharpening a nail to a point and using it as a punch for the eyes, a shirt issued prior to mid-1968 with the embroidery done in August 1972 by Capt. Edward Mechenbier of Dayton from a photo of his wife (he made his needles and thread from copper wire and an old blanket), metal repair tongs made by a POW for pulling straps through sandals, a skull cap made of two socks sent from home, undershorts mailed to a POW by his wife, who embroidered the hearts, in November 1969, a rosary made from bread colored with ink and string taken from a cotton blanket, pencil made of bread and cloth rolled over a toothpaste tube with the lead was made of charcoal and soap, playing cards used by Capt. Tom Moe to play solitaire and bridge, dice made of bread dough, ashes and toothpaste, a North Vietnamese pen, a ring made from a toothbrush handle, a pinball game received in a parcel from home, the "Acey Deucy" game pieces made of bread, ashes, and Kool-Aid received in a parcel from home, parts of Shakespeare’s plays printed by a POW on toilet paper, poetry on cigarette wrappers, a book made in Hoa Lo for language classes and cigarette cases. These artifacts are part of 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. (U.S. Air Force photo)