AN AIRMAN’S STORY: My time as a POW
Vietnam vet recalls 6 months in Hanoi prison
I WAS CAPTURED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF HITTING THE GROUND. GEORGE LATELLA
George Latella is a man of a few words, but his history speaks volumes. His life now consists of sitting in a comfortable chair, while volunteering his time at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center — a far cry from what he endured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, where he slept on wooden pallets.
Thursday marked 45 years since the now silver-haired man was released from his captors. Looking at him, you would never know that he endured six months of living in captivity, although the images still plague him.
He talks about his ordeal freely and remembers tidbits of the six months of anguish he endured at the age of 25.
During those six months as a POW, Latella, who at the time was a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, was held in a small room with nothing but a wooden pallet to sleep on. He ate two meals a day of what he describes as not being very appetizing.
“The light above on the ceiling was always on,” Latella said.
Enemy forces captured him on Oct. 6, 1972, after the F-4 Phantom he was co-piloting with Lt. Col. Robert Anderson was struck by enemy fire. The aircraft sustained heavy damage, and Latella was forced to jump and deploy his parachute.
“I was captured within five minutes of hitting the ground,” he said. “I was then taken to a POW camp in Hanoi.”
Latella did receive a bit of medical treatment for some injuries he suffered, including a broken right arm. At the POW camp, he stayed in solitary confinement for six weeks before captured Airman Fred McMurray joined him.
‘A big shock’
“The first few days in captivity were a big shock. One day you have control of your life, and later that same day you are subjected to total control of another person,” Latella said. “That other person was part of the ones you were fighting against.”
For more than five months, Latella and
McMurray would talk about life back home and their time in the service.
The two often wondered if they would ever return home, to the country they proudly served.
Latella used his faith in the government and his fellow service members to help him through the horrendous ordeal, despite getting books from the enemy on how terribly they viewed the U.S. He thought about his family back home, his mom, one brother and two sisters in New York.
And he wondered and worried about what happened to Anderson, if he were still alive and if he were also a prisoner of war.
Latella never thought that he would go home lifeless, like the 58,000 other service members who didn’t make it back alive from Vietnam. He and McMurray were confined to the small room for weeks on end. They rarely saw outside the four walls. They went through the days by talking to each other.
Their only meals were bland, and Latella said that he dropped 15 pounds within those six months.
‘Most difficult part’
“This was the most difficult part of my life,” Latella said. “But I knew that somehow I was going to go back home. I relied on my faith in the military.”
In December 1972, the Eleven Days of Christmas Battle, during which U.S. forces launched a missile campaign over North Vietnam, brought hope for Latella. But he had doubts, since he thought that the war had just gotten worse and that Vietnam forces would fight back.
But, to his surprise, weeks after the December missile campaign, the Paris Peace Accord was signed — ending the war in Vietnam.
Latella did not believe he would be released. Weeks passed, and, on March 29, 1973, Latella and McMurray were released to U.S. military officials.
“I was part of the last group of POWs in Hanoi,” he said.
But the sense of freedom did not hit Latella immediately. He still had his doubts.
“It was not until the plane got off the ground that I knew I was going home,” he said.
Latella flew into the Philippines to Clark Air Base, where additional U.S. military officials welcomed him, along with the other POWs.
“When I arrived at Clark, I was overwhelmed at the reception there to meet us. I had finally returned to the good old USA on April 1, 1973. It was an experience I will never forget,” he said.
Finally back home
After returning to the U.S., Latella went back home to New York, where he received additional medical treatment and spent time with his mom and family members.
“It was very heartwarming when I finally saw my family,” he said.
Eventually, Latella was given orders to Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis. He stayed there for a few years. While at Cannon, he met his future wife, Susan. And, on March 29, 1979, six years to the day after he was released in Vietnam, the two welcomed their first-born daughter.
“March 29 is a day of celebration for us, one for my release and another for the birth of my daughter,” he said.
Latella retired from the Air Force in 1990 as a major. He resides in Albuquerque, and volunteers twice a week at the local VA hospital. He spends time with former Vietnam POWs.
Latella said he also finally got the answer to what happened to Anderson. Years later, his remains were found near the downed aircraft.