On this day in 1970, the United States tries—and fails—to rescue POWs being held near Hanoi, Vietnam. What a disappointment! Preparations had been ongoing for months. But, in the end, more than 70 prisoners would remain behind, still captives in Vietnam.
“[E]very man involved in Operation Ivory Coast brought home a broken heart,” one POW would write many years later. “The raid had failed to free American prisoners. Their disappointment was deep.”
Preparations had begun months earlier, with the help of Air Force
Brigadier General LeRoy J. Manor and Army Colonel Arthur D. “Bull”
Simons. At the time, men were being recruited for a “classified mission
with considerable risk involved.” The potential volunteers were also
told that there would be no extra pay. Normally, that might be a
disincentive? Not for our military! More than 500 men volunteered to
help anyway.
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