The Nixon Library will host three former Vietnam War POWs for a panel discussion celebrating the 50th anniversary of their emotional return home to the United States. These decorated veterans will reflect on their harrowing experiences of survival while imprisoned in North Vietnam and share their perspectives on the past fifty years of freedom. The panelists, all of whom were imprisoned in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison camp, will discuss the challenges they faced during their captivity, including physical and emotional torture, as well as the bonds of brotherhood and faith that helped them to endure. They will reflect on their homecoming experiences and how their time as POWs shaped their lives. Panelists are U.S. Navy Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr., U.S. Navy Captain Jack Ensch, and U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel Tom Hanton.
What Life Was Like for a POW In Vietnam
Although the Vietnam conflict lasted for 20 years – from 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in 1975 – the United States government never officially declared war. Over 3 million people perished in the conflict, and hundreds of American and Vietnamese citizens were held in prison camps as unofficial POWs. The North Vietnamese captured American troops and the South Vietnamese held hundreds of North Vietnamese soldiers. These POWs were treated in different but perhaps equally
