Prisoners of War during the Vietnam War, National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, the resumed bombing of North Vietnam starting in April 1972, "Vets, Flyers discuss ideology, time in POW camps", "John Dramesi's unflattering memories of his fellow POW John McCain", "Unshakable Will to Survive Sustained P. O. W.'s Over the Years", "Joseph Kernan, Vietnam P.O.W. 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. [9] Following the late 1970 attempted rescue operation at Sn Ty prison camp, most of the POWs at the outlying camps were moved to Ha L, so that the North Vietnamese had fewer camps to protect. The Hanoi Hilton was used by the North Vietnam to hold prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. Lawrence Victor, Marines, Huron, S. D. MARVEL, Lieut, Col. Jerry Wen. March 29, 1973. Fred R., Navy, North Dartmouth, Mass. The culture of the POWs held at the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison was on full display with the story that would come to be known as the "Kissinger Twenty". As many as 114 American POWs died in captivity during the Vietnam War, many within the unforgiving walls of the Hanoi Hotel. MONTAGUE, Maj. Paul J., Marines, not named in previous lists. Here, in a small structure. Taken before TV cameras in order to film antiwar propaganda for the North Vietnamese, Denton blinked the work torture in Morse code the first evidence that life at the Hanoi Hilton was not what the enemy forces made it seem. 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. There is some disagreement among the first group of POWs who coined the name but F8D pilot Bob Shumaker[11] was the first to write it down, carving "Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton" on the handle of a pail to greet the arrival of Air Force Lieutenant Robert Peel. McCain spent five and a half years at the Hanoi Hilton, a time that he documented in his 1999 book "Faith of My Fathers." McCain was subjected to rope bindings and beatings during his time as a POW. But at the same time the bonds of friendship and love for my fellow prisoners will be the most enduring memory of my five and a half years of incarceration.. [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. Following the first release, twenty prisoners were then moved to a different section of the prison, but the men knew something was wrong as several POWs with longer tenures were left in their original cells. tured March 1966. Most U.S. prisoners were captured and held in North Vietnam by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN); a much smaller number were captured in the south and held by the Vit Cng (VC). [11][13] The goal of the North Vietnamese was to get written or recorded statements from the prisoners that criticized U.S. conduct of the war and praised how the North Vietnamese treated them. Dennis A., Navy, Scottsdale, Ariz. MOORE, Capt, Ernest M., Jr., Navy Lemoore, Calif. MULLEN, Comdr. Cmdr, Walter E., Navy, Columbia Crass Roads, Pa. and Virginia Beach, Va., captured 1968. After discussions the twenty men agreed that they should not have been the next POWs released as they estimated it should have taken another week and a half for most of their discharges and came to the conclusion that their early release would likely be used for North Vietnamese propaganda. Far from a luxury hotel, here the prisoners of war were kept in isolation for years on end, chained to rat-infested floors, and hung from rusty metal hooks. He was also the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon, and the first man to fully witness the curvature of the earth. The POWs made extensive use of a tap code to communicate, which was introduced in June 1965 by four POWs held in the Ha L: Captain Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, Lieutenant Phillip Butler, Lieutenant Robert Peel and Lieutenant Commander Robert Shumaker. Wayne K., Navy, Berlin, N. Y., captured. Initially, this information was downplayed by American authorities for fear that conditions might worsen for those remaining in North Vietnamese custody. RIVERS, Capt. See the article in its original context from. - Coolers "POW Camps In North Vietnam," Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. U.S. MILLER, Lieu, Edwin F., Navy, Franklin Lakes, N. J. MOBLEY, Lieut, Joseph S., Navy, Manhattan Beach, Calif. MOLINARE, Lieut. Alfred H. Agnew, Navy, Mullins, S. C., listed as missing since being shot down on Dec. 29, 1972. At that point, lie, do, or say whatever you must do to survive. . Individuals are permitted to take their own photographs or videos while touring the museum. TELLIER, Sgt. Hoa Lo's 20-foot walls, topped with barbed wire and broken glass, made escape nearly impossible. Who was the most famous prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton? Weapons, Return with Honor: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia. Some played mind games to keep themselves sane, making mental lists or building imaginary houses, one nail at a time. SCHOEFFEL, Comdr. On his next deployment, while Commander of Carrier Air Wing Sixteen aboard the carrier USS Oriskany (CV-34), his A-4 Skyhawk jet was shot down in North Vietnam on September 9, 1965. [8], U.S. prisoners of war in North Vietnam were subjected to extreme torture and malnutrition during their captivity. On February 12, 1973, three C-141 transports flew to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one C-9A aircraft was sent to Saigon, South Vietnam to pick up released prisoners of war. 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. Douglas Brent Hegdahl III (born September 3, 1946) is a former United States Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class (E-5) who was held as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. 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 RATZLAFF, Lieut. William J., Navy, New Manchester, W. Va. McKAMEY, Comdr. Correspondingly, Richard Nixon and his administration began to focus on salvaging his presidency. An affecting and powerful drama about the experiences of POW's trying to survive a brutal Hanoi prison camp in the midst of the Vietnam War. 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. MULLINS, Lieut, Comdr. Richard D., Navy, La Jolla, Calif. NAKAGAWA, Comdr. [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. Locked and with nowhere to move or even to go to the bathroom vermin became their only company. 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. After reading about the gruesome conditions that awaited American POWs in the Hanoi Hilton, read about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which first sparked the Vietnam War. 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 reward for military intelligence. The march soon deteriorated into near riot conditions, with North Vietnamese civilians beating the POWs along the 2 miles (3.2km) route and their guards largely unable to restrain the attacks. Peter R., Navy, Naples, Fla., captured October, 1967. On February 12, 1973, the first of 591 U.S. prisoners began to be repatriated, and return flights continued until late March. Comdr. [12], Beginning in early 1967, a new area of the prison was opened for incoming American POWs;[13] it was dubbed "Little Vegas", and its individual buildings and areas were named after Las Vegas Strip landmarks, such as "Golden Nugget", "Thunderbird", "Stardust", "Riviera", and the "Desert Inn". Those listed as having died in captivity include the following: Gustav Hertz, Joseph Grainger, John S. Henry, Daniel L. Niehouse, Tanos E. Kalil, Henry F. Blood, and Betty Olsen. GILLESPIE, Miramar, Capt. forces. Cmdr. But you first must take physical torture. [14]:503, Many worried that Homecoming hid the fact that people were still fighting and dying on the battlefields of Vietnam and caused the public to forget about the over 50,000 American lives the war had already cost. 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. James W., Navy, Carthage, Miss. The final phase was the relocation of the POWs to military hospitals.[2]. 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. Usaf/Getty ImagesJohn McCain, leads a column of POWs released from the Hanoi Hilton, awaiting transportation to Gia Lam Airport. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. This place held many politicians, great revolutionaries of Vietnam who opposed the French . Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Gareth L., Navy, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The prison continued to be in use after the release of the American prisoners. Last edited on 25 December 2022, at 21:17, U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, Learn how and when to remove this template message, In the Presence of Mine Enemies: 19651973 A Prisoner of War, "Former Vietnam POW recalls ordeal, fellowship", "He was a POW in Hanoi Hilton: How Mississippi man's 'tap code' helped them survive", "F-100 Pilot Hayden Lockhart The First USAF Vietnam POW", "Hoa Lo Prison Museum | Hanoi, Vietnam Attractions", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ha_L_Prison&oldid=1129517630, This page was last edited on 25 December 2022, at 21:17. - Food and Soda Drinks Throughout the conflict period, the North Vietnamese had established at least thirteen prisons and prison camps (mostly located near Hanoi) to detain its American POWs, the most notoriously. Commander Stockdale was the senior naval officer held captive in Hanoi, North Vietnam. Joseph C., Navy, Prairie Village, Kan. POLFISR, Comdr. - Purses David J Navy, San Diego, Calif. RUSSELL, Comdr, Kay, Navy, San Diego, captured in May, 1967. [21] Many POWs speculated that Ho had been personally responsible for their mistreatment. The Vietnamese, however, knew it as the Ha L Prison, which translates to fiery furnace. Some Americans called it the hell hole.. Mr. Sieverts said that Hanoi, when turning over its list in Paris, said it was complete, but the United States informed North Vietnamese officials that we reserve the right to study it and raise questions.. [14], Beginning in October 1969, the torture regime suddenly abated to a great extent, and life for the prisoners became less severe and generally more tolerable. Many of the returned POWs struggled to become reintegrated with their families and the new American culture as they had been held in captivity for between a year to almost ten years. While on a bombing mission during, James Bond Stockdale (December 23, 1923 July 5, 2005) was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years. Groth, Wade L. USA last know alive (DoD April 1991 list) Gunn, Alan W. USA last known alive (DoD April 1991 list) Hamilton, John S. USAF believed to have successfully got out of his aircraft and was alive on the ground. McGrath also made drawings of his captivity, several of which appear in this exhibit. [10]:84 However, access to the former prisoners was screened carefully and most interviews and statements given by the men were remarkably similar, leading many journalists to believe that the American government and military had coached them beforehand. BUDD, Sgt. Overall, the POWs were warmly received as if to atone for the collective American guilt for having ignored and protested the majority of soldiers who had served in the conflict and already returned home. 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. 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. [37] Tin stated that there were "a few physical hits like a slap across the face, or threats, in order to obtain the specific confessions," and that the worst that especially resistant prisoners such as Stockdale and Jeremiah Denton encountered was being confined to small cells. Williams J., Air Force, not named in previous public lists. MARTIN, Comdr. SEHORN, Capt. It was first built in the late 1890s by Vietnam's French colonizers as a central prison (Maison Centrale) for Vietnamese criminals. In some cases, the names were not previously contained on lists of prisoners compiled from various sources. Everett Alvarez Jr., Mexican American, US Navy pilot, the 2nd longest-held U.S. POW, enduring over 8 years of captivity. Conditions at the Briarpatch were notoriously grim, even by the standards of North Vietnamese prisons. Glenn H., Navy, Napoleonville, La. WASHINGTON, Jan. 27The State Department tonight released the list of American civilians acknowledged by North Vietnam as having been captured in South Vietnam during the Vietnam war. GALANTT, Lieut. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. The list left about half the 51 American civilians believed missing or captured unaccounted for. [5] Harris had remembered the code from prior training and taught it to his fellow prisoners. In addition all bags are subject to search and may be placed through an X-Ray machine. HUTTON, Comdr. Elation, sadness, humor, sarcasm, excitement, depressionall came through.. (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. In 1968, Walter Heynowsk[de] and Gerhard Scheumann[de] from East Germany filmed in the prison the 4-chapter series Piloten im Pyjama[de] with interviews with American pilots in the prison, that they claimed were unscripted. WANAT, Capt. Prohibited Items: Jeremiah Denton later said, They beat you with fists and fan belts. American POWs in North Vietnam were released in early 1973 as part of Operation Homecoming, the result of diplomatic negotiations concluding U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. After the war, Risner wrote the book Passing of the Night detailing his seven years at the Hanoi Hilton. SWINDLE, Mai, Orson G., Marines, captured November, 1966. WIDEMAN, Lieut. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. "[14] Only a small number of exceptionally resilient prisoners, such as John A. Dramesi, survived captivity without ever cooperating with the enemy; others who refused to cooperate under any circumstances, such as Edwin Atterbury, were tortured to death. Roger G., Navy, not in previous public lists. Charles G. Boyd, USAF pilot, POW for almost 7 years, retired general; the only Vietnam-era POW to reach a four-star rank. One of the prerequisites for and provisions of the accords was the return of all U.S. prisoners of war (POWs). [15] The Hanoi Taxi was officially retired at Wright Patterson Air Force Base on May 6, 2006, just a year after it was used to evacuate the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. 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. Meanwhile, Paul was taken prisoner, tortured, placed in solitary confinement in what became known as the "Hanoi Hilton" and fed a diet that was later determined to be about 700 calories a day, which caused him to drop to about 100 pounds. Then they really got serious and gave you something called the rope trick.. George K., Jr., Army, Foxboro, Mass., captured April, 1972. DAVIES, Capt. Additionally, soon after the raid all acknowledged American prisoners in North Vietnam were moved to Ha L so that the North Vietnamese had fewer camps to protect and to prevent their rescue by U.S. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese did the same to American soldiers. troops. In the 2000s, the Vietnamese government has held the position that claims that prisoners were tortured during the war are fabricated, but that Vietnam wants to move past the issue as part of establishing better relations with the U.S.[35] Bi Tn, a North Vietnamese Army colonel-later turned dissident and exile, who believed that the cause behind the war had been just but that the country's political system had lost its way after reunification,[36] maintained in 2000 that no torture had occurred in the POW camps. Cmdr. LERSETH, Lieut. If you have not read Bill Gately on LinkedIn: The Hanoi Hilton POW Exhibit at the American Heritage Museum ARCHER, Capt. Whats more, the museum displays a flight suit and parachute labeled as belonging to McCain, from when he was shot down over Hanoi except theyre fake. After an early release, he was able to provide the names and personal information of about 256 fellow POWs, as well as reveal the conditions of the prisoner-of . The remaining 266 consisted of 138 United States Naval personnel, 77 soldiers serving in the United States Army, 26 United States Marines and 25 civilian employees of American government agencies. [9][16][17] When prisoners of war began to be released from this and other North Vietnamese prisons during the Johnson administration, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of prisoners of war. The first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war left Hanoi in a C-141A, which later became known as the "Hanoi Taxi" and is now in a museum. Paul telling his story to the crowd at the Freedom Museum. Dismiss. Please note the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is not responsible for items left in vehicles. [9][11][12] The aim of the torture was usually not acquiring military information. From 1961 to 1973, the North Vietnamese and Vietcong held hundreds of Americans captive in North Vietnam, and in Cambodia, China, Laos, and South Vietnam. Ralph E., LL Miami. WARNER, Capt. BALLARD, Lieut. WHEAT, Lieut. Frank A. Sieverts, the State Department official charged with prisoner affairs, said that Hanoi apparently did not inelude any information on Americans captured or missing in Laos or Cambodia, despite the provision in the ceasefire agreement to account for all Americans throughout Indochina. The ultimate example of Ha L Prison resistance was performed by Denton. "It's easy to die but hard to live," a prison guard told one new arrival, "and we'll show you just how hard it is to live." The United States, in Paris, provided a list of 26,000 Communist prisoners held by South Vietnam in exchange. The museum is an excellent propaganda establishment with very little connection with the actual events that took place inside those walls.. The POWs had a "first in, first out" interpretation of the Code of the U.S. Fighting Force, meaning they could only accept release in the order they had been captured, but making an exception for those seriously sick or badly injured. Beginning in late 1965, the application of torture against U.S. prisoners became severe. 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." Jose Jesus, Jr., Marines, Retlugio, Texas, captured January, 1970. Robert H. Navy Wilmington, Del., and Montclair, N. J., captured August, 1965. The former prisoners were to then be flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines where they were to be processed at a reception center, debriefed, and receive a physical examination. It is a tragic and heroic historical relic of the Vietnamese. Day's actions from 26 August 1967 through 14 March 1973 were the last to earn the Medal of Honor prior to the end of U.S. involvement in the war on 30 April 1975, though some honorees (e.g. [37] Tran Trong Duyet, a jailer at Hoa Lo beginning in 1968 and its commandant for the last three years of the war, maintained in 2008 that no prisoners were tortured. [1], The central urban location of the prison also became part of its early character. While the raid failed to free any POWs and was considered a significant intelligence failure, it had several positive implications for American prisoners. The Hanoi Hilton is a 1987 Vietnam War film which focuses on the experiences of American prisoners of war who were held in the infamous Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi during the 1960s and 1970s and the story is told from their perspectives. [26] Others were not among them; there were defiant church services[27] and an effort to write letters home that only portrayed the camp in a negative light. Porter A., Navy, Tucker, Ga., captured 1965. John McCain returned to Hanoi decades later to find that most of the complex had been demolished in order to make room for luxury high-rise apartments. During the Vietnam War, Risner was a double recipient of the Air Force Cross, the second highest military decoration for valor that can be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force, awarded the first for valor in aerial combat and the second for gallantry as a prisoner of war of the North Vietnamese for more than seven years. [17] Under these extreme conditions, many prisoners' aim became merely to absorb as much torture as they could before giving in. BRADY, Capt. Edward D., Navy, Lemoore, Calif. EVERETT, Lieut, (jg.) [17], For the book and documentary about American service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s, see, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Learn how and when to remove this template message, National Museum of the United States Air Force, "Operation Homecoming for Vietnam POWs Marks 40 Years", "Operation Homecoming for Vietnam POWs marks 40 years", Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, "Vietnam era statistical report Americans unaccounted for in Southeast Asia", "See the Emotional Return of Vietnam Prisoners of War in 1973", "Operation Homecoming Part 2: Some History", "Vietnam War POWs Come Home 40th Anniversary", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Homecoming&oldid=1142559036, Repatriation of 591 American POWs held by the, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 02:59. During the Vietnam War, he almost died in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. [11][12] Each POW was also assigned their own escort to act as a buffer between "past trauma and future shock". The first round of POWs to be released in February 1973 mostly included injured soldiers in need of medical attention. Notice:Visitors may be filmed, photographed or recorded by the U.S. Air Force for educational and promotional uses, including for posting on public websites and social media. 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. One of the tenets of the agreed upon code between those held at the Hanoi Hilton stipulated that the POWs, unless seriously injured, would not accept an early release. Comdr. The Briarpatch camp, located 33 miles (53 km) northwest of Hanoi, intermittently held U.S. prisoners between 1965 and 1971. 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, Alexander Henderson, Mihcael H. Kjome, Philip W. Manhard, Lewis E. Mayer, James A. Newingham, Robert F. Olsen, Russell J. This military structure was ultimately recognized by the North Vietnamese and endured until the prisoners' release in 1973. Everett, Jr. Navy, Santa Clara, Calif., captured August, 1964. Congratulations, men, we just left North Vietnam,' former POW David Gray recalled his pilot saying. [35] However, eyewitness accounts by American servicemen present a different account of their captivity. Heynowski and Scheumann asked them about the contradictions in their self image and their war behavior and between the Code of the United States Fighting Force and their behavior during and after capture. William Kerr, Marines, not named in previous public lists. (U.S. Air Force photo), DAYTON, Ohio - Recreated POW cells 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. Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. Finally, after the U.S. and North Vietnam agreed to a ceasefire in early 1973, the 591 American POWs still in captivity were released. list of hanoi hilton prisonersearthquake today in germany. March 29, 1973. As a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton", navy pilot John McCain was known as uncompromising, frank and an avid reader who fiercely debated the war with his Vietnamese jailers. - Water bottles (clear, sealed bottle, up to 20 oz.) Located about 35 miles west of Hanoi, this prison was opened in the late summer of 1965 to accommodate the overcrowding at Hoa Lo ("Hanoi Hilton"). All visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. (jg.) Many of the future leading figures in Communist North Vietnam spent time in Maison Centrale during the 1930s and 1940s. Now he says when he hears Marie Osmond . United States prisoners of war during the Vietnam War are most known for having used the tap code. John B Navy, Lemoore, Calif. METZGER, Lieut. Windell B. Rivers, Navy, Oxnard, Calif. ROLLINS, Lieut, Comdr. "People & Events: The Hanoi March", PBS American Experience. . The men had missed events including the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the race riots of 1968, the political demonstrations and anti-war protests, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon and the release of The Godfather. KAVANAUGH, Sgt. Permitted Items: [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. Multiple POWs contracted beriberi at the camp due to severe malnutrition. Cmdr, Paul E Navy, Richmond, Va. NAUGHTON, Lieut. Daniel White, Ron Emmond, Jennifer Eveland (2011). [6][7], Following the defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the 1954 Geneva Accords the French left Hanoi and the prison came under the authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. BATLEY, Lieut. Cmdr., Richard R., Navy, Aberdeen, S. D., cap. [1] The deal would come to be known as Operation Homecoming and was divided into three phases. The mission included 54 C-141 flights between Feb. 12 and April 4, 1973, returning 591 POWs to American soil.