NORTH CAROLINA VIETNAM VETERANS, INC.
THE LESSONS OF VIETNAM
BILL TSCHUDY AMERICAN POW IN VIETNAM
THE LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
• WILLIAM (BILL) MICHAEL TSCHUDY
• LIEUTENANT COMMANDER UNITED STATES NAVY
• INCIDENT: SHOT DOWN JULY 18, 1965
• INCIDENT LOCATION: NORTH VIETNAM
• MISSIONS: 13
• AIRCRAFT: A6A OFF USS INDEPENDENCE
• HOMETOWN: HIGHLAND, IL.
• RETURNED HOME: OPERATION HOMECOMING FEBRUARY 12, 1973
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
• BILL TSCHUDY AMERICAN POW IN VIETNAM JULY 65-FEBRUARY 73
• AWARDS:
• SILVER STAR
• 2 LEGIONS OF MERIT WITH V
• DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS
• 2 PURPLE HEARTS
THE LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
• QUOTE FROM BILL TSCHUDY, “WHAT IS AMERICA TO ME? TODAY IT IS
A LOT MORE THAN I COULD IMAGINED SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS
AGO. YET IT IS THE SAME BIG BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, THE SAME
WONDERFUL PEOPLE, THE SAME DYNAMO OF ENERGY AND IDEAS –
AND MORE IMPORTANT, THE SAME RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS. HOW
MUCH MORE I APPRECIATE WHAT I HAD TAKEN FOR GRANTED. IT
ISN’T NECESSARY TO SPEND SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS IN A
COMMUNIST PRISON TO GAIN A FULL APPRECIATION FOR WHAT WE
HAVE. ONE HAS ONLY TO LOOK AROUND TO SEE THE MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE WHO ARE DENIED WHAT WE KNOW THEY SHOULD HAVE……”
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
POW CAMPS IN NORTH VIETNAM AND THEIR NICK NAMES
MOUNTAIN CAMP
DOG PATCH
BRIAR PATCH
SON TAY (CAMP HOPE)
FAITH
SKIDROW
FARNSWORTH
ROCK PILE
BAO CAO
DIRTY BIRD
PLANTATION
ALCATRAZ
HOA LO (HANOI HILTON)
ZOO ANNEX
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
HANOI HILTON TODAY AS A TOURIST STOP
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
HOA LO (HANOI HILTON)
PRISON CAMP IN HANOI
NORTH VIETNAM
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
POW AT THE
BRIAR PATCH
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
POW CAMP ALCATRAZ
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
POW CAMP
PLANTATION
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
POW CAMP
ROCK PILE
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
POW CAMP
ZOO
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
SON TAY PRISON LOCATION
OF THE SON TAY RAID TO
RESCUE POWS
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIA’S
OPERATION KINGPIN, THE SON TAY RAID
• THE SON TAY PRISON CAMP WAS SMALL, WITH A COURTYARD 140x120 FEET. IT WAS
SUROUNDED BY RICE PADDIES AND 40 FOOT TREE LINE AND HAD A SEVEN FOOT HIGH WALL
SURROUNDING THE CAMP AND THREE OBSERVATION TOWERS. THE CAMP WAS 23 MILES WEST
OF HANOI.
• NOVEMBER 21, 1970 HELICOPTERS CARRYING U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES PERSONNEL TOOK
OFF FROM UDORN AIRFORCE BASE IN THAILAND, THE FINAL STAGE OF THE SON TAY POW
RESCUE MISSION HAD BEGUN.
• THE RAID HAD TO BE QUICKLY ACCOMPLISHED BECAUSE CLOSE BY WAS THE HEADQUARTERS OF
THE 12TH NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY WITH 12,000 TROOPS; ALSO CLOSE BY WAS AN ARTILLERY
TRAINING SCHOOL, A SUPPLY DEPOT AND A AIR DEFENCE INSTALLATION AND ABOUT 500
YARDS A WAY FROM SON TAY THERE WAS A COMPOUND KNOWN AS THE SECONDARY SCHOOL,
WHICH WAS THE CAMPS ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER. AND STILL……….
NORTH CAROLINA VIETNAM VETERANS, INC
LESSONS OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POW/MIAS
• AND STILL…..THE PHUC YEN AIR BASE WAS ONLY 20 MILES AWAY FROM SON TAY
• THE RAID LASTED 27 MINUTES IN AND OUT
• UNFORTUNATELY UNKNOWN TO AMERICAN FORCES THE POW’S HAD BEEN MOVED TO CAMP
DONG HOI. SON TAY WAS LOCATED ON THE SONG CON RIVER, WHICH HAD OVERFLOWED ITS
BANKS AND CONTAMINATED THE WELL SO THE POWS WERE RELOCATED
• WAS THE RAID A SUCCESS OR FAILURE? THERE WERE NO AMERICAN CASUALTIES, A LOT OF
THE ENEMY WERE KIA’S, THE AMERICAN POWS HEARD ABOUT THE RAID AND KNEW THEY HAD
NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN, THE NORTH VIETNAMES COMMUNIST REALIZED THAT THE AMERICAN
FORCES COULD GO ANYWERE SO THEY MOVED THE POWS INTO HANOI, ENDING A LOT OF THE
SOLITARY CONFINEMENTS THE POWS HAD INDURED AS WELL AS THE OVERALL TREATMENT
IMPROVED.
• DID OPERATION HOMECOMING BRING HOME ALL THE AMERICAN POWS? ARE THERE STILL LIVE
POWS HELD IN SOUTH EAST ASIA?
JUST LIKE THE WAR THERE ARE MANY SIDES OF THOUGHT
NORTH CAROLINA VIETNAM VETERANS, INC.
LESSON OF VIETNAM, AMERICAN POWs… ADDITIONAL STUDY
FOR MORE ON THE SUBJECT OF POWS WE
RECOMMEND FURTHER INVESTIGATION ON THE
VICTORY FROM WITHIN SITE
The Victory From Within (VFW) Curriculum is a
companion middle/high school curriculum
for the traveling exhibit "Victory From Within: The
American Prisoner of War Experience."
Educating young people about the sacrifices made by
American prisoners of war (POWs) is a shared goal of
the Friends of Andersonville, the American Ex-Prisoners
of War, the Korean War Ex-POW Association, Nam-POW,
and the National Parks Service. The Curriculum is
designed to accompany the traveling exhibit, but it can
also be utilized with a visit to the National Prisoner of
War Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site or
as a stand alone curriculum.
The VFW Curriculum is designed to provide a meaningful
and powerful learning experience for young people
across the U.S. to understand and appreciate the
sacrifices made by American prisoners of war.