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Relive the harrowing experiences of the Vietnam POWs in this immersive new special exhibit.
New Podcast:
Captured: Shot Down in Vietnam is a serialized documentary podcast from the Richard Nixon Foundation covering the Vietnam POW crisis like never before.
Start with Chapter 1 and click here for more episodes.
During the Vietnam War, hundreds of American aviators were shot down, imprisoned, and tortured, experiencing the harshest conditions imaginable.
For as many as eight long years, the prisoners of war (POWs) stayed true to their mission and survived behind bars. They communicated through codes and raps on prison walls. They were incredibly brave and resisted enemy propaganda. Their families knew little of their fate.
50 years ago, the US government saved 591 of those POWs from North Vietnamese captivity. Now, hear their personal and intimate stories like never before, from the dramatic moment of being shot down to the tearful family reunion.
CAPTURED features newly re-surfaced recordings from Presidents Richard Nixon and Lyndon B Johnson’s oval offices.
Broadcast veteran Tyler Russell McCusker conducts original interviews with 85-year-old Commander Everett Alvarez Jr., the first American shot down, 91-year-old Captain Eugene “Red” McDaniel, POW families, authors, and historians.
Put yourself into the action with hundreds of historically-accurate sound effects and scene-setting original music compositions that create an immersive, enthralling soundscape.
This new podcast from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation is a compelling and powerful exploration of the human cost of war and the resilience of the American spirit.
The finale of our story brings us to December 1972, as President Richard Nixon’s administration strives to bring an end to the stalemate in peace negotiations with the North Vietnamese.
In this episode, we’ll hear how Operation Homecoming came to bring 591 POWs home in February of 1973, 8.5 long years after Everett’s capture.
For more info and photos specific to this episode, visit www.capturedpodcast.com.
CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam is a docuseries from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation, produced by the team at Foundwave, and respectfully created in honor of Ross Perot, Sr.
If you’re interested in learning more about Vietnam POWs, you can visit the new exhibit “CAPTURED” at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.
This series is produced by Steph Weaver-Weinberg. Original music compositions, foley effects, and mastering from Jonathan Rock. Research, background, and history from Jason Schwartz. Executive production from Joe Lopez & the team at Richard Nixon Foundation and Kali Mason from Perot Family Collections. Co-executive production, interviewing, and hosting by Tyler Russell McCusker.
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The Richard Nixon Foundation
The Richard Nixon Foundation applies the legacy and vision of President Richard Nixon to defining issues that face our nation and the world today. The Yorba Linda-based Foundation actively encourages and supports scholarship, sponsors in-person and online programs that engage the public with American civics, creates and promotes educational programs and exhibits rooted in American history, and fosters discussion and debate about America’s thirty-seventh president.