P.O.W.S: And Now a Darker Story

The first American prisoners to return from Hanoi presented an almost unvarying impression of good health, tight discipline and bell-ringing patriotism Such was the uniformity of the prisoners' remarks, in fact, that some skeptics even wondered whether they had been scripted, or at least suggested, by U.S. officials.

The prisoners themselves convincingly refuted such speculation. Said Navy Captain Howard E. Rutledge: " am surprised anyone could conceive that we could come out of there and say anything but 'God bless America.' Added Lieut. Commander Everett Alvarez Jr.: "For years and years we've dreamed of this day, and we kept the faith—faith...

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