Naval Aviator Who Survived 6 Years in Hanoi Hilton Dies at 91

Andy in NH

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Fair winds and following seas, sir!
Link to article.
Navy pilot Byron Fuller spent almost six years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, where his battered body was tortured and starved, where he endured more than two years in solitary confinement in a 4-by-7-foot cell.

Upon his release in 1973 from Hoa Lo, a prison camp known to the world as the Hanoi Hilton, he strode across the tarmac at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, a huge smile on his face, with his wife and four children by his side. He briefly addressed the crowd gathered to greet him: "America, America, how beautiful you are ... Tonight my cup runneth over."
 
May he rest in peace.

One of the stories that he would tell was about keeping the mind occupied. His is one of the more retold stories.

Fuller said he passed the long hours in solitary by designing houses in his head, cataloging every piece of wood and every nail he would need. He later built one of those houses in Jacksonville Beach, complete with the ocean view that he had dreamed of during those long years at the Hanoi Hilton.
 
May he rest in peace.

One of the stories that he would tell was about keeping the mind occupied. His is one of the more retold stories.
Fuller said he passed the long hours in solitary by designing houses in his head, cataloging every piece of wood and every nail he would need. He later built one of those houses in Jacksonville Beach, complete with the ocean view that he had dreamed of during those long years at the Hanoi Hilton.

Vietnam era POW Charlie Plumb also talks about this in Jocko Podcast #76.
The interview is absolutely amazing.
 
He started off in the Navy as an enlisted sailor towards the end of WWll, then later was commissioned as an officer after graduating from the Naval Academy.
After the Hanoi Hilton he stayed in the Navy. I served with him towards the end of his career in the late 80's but never met him. He was a Rear Admiral at that time.
Respect, Unlike the SEAL Admiral that's been shooting off his mouth about Trump..

Combat Awards:
Navy Cross
2 Silver Stars
2 Legion of MERIT one w/ COMBAT "V"
4 Distinguished Flying Crosses
2 Bronze Stars w/ Combat "V"
13 Air Medals (2 Individual/11 Strike Flight)
3 Navy Commendation Medals W/ Combat "V"
2 Purple Hearts
Republic of Vietnam Air Gallantry Cross w/Silver Wings
POW Medal
 
He started off in the Navy as an enlisted sailor towards the end of WWll, then later was commissioned as an officer after graduating from the Naval Academy.
After the Hanoi Hilton he stayed in the Navy. I served with him towards the end of his career in the late 80's but never met him. He was a Rear Admiral at that time.
Respect, Unlike the SEAL Admiral that's been shooting off his mouth about Trump..

Combat Awards:
Navy Cross
2 Silver Stars
2 Legion of MERIT one w/ COMBAT "V"
4 Distinguished Flying Crosses
2 Bronze Stars w/ Combat "V"
13 Air Medals (2 Individual/11 Strike Flight)
3 Navy Commendation Medals W/ Combat "V"
2 Purple Hearts
Republic of Vietnam Air Gallantry Cross w/Silver Wings
POW Medal


f*** me...the things he had seen.
 
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