American pilots and soldiers captured during the Vietnam War faced years of torture and mistreatment. Some of the prisoners of war endured almost nine years of imprisonment, the longest in U.S. history. During this time, the POWs were rarely given medical treatment. Their food was often nothing more than pieces of bread and watery soup filled with rat droppings. But despite the horrible conditions, the men stuck together and helped each other survive their ordeal.
Operation Thunderhead: The True Story of Vietnam’s Final POW Rescue Mission–and the last Navy Seal Kil led in Country
In the last year of the Vietnam conflict, even as American troops were leaving for home, there were still those fighting for their lives: prisoners of war being held in the Communist north. There were two operations launched to rescue the POWs. One—the legendary Son Tay Raid—was revealed to the public.
