Everett Alvarez
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Everett Alvarez was a United States Navy officer who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war in American history.
Alvarez joined the United States Navy in 1960 and was selected for pilot training. On August 5, 1964, Lieutenant Alvarez's plane was shot down in what was known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Alvarez endured eight years and seven months of brutal captivity by the North Vietnamese, in which he was repeatedly beaten and tortured. Upon his return to the United States in 1973, Alvarez decided to stay in the Navy and retired as Commander in 1980. He later earned a Juris Doctor degree and became Deputy Director of both the Peace Corps and Veteran's Administration. He also married and fathered two children. Alvarez wrote of his prisoner of war experiences in Chained Eagle and Code Of Conduct.
Alvarez was especially esteemed by his fellow prisoners because he was for almost a year the only aviator prisoner of war. There is a story about a White House reception he attended upon his release. John Wayne was introduced to him and broke down telling him "I only play a hero, you are a hero".
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