Ernest C. Brace
Encyclopedia
Ernest C. Brace was the longest-held civilian prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(POW) in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
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Brace, a former Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
pilot who had flown more than 100 combat missions in Korea, had been accused of deserting the scene of an aircraft accident and was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed and discharged from the Marines.
Brace then worked as a civilian pilot and flew for a CIA-backed airline, on May 21, 1965 he was shot down over Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. Captured he escaped 6 June 1965 for a few hours in Laos, but was recaptured. He escaped on 17 April 1966, and evaded for four days in North Vietnam before recapture. Next escaping on 17 August 1966 in North Vietnam, he was immediately recaptured, buried up to his chin for seven days, and eventually sent to a POW camp on the outskirts of Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
nicknamed the Plantation where he spent 3½ years in a bamboo cage with his feet in stocks and his neck in an iron collar, where he met with John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
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He was released on March 28, 1973, spending 7 years and 7 months in captivity, making him the longest-held civilian POW in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. President Gerald Ford issued Brace a full pardon for his heroic service as a POW.
See also
- Floyd James ThompsonFloyd James ThompsonFloyd James "Jim" Thompson was the longest held prisoner of war in United States history, spending nearly nine years in captivity in Vietnam.-Early life:...
, the longest held POW in United States history, spending nearly nine years in captivity in Vietnam. - Everett Alvarez Jr.Everett Alvarez Jr.Everett Alvarez Jr. was a Navy Commander who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war in American history. Alvarez was the first American pilot to be shot down and held as a POW in North Vietnam...
the second longest-held POW in United States history, spending 8.5 years in captivity in Vietnam.