The Hanoi Hilton

I visited the Hanoi Hilton or Hoa Lo Prison as they call it here in Hanoi. It served as a prison during the past 100+ years. It housed prisoners from the French era and during the American War. It was the first thing that I wanted to see when I got to Hanoi for many different reasons. I attended the Air Force Academy for a year and a half and learned a lot about our POWs and their experience there. An Air Force Captain named Lance Sijan was shot down over Vietnam and imprisoned there, where he eventually died. He was the first USAFA graduate to receive the Medal of Honor.

My interest in the Prison dates back to my curiosity with the Vietnam War, which started when I first read The Things They Carried, by Tim O' Brien. Thus, I made it a top priority to see while I was in Hanoi.

The Hanoi Hilton does not exist in its full form anymore, as much of it has been torn down to make room for a new high rise. There is a small section that has been turned into a museum. I saw the museum, and while I must say it was nothing special, being the actual place I have read and learned so much about was extremely intense. When I first saw the prison, my skin started to tingle. I was pretty overwhelmed with the sight of it. The walls were a hideous yellow and they were covered with barbed wire and broken glass. Knowing that this was the actual place where all of the atrocities took place made my skin crawl.

From Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton)

I did not want to rush through this tour and I took my time to make sure I did not miss anything. There was a big exhibit on the French, who imprisoned the Vietnamese here. This was not why I wanted to see it. The main reason was for all of the American pilots who spent time there. The exhibits on the American War were very bland. On the interesting side, they had John McCain's flight suit and pictures of pilots who were shot down. Everything looked very nice, the flight suit looked starched and neatly laid out. They had some of the uniforms the pilots were given to wear as uniforms. They looked like they had been washed yesterday. Everything looked like you would imagine the Vietnamese would want to portray it, that the Americans were treated fairly and justly. Though, that is anything but the truth and the fact that John McCain cannot lift his arms higher than his shoulders can attest to that.

From Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton)

It was an overwhelming and interesting experience to see the other side of the story, so to speak. War is an ugly, ugly thing and to see Vietnamese side was why I came to the Prison. Some of the things I had to laugh at, otherwise they would be too much to take. Some of the appalling displays included an American "begging flag," used by our pilots to show to civilians in the area requesting proper care and treatment. These were printed in the languages in the area, including Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Tagalog (Philippines), and Lao. Here is a quote on one of the exhibits:

The Vietnamese Government had created the best living conditions to US pilots for they had a stable life during the temporary detention period.

Temporary meaning 8 years and many broken bones in the process. I could not find a picture of Lance Sijan, though I bet they have destroyed all evidence of his treatment.

Not to get bent out of shape on the experience, but it was a bad time in Vietnamese and American history. As is said about war, only the victor seems to win.

Take a look at the pictures from the prison here.