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Former POW and U.S. Air Force COL Robinson Risner, at the microphone, express his thanks to the crowd and press upon arriving on a flight from Clark Air Base. COL Risner was captured on 16 Sep 65 and released by North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S.Air Force COL Robinson Risner, at the microphone, thanks the crowd and press upon arriving on a flight from Clark Air Base. COL Risner was captured on 16 Sep 65 and released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Air Force COL Robinson Risner, at the microphone, waves his thanks to the crowd and press upon arriving on a flight from Clark Air Base. 22nd Air Force Commander, MGEN John Gonge stands behind COL Risner. COL Risner was captured on 16 Sep 65 and released by North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Air Force COL Robinson Risner, at the microphone, express his thanks to the crowd and press upon arriving on a flight from Clark Air Base. 22nd Air Force Commander, MGEN John Gonge stands behind COL Risner. COL Risner was captured on 16 Sep 65 and released by North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Air Force COL Robinson Risner, at the microphone, thanks the crowd and press prior to boarding the waiting C-141 Starlifter for the flight to the states. Standing behind COL Risner is LGEN William G. Moore, Commander 13th Air Force. COL Risner was captured on 16 Sep 65 and released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. LCOL George Grigsby McKnight at the microphone, thanks the crowd and press upon arriving on a flight from Clark Air Base. LCOL McKnight was captured on 6 Nov 65 and released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S.Navy LMDR Everett Alvarez (Captured 5 Aug 64) is lead to the microphones by MGEN John Gonge, 22nd Air Force Commander after his arrival from Clark Air Base. LCMDR Alvarez was released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Air Force COL Albert Edward Runyan walks from the C-141 Starlifter to the waiting microphones. COL Runyan was captured on 29 Apr 66 and released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi 12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Marine LCOL Edison Wainright Miller (Captured 13 Oct 67) is greeted by MGEN John Gonge, Commander 22nd Air Force and BGEN William Deitrich, 22nd AF Vice CO on his arrival from Clark Air Base. LCOL Miller was released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on12 Feb 73

Former POW and U.S. Air Force COL Raymond James Merritt at the microphone, thanks the crowd and press upon arriving on a flight from Clark Air Base. COL Merritt was captured on 16 Sep 65 and released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

description

Summary

The original finding aid described this photograph as:

Subject Operation/Series: HOMECOMING

Base: Travis Air Force Base

State: California (CA)

Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scene Camera Operator: SGT Morawski

Release Status: Released to Public

Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files

On January 27, 1973, the United States agreed to a ceasefire with North Vietnam allowing withdrawal of American military forces from South Vietnam. The agreement also included the release of about 600 American prisoners of war. On Feb. 12, 1973, three C-141 flew to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one C-9A aircraft was sent to Saigon, South Vietnam to pick up released prisoners of war. The first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war left Hanoi in a C-141A, later known as the "Hanoi Taxi". From February 12 to April 4, there were 54 C-141 missions flying out of Hanoi, bringing the former POWs home, the total number of returned was 591. The return of the nearly 600 POWs increased the polarization of the public and media. A majority of the POWs returned in Operation Homecoming were bomber pilots shot down while carrying out the campaign waged against civilian targets located in Vietnam and Laos. Many viewed the freed POWs as heroes, while others questioned if treating these men as heroes served to distort and obscure the truth about the war. Some felt these men deserved to be treated as war criminals or left in the North Vietnamese prison camps. Many worried that Homecoming hid the fact that people were still fighting and dying on the battlefields of Vietnam and caused the public to forget about the over 50,000 American lives the war had already cost. Veterans of the war had similar thoughts concerning Operation Homecoming with many stating that the ceasefire and returning of prisoners brought zero sense of an ending or closure. Operation Homecoming has been largely forgotten by the American public.

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Tags

former pow former pow raymond merritt air force col raymond james merritt microphone thanks crowd press clark clark air base col merritt sep hanoi california clark air base philippines air force vietnam war prisoners of war coming home exchange prisoners travis air force base colonel us air force operation homecoming hanoi taxi philippines prisoners exchange commission vietcong high resolution north vietnamese sgt morawski usaf air force base officer military uniforms us national archives vietnam pow
date_range

Date

01/02/1973
collections

in collections

Hanoi Taxi

Operation Homecoming
place

Location

create

Source

The U.S. National Archives
link

Link

https://catalog.archives.gov/
copyright

Copyright info

No known copyright restrictions

label_outline Explore Sgt Morawski, Former Pow, Merritt

Merritt, William Y - State: [Blank] - Year: [Blank]

Merritt, Peter - State: Washington - Year: 1865

Indian River Lagoon National Scenic Byway - Merritt Island Visitor Information Center

LCOL Daniel James Doughty (Captured 2 Apr 67) at the microphones talks to people who came out to greet the returning POWs on their nighttime arrival at Scott. LCOL Doughty was released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Capt. Fernandez "Frank" Ponds addresses USAID, World Food Program representatives at UN headquarters in Haiti

Former POW and U.S. Air Force LCOL Lewis Wiley Shattuck (Captured 11 Jul 66) salutes the American Flag upon his arrival on the C-141 Starlifter from Clark Air Base, Philippines. In the background MGEN John Gonge, 22nd Air Force Commander and MGEN Daniel "Chappie" James await the next returnee to deplane. LCOL Shattuck was in the first group of POWs released on 12 Feb 73 by the North Vietnamese government in Hanoi

Returned POW U.S. Navy LCMDR Everett Alvarez (Captured 5 Aug 64) looks at a letter in his room at the base hospital. LCMDR Alvarez was held longer by the North Vietnamese than any other American POW. He was released on 12 Feb 73 in Hanoi

Boone, Merritt - Age [Blank], Year: [Blank] - 2d Regiment US Colored Light Artillery, Misc Cards - United States Colored Troops: Artillery Organizations

Former POW and U.S. Air Force LCOL James Quincy Collins Jr. talks with escorts and other POWs in the passenger lounge after his arrival from Clark Air Base, Philippines. LCOL Collins was captured on 2 Sep 65 and released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi on 12 Feb 73

Combined Transition Security Command-Afghanistan commanding

Artwork: "All of General Ryan" Artist: Norman Merritt

US Air Force (USAF) STAFF Sergeant (SSGT) David Merritt, 55th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (EFS), performs a preflight check on a F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, while deployed at Incirlik Air Base (AB), supporting Operation NORTHERN WATCH

Topics

former pow former pow raymond merritt air force col raymond james merritt microphone thanks crowd press clark clark air base col merritt sep hanoi california clark air base philippines air force vietnam war prisoners of war coming home exchange prisoners travis air force base colonel us air force operation homecoming hanoi taxi philippines prisoners exchange commission vietcong high resolution north vietnamese sgt morawski usaf air force base officer military uniforms us national archives vietnam pow