Posted on Aug 12, 2022
Vietnam POWs: McCain and Brace (Full Episode) | Locked Up Abroad
998
10
3
5
5
0
Vietnam POWs: McCain and Brace (Full Episode) | Locked Up Abroad... Worth Watching...
As the longest POW in Vietnam history, Ernie Brace likely endured more than any other POW during the war. Held for almost eight years, he faced capture, starvation, sickness, torture, solitude and desperation. After three-and-a-half years, Brace was transported from the jungle to the infamous prison in Vietnam dubbed the 'Hanoi Hilton,' and finally heard the voice of another American: Lt. Cmdr. John McCain, a Navy pilot shot down over Hanoi...
As the longest POW in Vietnam history, Ernie Brace likely endured more than any other POW during the war. Held for almost eight years, he faced capture, starvation, sickness, torture, solitude and desperation. After three-and-a-half years, Brace was transported from the jungle to the infamous prison in Vietnam dubbed the 'Hanoi Hilton,' and finally heard the voice of another American: Lt. Cmdr. John McCain, a Navy pilot shot down over Hanoi...
POW/MIA
Vietnam
Hanoi
Vietnam War
United States Senator
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
3
3
0
How many POW MIA are still missing from Vietnam? -.
http://www.quora.com/How-many-POW-MIA-are-still-missing...
the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War was given as 1,621 as of March 23, 2016. Then as of December 21, 2018, the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel still unaccounted for is 1,592. By February 7, 2020,
this number had been reduced...
"Reduced" Is NOT Enough...!!
http://www.quora.com/How-many-POW-MIA-are-still-missing...
the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War was given as 1,621 as of March 23, 2016. Then as of December 21, 2018, the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel still unaccounted for is 1,592. By February 7, 2020,
this number had been reduced...
"Reduced" Is NOT Enough...!!
(3)
(0)
1
1
0
SGT (Join to see)
When I was doing aeromedical research and teaching at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, a good portion of that work involved RPW (Repatriated Prisoners of War) annual medical evaluations--and my department, Otolaryngology, involved several areas we evaluated and helped them with. That experience had a major impact on all of us who were involved in that arena. To a man, every single one of those brave heroes was friendly, often jovial, soft-spoken, and quite animated when discussing any subject.
They each talked about how they'd learned a lot from each other (mostly after they invented the Tap Code--their way of communicating with each other through the walls or floors, and which they used to teach each other the subjects they'd studied in college). One of our patients, Brigadier General Ralph T. Browning, was later my wing commander at my next assignment--teaching at the PACAF NCO Academy at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. Brigadier (later Major) General 'Bud' Day was a fun patient to chat with, as were Captain (Senator) McCain--who always had a wry smile and fun stories to share, Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton, Brigadier General Robbie Risner, etc., etc. An amazing group of heroes who were the most positive people one would ever meet--which speaks to their fortitude, strengths of character, and faith.
The list goes on and on. What a great privilege it was to have met those brave, courageous souls who faced some of the worst treatment any human could endure, yet they all came out of that experience as positive, good-hearted people who were a great joy to hang out with. I do remember Admiral Stockdale, who'd endured many beatings that set him up for memory lapses later in life, and we'd occasionally see him sitting in our "coffee room" in the basement of bldg. 100, as that was a familiar location to him. He'd come there, and wait with us until his wife, who knew he'd be there if she couldn't find him, would come downstairs to take him back to their hotel.
Besides all those heroes who survived the Hanoi Hilton, there was one notable WWII-era fighter pilot--Brigadier General Chuck Yeager--who'd scored 11.5 victories over German aircraft--but he himself had been himself shot down and wounded, then evaded capture thanks to the French Maquis, and had successfully petitioned General Eisenhower to waive the rule preventing evadees from returning to combat. Thanks to that waiver, Yeager went on to become the first "ace in one day" by shooting down five enemy aircraft. And then did it again a short time later. That's a fighter pilot with mettle!
We were privileged to see General Yeager every couple of years. He'd hang out on the back dock next to our basement offices and clinical areas, and tell us some crackerjack stories about his life with that famous glint in his eyes.
Those amazing heroes were a joy to get to know, and made us appreciate the experience of doing a small part for them in their later lives.
When I was doing aeromedical research and teaching at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, a good portion of that work involved RPW (Repatriated Prisoners of War) annual medical evaluations--and my department, Otolaryngology, involved several areas we evaluated and helped them with. That experience had a major impact on all of us who were involved in that arena. To a man, every single one of those brave heroes was friendly, often jovial, soft-spoken, and quite animated when discussing any subject.
They each talked about how they'd learned a lot from each other (mostly after they invented the Tap Code--their way of communicating with each other through the walls or floors, and which they used to teach each other the subjects they'd studied in college). One of our patients, Brigadier General Ralph T. Browning, was later my wing commander at my next assignment--teaching at the PACAF NCO Academy at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. Brigadier (later Major) General 'Bud' Day was a fun patient to chat with, as were Captain (Senator) McCain--who always had a wry smile and fun stories to share, Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton, Brigadier General Robbie Risner, etc., etc. An amazing group of heroes who were the most positive people one would ever meet--which speaks to their fortitude, strengths of character, and faith.
The list goes on and on. What a great privilege it was to have met those brave, courageous souls who faced some of the worst treatment any human could endure, yet they all came out of that experience as positive, good-hearted people who were a great joy to hang out with. I do remember Admiral Stockdale, who'd endured many beatings that set him up for memory lapses later in life, and we'd occasionally see him sitting in our "coffee room" in the basement of bldg. 100, as that was a familiar location to him. He'd come there, and wait with us until his wife, who knew he'd be there if she couldn't find him, would come downstairs to take him back to their hotel.
Besides all those heroes who survived the Hanoi Hilton, there was one notable WWII-era fighter pilot--Brigadier General Chuck Yeager--who'd scored 11.5 victories over German aircraft--but he himself had been himself shot down and wounded, then evaded capture thanks to the French Maquis, and had successfully petitioned General Eisenhower to waive the rule preventing evadees from returning to combat. Thanks to that waiver, Yeager went on to become the first "ace in one day" by shooting down five enemy aircraft. And then did it again a short time later. That's a fighter pilot with mettle!
We were privileged to see General Yeager every couple of years. He'd hang out on the back dock next to our basement offices and clinical areas, and tell us some crackerjack stories about his life with that famous glint in his eyes.
Those amazing heroes were a joy to get to know, and made us appreciate the experience of doing a small part for them in their later lives.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
I don't know how these men survived the horror they went through but they did. I don't know if I could have and am glad I never had to find out. I can remember being there in person and seeing the released POWs returning to the United States when I was stationed at Hickam AFB, HI There are still many that have never returned and are still, MIA, Missing In Action and once in a while are found and finally able to return home and rendered the Military honors they hadn't received before and give closure at least to their families. As a Vietnam Veteran Myself from 1968-69 that did come home safely and was never even wounded unlike some of the others I served with I often think of those that didn't or went through horrors I never had to.
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google