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Former POW and U.S. Navy LCMDR Wendell Reed Alcorn shakes hands with BGEN William Dietrich, Vice Commander, 22nd Air Force upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter from Clark Air Base, Philippines. LCMDR Alcorn was captured by the North Vietnamese on 22 Dec 65 and was released in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Ex-POW, U.S. Navy LCMDR Richard D. Mullins (Captured 6 Jan 67), shakes hands with 13th Air Force Commander LGEN William G. Moore Jr. prior to boarding the C-141 Starlifter for the flight to the United States. CMRD Mullins was released in Hanoi by North Vietnam on 4 Mar 73

Former POW and U.S. Army MAJ Albert E. Carlson waves to the crowd of well wishers upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter from Clark Air Base, Philippines. MAJ Carlson was captured by the Viet Cong on 7 Apr 72 and was released at Loc Ninh on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Navy CPT James Bond Stockdale (Captured 9 Sep 65) at the microphones, talks to the crowd of well wishers upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter from Clark Air Base, Philippines. CPT Stockdale was in the first group of POWs released on 12 Feb 73 by the North Vietnamese government in Hanoi

Former POW and U.S. Air Force CPT Larry James Chesley is greeted by 22nd Air Force Vice Commander, BGEN William Deitrich and BGEN Ralph Saunders upon arriving on a flight from Clark Air Base. CPT Chesley was captured on 6 Nov 65 and released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Air Force TSGT Arthur Neil Black (Captured 20 Sep 65) waves to the crowd of well wishers upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter from Clark Air Base, Philippines. TSGT Black was in the first group of POWs released on 12 Feb 73 by the North Vietnamese government in Hanoi

Ex-POW and U.S. Navy LCMDR Edward H. Martin (Captured 19 Jul 67) shakes hands with LGEN William G. Moore Jr., Commander 13th Air Force, prior to boarding the C-141 Starlifter for the flight to the United States. CMRD Martin was released in Hanoi by North Vietnam on 4 Mar 73

Former POW and U.S. Navy LCMDR Everett Alvarez (Captured 5 Aug 64) talks at the microphones to the public and press there to greet the plane load of former POWs flown in from Clark Air Base. LCMDR Alvarez was released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Air Force LCOL George Robert Hall salutes and is welcomed to the states by MGEN John Gonge, 22nd Air Force Commander and BGEN Ralph Saunders upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter. LCOL Hall was captured by the North Vietnamese on 27 Sep 65 and was released in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Navy LCMDR Bradley Edsel Smith waves to the crowd of well wishers upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter from Clark Air Base, Philippines. LCMDR Smith was captured by the North Vietnamese on 25 Mar 66 and was released in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

description

Summary

The original finding aid described this photograph as:

Subject Operation/Series: HOMECOMING

Base: Travis Air Force Base

State: California (CA)

Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scene Camera Operator: SSGT Porter

Release Status: Released to Public

Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files

On January 27, 1973, the United States agreed to a ceasefire with North Vietnam allowing withdrawal of American military forces from South Vietnam. The agreement also included the release of about 600 American prisoners of war. On Feb. 12, 1973, three C-141 flew to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one C-9A aircraft was sent to Saigon, South Vietnam to pick up released prisoners of war. The first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war left Hanoi in a C-141A, later known as the "Hanoi Taxi". From February 12 to April 4, there were 54 C-141 missions flying out of Hanoi, bringing the former POWs home, the total number of returned was 591. The return of the nearly 600 POWs increased the polarization of the public and media. A majority of the POWs returned in Operation Homecoming were bomber pilots shot down while carrying out the campaign waged against civilian targets located in Vietnam and Laos. Many viewed the freed POWs as heroes, while others questioned if treating these men as heroes served to distort and obscure the truth about the war. Some felt these men deserved to be treated as war criminals or left in the North Vietnamese prison camps. Many worried that Homecoming hid the fact that people were still fighting and dying on the battlefields of Vietnam and caused the public to forget about the over 50,000 American lives the war had already cost. Veterans of the war had similar thoughts concerning Operation Homecoming with many stating that the ceasefire and returning of prisoners brought zero sense of an ending or closure. Operation Homecoming has been largely forgotten by the American public.

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Tags

former pow former pow navy lcmdr bradley edsel smith waves navy lcmdr bradley edsel smith waves crowd wishers starlifter clark clark air base philippines lcmdr smith mar hanoi california clark air base philippines air base vietnam war prisoners of war coming home exchange prisoners c 141 starlifter travis air force base staff sergeant operation homecoming hanoi taxi us navy prisoners exchange commission vietcong high resolution north vietnamese ssgt porter us air force usaf navy base us national archives vietnam pow
date_range

Date

01/02/1973
collections

in collections

Hanoi Taxi

Operation Homecoming
place

Location

create

Source

The U.S. National Archives
link

Link

https://catalog.archives.gov/
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No known copyright restrictions

label_outline Explore Ssgt Porter, Lcmdr, Edsel

330-CFD-DD-ST-99-04312 (24294351874)

During a commemorative ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base (AFB) Hangar 35, inside a US Air Force (USAF) C-17A Globemaster III, members of a joint honor guard prepare to carry the remains believed to be of unaccounted-for Americans, recovered in Vietnam and Papua New Guinea. The remains will be taken to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's Central Identification Laboratory (JPAC CIL) where they will attempt to positively identify the remains so they can be returned to their families

Members of the 1961st Communications Group man their duty stations in the radar approach control center (RAPCON). The 1961st recently won the Major General Harold M. McClelland Award for communications excellence for the third time in five years

LCOL Daniel James Doughty (Captured 2 Apr 67) at the microphones talks to people who came out to greet the returning POWs on their nighttime arrival at Scott. LCOL Doughty was released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Generating equipment lies beneath a section of collapsed roof in the base power plant. The roof collapsed under the weight of the volcanic ash that fell during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo

Lime 02, an MC-130P Combat Shadow that refueled assault

Capt. Matt Crandall, 349th Air Refueling Squadron pilot,

428-GX-K-123564 (26666108125)

Members of the 179th Airlift Wing arrive home from

Former POW and U.S. Air Force LCOL Lewis Wiley Shattuck (Captured 11 Jul 66) salutes the American Flag upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter from Clark Air Base, Philippines. In the background MGEN John Gonge, 22nd Air Force Commander and MGEN Daniel "Chappie" James await the next returnee to deplane. LCOL Shattuck was in the first group of POWs released on 12 Feb 73 by the North Vietnamese government in Hanoi

Chief Master Sgt. Edwin Ludwigsen, 52nd Fighter Wing

Returned POW U.S. Navy LCMDR Everett Alvarez (Captured 5 Aug 64) looks at a letter in his room at the base hospital. LCMDR Alvarez was held longer by the North Vietnamese than any other American POW. He was released on 12 Feb 73 in Hanoi

Topics

former pow former pow navy lcmdr bradley edsel smith waves navy lcmdr bradley edsel smith waves crowd wishers starlifter clark clark air base philippines lcmdr smith mar hanoi california clark air base philippines air base vietnam war prisoners of war coming home exchange prisoners c 141 starlifter travis air force base staff sergeant operation homecoming hanoi taxi us navy prisoners exchange commission vietcong high resolution north vietnamese ssgt porter us air force usaf navy base us national archives vietnam pow