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  • Operation Homecoming

    The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 included provisions for exchanging prisoners of war. The plan to bring American prisoners home was called OPERATION HOMECOMING. Prisoners were to be returned to U.S. control during February and March 1973, with the longest-held generally returning first. The North

  • Family Odysseys: Working at Home for POW-MIAs

    Families of Americans captured in Southeast Asia could not be sure whether missing servicemen were alive or dead, since North Vietnam refused to release a list of prisoners. Quiet Diplomacy Initially, the U.S. government urged families to remain silent because public outcry might make POW treatment

  • Unbroken Will: The Lance Sijan Story

     The Vietnam POW experience includes many examples of extraordinary endurance and courage. One of the most notable is the story of Air Force Lt. Lance Sijan, who was shot down, captured and ultimately awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions as a POW. After being shot down over Laos

  • Inner Strength

    Communication allowed POWs to maintain strength and a sense of community. But talking or writing--any communication--was strictly against prison rules. The North Vietnamese, however, were never able to stop POW communication. This success marked an important victory for the prisoners. Sending

  • 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

  • Brutality and Endurance

     North Vietnam did not treat Americans as prisoners of war. Instead, they justified brutalizing POWs by claiming they were simply outlaws in an "undeclared war." Sixty-five POWs died in captivity, either by execution, torture, injury or disease. Torture was Common North Vietnamese brutally and

  • Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia

    American prisoners of war (POWs) in Southeast Asia endured inhuman torture, political exploitation, filthy living conditions and endless attempts at communist indoctrination. North Vietnam treated U.S. servicemen not as POWs but as foreign invaders and criminals bent on subverting Vietnam's

  • Final Combat: The Mayaguez Incident at Koh Tang

    After South Vietnam fell to communist forces, the U.S. was again involved in combat in Southeast Asia. In May 1975, the Cambodian Khmer Rouge navy seized the American cargo ship SS Mayaguez and its crew of 39 in international waters. President Gerald Ford acted decisively to rescue the crew. The

  • Callsign "Apple 1"

    Before it was converted from an HH-53, the MH-53M (serial number 68-10357) on display took part in the Son Tay Raid -- one of the most famous combat actions of the Southeast Asia War. Flown by Lt. Col. Warner A. Britton under the callsign "Apple 1," it carried the mission's "command element" on the

  • Rescue Attempt: The Son Tay Raid

    In 1970, U.S. forces attempted to rescue POWs from captivity in North Vietnam. American officials decided a daring operation in the heart of North Vietnam was worth the risk, and President Richard Nixon asked the Pentagon to explore "some unconventional rescue ideas." Planning the RaidThe target was