This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords, which officially ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. One local man spent six and a half years in captivity, as a prisoner of war. Naval aviator George Coker returned to America as part of “Operation Homecoming” a half-century ago. He spoke about it today with Mike Gooding.
During the Vietnam War many United States soldiers were captured and held as prisoners of war (POW). Many soldiers reported being regularly tortured, and some were used for military propaganda. This segment from Iowa Public Television’s Iowans Remember Vietnam includes archival footage and interviews with Iowa veteran Harold Johnson. Johnson describes his role as a military jet pilot, his experience being captured, his days in captivity and his eventual release.
The Dewey Wayne Waddell story of how he ended up being a prisoner at the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Dewey Wayne Waddell was taken captive after his F-105 Thunderchief was shot down by Vietnamese communist fighters in 1967, and he was released many years later, in 1973. North Vietnam’s treatment of American airmen shot down and captured over North Vietnam was a subject of controversy and concern throughout the Vietnam War. From the very beginning of
President Richard M. Nixon hosted 1,300 guests on The White House South Lawn for a celebratory dinner on May 24, 1973.
