Utah’s Jay Hess survived more than 5 years in notorious Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam

Jay Hess was 14 years into his Air Force service.

The fighter pilot, in the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief, was dropping 600 pound bombs in the heavily defended area around Hanoi, in north Vietnam. Hess finished the steep dive, released his bombs and began to pull out when his aircraft was hit by enemy fire. With no way out, he pulled the ejection handle.

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