Title

Glory denied : the saga of Jim Thompson, America's longest-held prisoner of war

Description

He was born in New Jersey in 1933 & only dreamed of being a military man. Marrying shortly after high school, he joined the army in 1956 & was dispatched to Vietnam in 1963 when America still seemed still innocent. Jim Thompson would have led a perfectly ordinary, undistinguished life had he not been captured four months later, becoming the first American prisoner in Vietnam and, ultimately, the longest-held prisoner of war in American history. Forgotten Soldier is Thompson's epic story, a remarkable reconstruction of one man's life & a searing account that questions who is a real American hero. Examining the lives of Thompson's family on the home front, as well as his brutal treatment & five escape attempts in Vietnam, military journalist Tom Philpott weaves an extraordinary tale, showing how the American government intentionally suppressed Thompson's story. "Jim's story, as movingly portrayed in Tom Philpott's oral history, is in many ways America's own."--Senator John McCain. Thompson was captured March 1964, three months after arriving in Vietnam, and was held until 1973. Philpott, author of the weekly column Military Update, recounts his childhood, marriage, early days in the army, years as a prisoner of war, release and return, and the family and personal problems that awaited him after so long.

Identifier

949960

393020126

Creator

Philpott, Tom

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Language

eng

Date

2001

Program air date: August 5, 2001

Publisher

Norton

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Text

Transcription of Annotations
Notes from front endpapers: "160 interviews, 80 used; oral history; 15 yrs. in making. - 68, July 2001; stroke 1980; heart surgery / chronic back; retired Jan. 29, 1982. - Captured: March 1964; free: March 1973; solitary for 5 years; Officer Fitness Report. - Tape of statement from Radio Hanoi, p. 122. - Alyse - got tape but never heard it. - Army refused to acknowledge the broadcast. - Harold - Alyse was 29 - kicked Jim's parents out (1965). - Chapel in the sky. - June 30, 1965: Alyse moves to Mass. with Harold. - Alyse listens to the July tape 1965 - 3rd listen said it was him - then said she couldn't be positive. - Left for North VN July 21, 1967 - tortured in new camp (p. 146); cage - 4 yrs. - Jan. 1968: Jim signed another propaganda statement. - Move to Key West - cut off children. - Everett Alvarez - [?] - Nov. 1982. - Vietnam Memorial - longest serving POW. - 1988: Reagan medal for POW: Everett Alvarez, p. 398. - Jimmy murders Joe Luna, Nashville jail (p. 407), trial Jan. 1991. - Alyse comes ' Jim is there so is Phillpot. - Thompson wears his full uniform with all medals; judge is Vietnam veteran. - Free Ford - life time pass to baseball games, trip to Disney. - Jan. 23, 1973: was over; Jim's coming home. Alyse tells children. - When he left; Ruth 2, Laura 4, Jim, Jr. just born. Jim could be opinionated and intolerant. - When released: Pam 15, Laura 12, Ruth 11, Jim 9. - 9 Dec. '71: Army informs Alyse her husband a prisoner. - Late '71: things turned sour between Alyse and Harold. - Escape - NV prison, p. 199. - ?/Lew Meyer and Jim Thompson. - Valley Forge - Jimmy, 9, saw him for the first time, Jim was 39. - How did you get Jim's psychiatric file?" - Notes from half title page: "Army deferred to release his name as longest prisoner. - Army POW's didn't get the attention of pilots in North. - March 1973: Valley Forge: Alyse asked children - Will we live with Daddy Jim or Daddy Harold? - He's obsessed with Vietnam. - Drinking for himself and later his son. - Letter, p. 64: From Alyse - Jan. 1964 / letter p. 66. - Khe Sanh - 12 Special Forces teams, VC interpreters. - Geo Malroney: Jim not well educated. - Viet Cong outfought South Vietnamese. - Frank Rose: didn't trust Jim Thompson's judgment, p. 76. - Jim was away for the birth of all of his 4 children, p. 45." - Notes from back endpapers; "Promoted to Colonel. - Jimmy was treated differently by Jim - Harold all the same. - Women's rights were in. - Everything had changed. - Kids had bad feelings about the war. - Blood curdling screams. - Made lots of speeches. - Ego/celebrity got in the way - Sex and money troubles - both had operations. - Homosexual experience / Alyse's relative. - Heaviest drinking in his new dream home. - "Harold would never do that", Laura p. 313. - July (about) 1974: Jim filed for divorce. - Alyse moved to trailer. - Alyse marries John - 10 years younger. - p. 329: Jim marries Lois - annulled his marriage? - Alyse, slut/whore, homosexual. - Pam's tuition for college. - Catie born to Laura. - Lois leaves Jim (he's drinking more and more), takes all furniture. - Suicide attempt. - John shoots up Laura's car, p. 344. - Jan. 1978: Walter Reed, Forest Glen, N and Eight. - Letter to Lois: Where did you get it? - Why did the family agree to talk with you? - Minister even talked." -- Annotations by Brian Lamb in the margins and underlining of pertinent phrases throughout the book.

Subject

"Thompson, Floyd Jim."

"Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Prisoners and prisons, North Vietnamese."

"Prisoners of war--United States--Biography."

"Prisoners of war--Vietnam--Biography."

Relation

Original Booknotes interview

Rights

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