HANOI HILTON ESCAPADES

THE SPY IN HANOI HILTON THE SPY IN THE HANOI HILTONuncovers the true story of POWs inside the Prison, known as the Hanoi Hilton, who created a high-level espionage operation that reached all the way to the CIA and the White House. This included sending radio transmissions to the Pentagon and President Nixon's White House during the brutal Christmas Bombings of 1972, signaling that POWs inside the Hanoi Hilton were still alive and that the raid should continue. The spy network was led by James Bond Stockdale, an air-wing commander who was shot down on a bombing mission into North Vietnam on Sept. 9, 1965. He was one of the two most senior-ranking U.S. Navy officers imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton. Stockdale later rose to the rank of Vice Admiral, became one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the Navy, and ran for Vice President. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor for his secret communication network and for bravery in the face of torture. Former CIA official Robert Wallace calls Stockdale's spy network "one of the most significant activities in Agency history." [Full] I missed this Smithsonian film that aired in April, and of course knew nothing about it.  One of the things that strikes me is, that while John McCain's capture is prominently mentioned, he himself is left completely out of the narrative here.  I find that telling.