Vietnam POWs honored at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (William Thomas)

Dieter Dengler: Heroic Immigrant Pilot Who Escaped POW Camp

Dieter Dengler was an American pilot in the Vietnam War. He was shot down, captured, and then spent several months in a small POW camp in Laos before his daring escape. He is the focus of a documentary, book, and movie about his capture and escape. Click here to learn

The last American POW released by North Vietnam wanted “one last return” to an aircraft carrier (Alfred Agnew)

Lt. Cmdr. Al Agnew was on a reconnaissance mission over Hanoi, Vietnam during the tail end of the Vietnam War on December 28, 1972 when a fighter jet escorting him across enemy territory radioed in with an urgent message: Turn right.

The crucible of character: Former POW, fighter pilot shares leadership wisdom (Ken Fisher)

For several months, a dank 6.5-by-7-foot cell at the Hanoi Hilton served as a crucible that tested the limits of human endurance for retired Air Force Col. Leon Ellis and three of his fellow prisoners.

Gaining strength from the past: Museum opens exhibit on POWs (William Beekman)

They are pictured cooking, laughing, seated with their pets, standing with their wives. The photographs of 30 former Vietnam war POWs portray a comforting normalcy, though their common history is anything but. Most hold no anger or bitterness.

Pilot Recalls ‘Bad Attitude’ Made Him Suffer in Hanoi (James Mulligan)

To the North Vietnamese, Capt. James A. Mulligan Jr. had a “bad attitude.” As a result, he suffered heavily during his seven years in Hanoi prison. He spent 42 months in solitary confinement during the first four years, and for 16 of those months he was kept in a camp