Between November 1969, when he was shot down over Laos during a reconnaissance mission, and March 1973, when he was freed as part of Operation Homecoming, Navy Lt. j.g. Henry James Bedinger was a prisoner of war at Hỏa Lò Prison — the infamous Hanoi Hilton.

Looking back to when Laurel welcomed home first Southeast Asia POW (Lawrence Bailey)
The specially modified, intelligence-gathering C-47 plane lifted off from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, March 23, 1961, and headed north toward Xieng Khouangville, a Communist-held area. The experienced Air Force crew was accompanied by Army Maj. Lawrence R. Bailey, a Laurel resident serving as the assistant Army attache in Vientiane.



