Chained Eagle
New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1989. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. ix, [1], 308, [2] pages. Illustrations. Minor wear to the DJ. Signed by the author (Everett Alvarez, Jr. ) with sentiment on the half-title page, which read Best Wishes Everett Alvarez. Lt. Alvarez was the first American pilot shot down over North Vietnam and he recounts his eight and one half years as a POW, years of near-starvation, isolation, and torture. Everett Alvarez Jr. (born December 23, 1937) is a retired United States Navy officer who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war (POW) in U.S. military history, making him the second longest-held U.S. POW, after U.S. Army Colonel Floyd James Thompson. On August 5, 1964, during Operation Pierce Arrow, LT (jg). Alvarez was shot down in the immediate aftermath of what is known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Alvarez endured eight years and seven months of brutal captivity by the North Vietnamese at the H a Lò Prison (known as the "Hanoi Hilton"). Alvarez was esteemed by his fellow prisoners because he was for almost a year the only aviator prisoner of war. He was released on February 12, 1973 as part of the first group of American POWs repatriated under Operation Homecoming,. After hospitalization, Alvarez attended the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, where he received a master's degree in Operations Research and Systems Analysis in October 1976. His final assignment was in Program Management at the Naval Air Systems Command in Washington, D.C.,until his retirement from the Navy on June 30, 1980. Alvarez has co-authored two books, writing of his prisoner of war experiences in Chained Eagle and Code Of Conduct. On August 5, 1964, while Lt. (jg) Everett Alvarez was flying a retaliatory air strike against naval targets in North Vietnam, antiaircraft fire crippled his A-4 fighter-bomber, forcing him to eject over water at low altitude. Alvarez relates the engrossing tale of his capture by fishermen, brutal treatment by the North Vietnamese, physical and mental endurance, and triumphant repatriation nearly nine years later in 1973. Alvarez spent more time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam than any other flier. As Senator John McCain, a fellow POW, has written, “During his captivity, Ev exhibited a courage, compassion, and indomitable will that was an inspiration to us all.” Indeed, the book, which was written with Anthony S. Pitch, is remarkable for its lack of rancor. Alvarez directs his strongest words against the small number of POWs who broke ranks and collaborated with the enemy. As one reviewer wrote, Alvarez “relates the misery of his condition with a detachment that robs it of its shock value.” Chained Eagle also tells the story of the Alvarez family’s ordeal during his years of imprisonment: His sister became an anitwar activist, his wife divorced him, and relatives died. Yet throughout his time as a prisoner of war, Alvarez remained duty-bound and held steadfast to his religious faith and the values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Derived from a Publishers Weekly article: Navy Lieutenant Alvarez, a pilot, was shot down over North Vietnam in 1964 and held prisoner until 1973. In this engrossing account of the experience written with co-authorr Pitch, he emerges as a duty-bound officer who held fast to his religious faith and "the values enshrined in the Constitution.'' The book is a top-drawer POW memoir, but what sets it apart is its unblinking concurrent narration of the Alvarez family's ordeal. His sister became an antiwar activist, and Alvarez's discovery of this had a demoralizing effect. A more severe psychological crisis revolved around the coldness of his wife's letters, a situation that reached its climax when she divorced him for another man. Alvarez's anguished response to the news amid dreadful physical conditions, and the manifest kindness of his comrades in captivity, is movingly told. In an upbeat conclusion, the prisoner's release is joyously described. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: POW's, Vietnam War, Memoirs, Captivity, Torture, Naval Aviators, Prisoners, m POWs, Hoa Lo Prison, Hanoi Hilton, A-4 Fighter-Bomber, Operation Pierce Arrow, Operation Homecoming, Repatriation
ISBN: 1556111673
[Book #88354]
Price: $125.00