Vietnam POW returns to the Hanoi Hilton in search of closure
Stars and Stripes
By Paul Alexander
Published: August 12, 2014
HANOI, Vietnam — North Vietnam wasn’t on many Americans’ radar until President Lyndon B. Johnson went on radio 50 years ago to tell them about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, a naval clash off the coast of the Southeast Asian nation that escalated U.S. involvement there.
The next day, Aug. 5, 1964, American bombers were pounding targets in the communist country. Antiaircraft fire hit a Navy Skyhawk piloted by Everett Alvarez Jr. near Hong Gai.
Alvarez ejected and was captured. First held nearby, he was transferred to Hanoi on Aug. 12, becoming the first U.S. prisoner of war to be taken to the Hoa Lo prison.
For seven months, Alvarez was the only POW there. Then other aviators trickled in until the cells were crowded. Using gallows humor to cope with their poor treatment, they came up with a nickname for their harsh accommodations:
The Hanoi Hilton.
Returning to Vietnam
Alvarez had been a POW for three years and three months when Air Force Lt. Lee Ellis’ F-4C Phantom jet went down on Nov. 7, 1967, during a mission to pound the guns that protected the Quang Khe ferry near Route 1A, the main thoroughfare for transporting supplies to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He and Capt. Ken Fisher had just dropped their bombs when their plane was hit.
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Showing posts with label Gulf of Tonkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gulf of Tonkin. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Sunday, August 10, 2014
VIetnam War "cautionary tale that has gone unheeded"
They wanted a war, but didn't want to pay for the veterans they created. They wanted a war but didn't have plans to finish it. Lessons history tried to teach, but as we've seen, they learned nothing other than avoid drafting young men into service.
50 years on, fateful Vietnam resolution resonates
The Associated Press
By Hillel Italie
Published: August 9, 2014
In this Aug. 10, 1964 file photo, President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, as leaders of Congress stand by his desk for a ceremonial signing of the Congressional resolution, also known as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, backing his firm stand against aggression in Southeast Asia.
AP
NEW YORK — A dubious threat to U.S. interests. A swift vote in Congress for broad presidential war powers in response. A long, costly and bitterly debated war.
Fifty years ago Sunday, reacting to reports of a U.S. Navy encounter with enemy warships in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam - reports long since discredited - President Lyndon Johnson signed a resolution passed overwhelmingly by Congress that historians call the crucial catalyst for deep American involvement in the Vietnam War. Many also see it as a cautionary tale that has gone unheeded.
"I think we are probably a bit better informed now, but I don't think that makes us a lot safer," says Edwin Moises, author of "Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War." Every era brings new foreign policy and political challenges, said the Clemson University history professor, "and I think it is utterly unpredictable what kind of misunderstandings may come along."
"If you ask whether we learned anything, I would say not enough," says former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat who opposed the war in Iraq, long after Tonkin and Vietnam.
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Over 500 Vallejo Vietnam veterans honored
Over 500 Vallejo Vietnam veterans honored during Saturday ceremony
Times Herald
By John Glidden
POSTED: 08/09/2014
A few had trouble standing during the singing of the national anthem; age forcing some to hold onto a loved one or a cane. They stood, saluting the flag, like so many times before.
Yet, it was a different atmosphere for the Vallejo Vietnam War veterans Saturday who filed into the Veterans Memorial Building on Admiral Callaghan Lane.
Many had waited decades for this day and they were not to be denied recognition one minute longer.
Various local, state and federal elected officials packed the main stage to honor 557 Vallejo residents who served in the Vietnam War.
The celebration coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution signed into law by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The resolution is generally seen as the official start to the Vietnam War.
"We are the only city, I know of, doing this level of honoring for Vietnam vets," said Nestor Aliga, organizer of the ceremony. "Each of the vets received 11 items, including five certificates with their (respective) names on it. Nothing generic, they can hang these items on their walls."
Aliga said that he had to turn down 300 Vietnam vets who lived outside of Vallejo.
read more here
Times Herald
By John Glidden
POSTED: 08/09/2014
A few had trouble standing during the singing of the national anthem; age forcing some to hold onto a loved one or a cane. They stood, saluting the flag, like so many times before.
Yet, it was a different atmosphere for the Vallejo Vietnam War veterans Saturday who filed into the Veterans Memorial Building on Admiral Callaghan Lane.
Many had waited decades for this day and they were not to be denied recognition one minute longer.
Various local, state and federal elected officials packed the main stage to honor 557 Vallejo residents who served in the Vietnam War.
The celebration coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution signed into law by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The resolution is generally seen as the official start to the Vietnam War.
"We are the only city, I know of, doing this level of honoring for Vietnam vets," said Nestor Aliga, organizer of the ceremony. "Each of the vets received 11 items, including five certificates with their (respective) names on it. Nothing generic, they can hang these items on their walls."
Aliga said that he had to turn down 300 Vietnam vets who lived outside of Vallejo.
read more here
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