Glory Denied The Vietnam Saga of Jim Thompson, America's Longest-Held Prisoner of War

by Philpott, Tom; McCain, John

• ISBN13: 9780393342819
• ISBN10: 0393342816
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-28
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

GloryDenied-the harrowing storyof America's longest-held POW, the wrenching agonies faced by his family, andthe larger story of a nation divided-returns to Norton a decade after itsmuch-heralded publication. Excerpted in The New Yorker and later made into an opera, it is the heroic storyof Floyd Jim Thompson, captured in March 1964, who became the longest-heldprisoner of war in American history. Tom Philpott juxtaposes Thompson'scapture, torture, and multiple escape attempts with the trials of his youngwife, Alyce, who, feeling trapped, made choices that forever tied her fate tothe war she despised. One of the most honest books ever written about Vietnam(Oliver Stone), Glory Denied demands that we rethink the definition of a trueAmerican hero.

Author Biography

Tom Philpott is a syndicated columnist and freelance writer. His weekly column, Military Update, appears in more than forty daily newspapers in the United States and overseas. He lives in Centreville, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Author's Note	p. xv
Vietnam Map	p. xvii
Introduction	p. xix
Prisoner	p. 1
Dying	p. 3
The Pit	p. 5
Key West	p. 8
America's Son, 1933-1963	p. 13
Bergenfield	p. 15
Alyce	p. 21
Marriage	p. 26
The Army	p. 31
Special Forces	p. 40
Orders	p. 46
Gone Again	p. 52
War and Dreams, 1964-1973	p. 57
In-Country	p. 59
Camp Khe Sanh	p. 63
Patrols	p. 73
Friendly Fire	p. 80
Final Letters	p. 88
Capture	p. 93
Missing	p. 96
Confinement	p. 110
Harold	p. 116
Massachusetts	p. 130
A New Life	p. 131
Settling In	p. 140
North Vietnam	p. 145
Christmas'67	p. 151
Bao Cao	p. 155
Camp K-77	p. 165
Roommates	p. 170
Shaping Up	p. 186
Rockpile	p. 195
Escape	p. 199
Peace Talks	p. 211
No Bracelet	p. 221
Going Home	p. 226
The War Comes Home, 1973-1980	p. 239
The First Lie	p. 241
Reunion	p. 250
The Children	p. 258
Pulling Up Roots	p. 267
Power of Faith	p. 277
The White House	p. 289
Hurting Time	p. 295
Wild Streak	p. 303
Dreamhouse	p. 310
Broken-Hearted	p. 315
Divorced	p. 320
New Partners	p. 326
Tennessee	p. 333
Simple Negligence	p. 339
Place in the Sun	p. 347
Bridge Players	p. 356
Turnaround	p. 364
No Reprieve, 1981-1992	p. 373
Captive Once More	p. 375
Rehabilitation	p. 381
Disappeared	p. 387
Separate Moves	p. 390
Murder Suspect	p. 401
A Tennessee Trial	p. 407
The Sentence	p. 416
Survivor	p. 421
Epilogue	p. 429
Postscipt: Ten Years On	p. 431
Acknowledgments	p. 437
Biographical Sketches	p. 441
Illustration Credits	p. 449
Index	p. 451
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