Seven Years In Hanoi - Paperback

by Larry Chesley (Author)

It looked like an "ordinary" day when Air Force Captain Larry Chesley took off. But less than an hour later he had been shot down over North Vietnam with three broken vertebra, stripped of his clothing and equipment, and was sitting handcuffed and blindfolded in a hole in the ground. Twenty-one days later he was in another hole - the "hell hole" of Hoa Lo, the prison the POWs nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton. He would be in and out of that prison and eight others for nearly seven years. In Seven Years In Hanoi, Larry Chesley unveils the story of POW life in North Vietnam. His absorbing first-hand account relates his personal experiences as he tells of conditions in the prison camps; the treatment the POWs received, including the tortures; the means by which they frustrated their captors' design of breaking their spirit; and the educational, patriotic and religious activities by which they helped to sustain faith and courage and keep morale high. Finally he describes the moving experience of the POWs' release from captivity and their warm and wonderful welcome in America. Reading this book will do more than interest and inform the reader. It will measurably recapture the surge of emotion America felt at the POWs' homecoming. It will stir again the patriotic pride in that band of men who like many others caught up in the Vietnam War, asked "not what their country could do for them but what they could do for their country."

Author Biography

INTRODUCTION Lt. Colonel Larry Chesley was born and reared in Burley, Idaho. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the Air Force and spent time in Japan and Germany. Following his discharge, he enrolled in Weber State College in Ogden, Utah. While being married and working full time, he completed a four-year course of study in three years, graduating with honors. He re-entered the Air Force at Officer's Training School completing the course as a Distinguished Military Graduate. He then entered pilot training. After receiving his pilot's wings, he entered F-4C fighter training, graduating as the class's outstanding pilot (Top Gun). In December 1965, Larry Chesley volunteered for Vietnam duty and was shot down on April 16, 1966. He spent nearly seven years in prison camps in and around Hanoi, North Vietnam. On February 12, 1973 he was released with the first group of POW's. Colonel Chesley has received dozens of military awards and decorations, including 2 Silver Stars for Gallantry, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star for Valor, and 2 Purple Hearts, 5 Air Medals, 2 Outstanding Unit Awards, 2 Air Force Commendation Medals. He has been listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. In addition, he has written a book and has made motivational tapes detailing his experiences as a prisoner of war He retired from the Air Force in 1982 after 22 years of service. He has just retired from working as the Legislative Liaison for the Arizona State Treasurer. He has been an Arizona State Senator and a Legislative Research Analyst for the Arizona State House of Representatives and a University Professor Colonel Chesley has held many community and church positions, including Boy Scout leader and a volunteer in the prison ministry for the state prisons of Arizona. He and his wife have served four full-time missions for their Church. They have combined several families to have 9 living children and 29 grandchildren. Colonel Chesley has delivered thousands of presentation to meetings throughout the United States and foreign countries.