Hanoi Prison 2005 Photo Gallery by Chuck Kuhn at pbase.com

Hanoi Prison 2005

CHUCK KUHN PHOTOGRAPHY
All photos are copyright Chuck Kuhn. Please contact for use of photos.
Hoa Lo Prison AKA "Hanoi Hilton"
Hanoi Prison is now a museum. Called "Maison Centrale" by the French, most of the prison was destroyed for the construction of Hanoi Towers, a skyscraper that houses apartments and offices. Most of the exhibits in the museum focus on the years when the prison was run by the French and housed Vietnamese prisoners, but one small room houses exhibits from American POWs as well.
My statement here is simple " This a museum and I photographed what my eyes saw thru the lens"
This article, best describes what we saw at the prison today, from Aimee Kligman/writer/journalist
"Hoa Lo means coal oven; this prison was also known as “Maison Centrale” in 1901, when the French built it. During the American War, it acquired the name of “Hanoi Hilton”. Interestingly, in 1954 and prior to 1965, the citizens of Hanoi used the facility as a temporary rehabilitation for delinquents. You will not see significant and unusual answers here about the American War. Much of that section has been demolished in favor of the Hanoi Central Tower, built in 1997. No need to fret however, as you will come across novel approaches to torture.
The doorway is not in any way a preview of what is to come; in fact, it looks more like the entrance to a hotel. Until you get inside. Those who can read French will be smacked in the face with the following notice posted at regular intervals throughout the prison: “Hoa Lo Prison – A Crime by French Colonialists toward jailed Patriots and Revolutionaries”. There goes la grande histoire d’amour between the two! Horrific were the renditions and actual leg iron clamps to which the prisoners were confined, days at a time. Another wonderful French invention, the guillotine, made its way into the prison, and was used for most executions. There was a particular record of the beheading of certain Vietnamese patriots by the names of Nguyen Thai Hoc, Pho Duc Chinh (both in 1930) and between 1930 and 1932, Nguyen Duc Canh , Ho Ngoc Lan and Nguyen Hoang Ton.

You will find photographs and scale models of the original structure which was quite ambitious in size; as you weave through the rooms and in and out of courtyards, an actual part of a sewer and its door are on display; in 1951, more than a dozen death row inmates escaped through it, some of which were able to join the resistance movement against the French. Also outdoors are oversized bronze carvings depicting violence against the prisoners, showing some tied to chairs with heavy ropes, others tied to ladders with ropes around limbs and torso. Look up, and you’ll understand the reasons for underground escapes: the walls are exceptionally high and copiously crowned with shards of broken glass.

Let’s move on to the American section, albeit small, but the exhibit might elicit a chuckle or two. Several photographs of captured soldiers are featured, with an emphasis placed on John McCain’s personal and military apparel that earned a separate glass case. What is impossible to swallow though is yet another photograph of American G.I.’s cooking chicken, looking as if they were guests of Emeril Lagasse. Another showcase delineates all the items given to the prisoners for their comfort and well being. Though some of the translated material leaves much to be desired, it wishes to convey that the North Vietnamese not only treated their prisoners humanely, but also with special leniency as they were released from Hoa Lo in February of 1973. This is a must-see."

When prisoners of war began to be released from this and other North Vietnamese prisons during the Johnson administration, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of prisoners of war. Initially, this information was downplayed by American authorities for fear that conditions might worsen for those remaining in North Vietnamese custody.[10] Policy changed under the Nixon administration, when mistreatment of the prisoners was publicized by U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird and others.[10] Beginning in late 1969, treatment of the prisoners became less severe and generally more tolerable.[7] Following the late 1970 attempted rescue operation at Son Tay prison camp, most of the POWs at the outlying camps were moved to Hoa Lo, so that the North Vietnamese had fewer camps to protect.[20] This created the "Camp Unity" communal living area at Hoa Lo, which greatly reduced the isolation of the POWs and improved their morale.[10][20]

Future U.S. Vice Presidential candidate James Stockdale and decorated U.S. Air Force pilot Bud Day were held as prisoners at the Hanoi Hilton, as was future Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who spent parts of his five and a half years as a POW there. Air Force colonel and record-setting parachutist Joseph Kittinger spent 11 months in prison there. Brigadier General Robinson Risner was the senior ranking POW, responsible for maintaining chain of command among his fellow prisoners, from 1965 to 1973.

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Original Prison Photo	Model of Original	Model II	Entrance today
New Hotel behind prison	Today	101_0116.jpg	101_0117.jpg
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101_0156.jpg	101_0157.jpg	101_0158.jpg	101_0159.jpg
101_0160.jpg	101_0161.jpg	101_0165.jpg	McCain's bio
McCain's Helmet	McCain's Shoes	McCain's Parachute	101_0166.jpg
101_0167.jpg	101_0168.jpg	101_0169.jpg	101_0170.jpg
101_0171.jpg	101_0173.jpg	McCains uniform when captured	McCain's uniform and parachute
John McCain	101_0174.jpg	101_0175.jpg	101_0179.jpg
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Kim V		16-May-2012 19:46
I too wore a bracelet with his name that I just recently came across. I am sorry that I never mailed it to him from the list that was in the newspaper when he came home. I can be reached at kimberleeandcompany@yahoo.com

Guest		26-May-2011 15:10
To: Loren Torkelson's family. I was only about 9 years old when my mother took me to a government office to pick out a POW bracelet. I picked Capt. Loren H. Torkelson. I wore it for years. I was the only child in my elementary school to wear a bracelet. My parents allowed me to stay home from school when he came home to watch the televised new coverage and I still remember hearing his name announced. I still have the bracelet. Over the years, I often wondered what happened to him, and only recently began a search. It looks like he received several medals, but I'm very sorry to learn that he is no longer with you. Should you wish to correspond, I can be reached via email at justine379@cox.net. Thank you for sharin the information about the photo of the 4 men preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you Chuck for your photos.

rebecca		20-Apr-2011 14:53
I have sadly visited the Hanoi Prison and have a strange photo that I took in the room that had the photo on the wall of Mr. Alvarez. I was SO glad to see you have the same photo of the picture of him that was on the way. My camera showed odd things appearing on my print. My daughter is doing a report for college and I dug out the photo and began to research, that is when I found your sight. If you would like for me to send you an attachment so you could view the photo - my email is bstewart99@juno.com - I will gladly send it. Rebecca from Illinois

Guest		16-Jan-2010 06:21
To Eric Torkelson: My name is Micki and I am so grateful to have found you through this site. In 1972, at the age of 18, I left my home in North Dakota and moved to Washington, D.C. where I started my first job with the federal government. While there, on one of my routine stops at a local gas station, I bought a POW bracelet which had the name "CAPT. LOREN TORKELSON 4-29-67" engraved on it. I wore this bracelet religiously 24/7 until the day I saw your father's name in the Washington Post in the list of released POW's. The list also identified his home state - NORTH DAKOTA. How I wish I had reached out to your father and family at that time. But I didn't. I have kept your father's bracelet all these years, and in March of 2008 I did a search on the web and sadly realized your father had passed away. I have felt so much guilt in not trying to find him years ago. Since reading the article, I have been trying to locate you with the thought of returning the bracelet to you. I believe my parents now live in your same city, and I will be with them in early May. Please contact me if you are open to conversing. (turtle@blackfoot.net) -micki-

MSGT.David Christopher(Ret)		06-Sep-2009 20:51
I am In AWE of the composure you surely must have possessed while In that "Äsian Auschwitz"! Despite of all the propaganda pics, plaques describing how well our brothers were treated, and not made targets of revenge....GEE WHIZ, the pic of OUR BROTHERS being marched through downtown hanoi kinda makes the affore mentioned seem rather ambiguous??? Its been over for a long time, but to use a old, wise quote.."Let us not forget the past, lest we be condemned to repeat It"! I still see "Charles" Very much there In alot of eyes of some that we welcomed w/open arms as "Refugees".For This Guy, Ipray for closure, I still dream of witnessing places like this "naped".....!

Brandon Himes		19-Apr-2009 02:35
:::::::BRACELET FOUND::::::: ALSO TO ERIC TORKELSON: (read above comment) After reading further down the page, I also see LorenTorkelson was your father, finding his obitiuary online it also says he died in 1995, also feel free to contact me at my e-mail address (brandomainia@gmail.com)

Brandon Himes		19-Apr-2009 02:32
To JOE CRECCA: Hello, I have a cabin on Flathead lake in Montana. We recently found a bracelet that washed up by our property with the name "Capt. Loren Torkelson 4-29-67" On it. I was wondering if you could proivde any information on what this is, or how it got here... feel free too contact me at brandomainia@gmail.com

Joe Crecca		10-Mar-2009 06:07
To the guest who said "The bombs were indicriminate", nothing of the kind. I was in the photo with Loren Torkelson prepping the turkeys for holiday dinner. I was there and I know. You are just presupposing that you know what you're talking about. You do not. Every target we were sent against was a target of military significance. I never witnessed a bomb being dropped any other way. The Vietnamese accused us of bombing so-called, "Civilian targets". I challenged an interrogator on this and he threatened physical violence. He was angry because I asked him what the Vietnamese people were told when a SAM booster landed in a school yard or hospital. I asked if they were told it was an American bomb? If you don't know what you're talking about, and you don't, keep it to yourself!

Eric Torkelson		09-Mar-2009 17:16
Howdy Chuck. From left to right, that photo of the four POWs preparing a meal was of Loren Harvey Torkelson (my father, deceased Sept 17, 1995), Joe Crecca, and the other two on the right are either, Jim Shively (deceased Feb 18, 2006), Bob Abbot, or Guy Gruters. Loren, Joe, Jim, and Bob were cellmates at one time or another. The photo was propaganda to show that the Vietnamese captors treated their prisoners humanely. Pretty good story behind the photo. Recalling what my dad told me, their captors asked them what a traditional Christmas meal might include. They told them turkey, potatos, etc and the items were provided. Just moments before that picture was taken, those turkeys had heads. I have the photo of Loren cutting the turkey's head off and will try to get it to you. So there they are...a small room full of photographers and my dad beheads the first turkey with a machete. It get's away from them (perhaps he or Joe let it go...who knows) and it spews blood across the small room all over the photographers and everyone else in there! I imagine is was quite a scene. Their captors claimed they planned it that way, but somehow they talked their way out of punishment. If you look closely at the photo, you can see Loren and Joe are wearing small smirks. I think this and other photos were in TIME at one point or another. There is also a propaganda photo of the same group shooting pool. My dad is taking the shot, guiding the cue with his lone middle finger extended and the other guys are standing around with their thumbs in their pants pockets or their arms folded with there middle fingers extended as well, thwarting their captors entire effort to show humane treatment.

Justin		29-Apr-2006 08:09
The signs posted at the museum are nothing more than communist propoganda. I have been fortunate enough in my Air Force career to meet two of the prisoners who spent time at Hoa Lo. I assure you that there was nothing humane about the way the prisoners were treated, and it is amazing that the Airmen held there survived at all. No one should have to endure the treatment and daily life that they did, and many of them for 5 years or more. You may not agree with the politics behind the Vietnam War, but the fact that the North Vietnamese treated our prisoners worse than any living thing deserves to be treated is undisputable. Your guest has obviously never been subjected to anything remotely similiar to the hardships these men endured, and should be ashamed of himself for even suggesting that these men were somehow fortunate to be in enemy hands. "A bit of an exageration"??? From actual accounts of those imprisoned there, they were fed meat only about twice per year (unless you count the ocassional fish eyes in the water with a piece of turnip they called soup), and the variety of meat was usually rat or horse, and it was rotten. I would think that the picture of the men cooking chicken is a GLARING lie, not a "bit of an exageration."

armando		04-Dec-2005 22:31
Just went through your museum photos, since I'm doing research on a novel about an F-4 pilot and his WSO that got shot downs over Hanoi. I would have liked to see a map of Hoa Lo, and perhaps a couple of lines of comments with each photo. As for the comments of your guest, well, while it's true that bombs are, at times, indiscriminate, many US pilots died to make sure that collateral dmage was minimized. Torture, on the other hand, was quite deliberate... Nice job, Chuck, and thanks...

Guest		04-Oct-2005 10:00
Chuck.. You did an excellent job portaying the museum. I've been there as a toursit myself. While the chicken may have been a bit of an exageration of the normal life of American prisoners there they were lucky to get out at all. The bombs after all were quite indescriminate...

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