In August 1964, an American pilot was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese. In the following years of the Vietnam Conflict, hundreds of American prisoners of war were interrogated, starved and tortured in Communist prisons. Prisoners of Hope presents the experiences of ten of these individuals who were denied that most valuable and precious possession — freedom. Their stories are filled with suffering and survival, death and deliverance. But above all, they are
Commander George Coker was one of the “Alcatraz 11,” a group considered by the North Vietnamese to be the resistance leadership, even though he was a junior officer. The Alcatraz 11 were moved from Hao Lo to a separate facility “Alcatraz” in 1967. Among them were Jim Stockdale and Bob Shumaker. Like Shumaker, Coker was a key communications link in the command structure at Hao Lo and the other Hanoi prisons. He also has the
On November 6, 2013 at Military Emphasis Week’s Convocation, North America’s largest weekly gathering of Christian students, Gerald Coffee spoke to students and faculty about the four different levels of faith, that being faith in yourself, your fellow man, America, and ultimately, faith in God. He explained that even after spending seven years as a prisoner of war, “God equals strength.” Born in Modesto, California, Gerald “Jerry” Coffee joined the Navy in 1957 after graduating
President Richard M. Nixon hosted 1,300 guests on The White House South Lawn for a celebratory dinner on May 24, 1973.
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