Prisoner of War

Prisoner of War. . Shot down August 26, 1967 during 500 M.P.H. attack on missile site. Injured with 3 right arm breaks, injured knee, damaged eye. , Captured, tortured, and escaped through jungle for 2 weeks, swam the Ben Hai River back into South Vietnam, and was within two miles of the Marine outpost at Con Tien. , Met North Vietnam soldiers, refused to surrender. Shot while trying to escape, recaptured, transported back North. , POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. , Hung by arms for refusing to reply. Both arms and hands paralyzed from hanging. Arm rebroken. Multiple tortures, refused to respond as demanded. , Unit Commander during May 1969 escape. , Beaten Daily with fan belt (66 days) from 7/7/69 through 9/11/69. , Refused to yield. Set the example. , Awarded Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross for escape, resistance and leadership. , 38 months solitary. Senior Officer, multiple camps, for 5 years 7 months.

Photo captions: , Top left: This is a POW shirt worn by Col. Day while in captivity in North Vietnam. This was standard prison garb issued by the North Vietnamese. Col. Day embroidered the “D” on the right breast of the shirt with a handmade needle made out of a small piece of wire. , Bottom left: This is the shirt worn by Col. Day during the process of his release in March of 73. He was also issued very cheap blue pants and size 13 shoes. (Col. Day wears á size 9 1/2). Col. Day's assumption was that the clothing was made in China. , Top right: Using a needle fashioned from a piece of wire, one of Col. Day's fellow prisoners created this hat out of a washcloth. He then gave the hat to Col. Day as a Christmas present. , Bottom right: A sketch of how Col. Day was tortured when he was a POW.