POW Prisons in North Vietnam
Many prisons used to hold American POWs were in close proximity to Hanoi, with a few of the more well known jails located directly in Hanoi. American prisoners spent years living in these uninhabitable cells enduring the pain and suffering oftentimes inflicted upon them by the Vietnamese guards. With the end of the war and the release of the POWs, many decided to tell their stories about life as a prisoner in Vietnam.
Alcatraz (Ministry of National
Defense)
Perhaps the worst of the North's prisons, this facility
was built to house POWs the North Vietnamese wanted to isolate. The
prison was as close to a dungeon as any prison in the North. The
tiny cells were sunk underground with the only ventilation coming
from pencil-sized holes above each door and recessed space below
them.
Zoo
Opened in September 1965 just southwest of Hanoi,
the Zoo had all the windows in the cells bricked up shortly after
opening. The rooms were padlocked but had a slight give that allowed
prisoners to peek out. This feature also allowed guards, or
livestock at the prison, to look in, a feature that earned the
prison the name "Zoo."
Dirty Bird (Power Plant)
This Hanoi prison opened in
October 1967 in the vicinity of the Yen Phu thermal power plant in
northern Hanoi. The North Vietnamese publicized the location of the
prisoners, in what many believe was an attempt to discourage U.S.
bombing of the plant and the area. Prisoners called the place "dirty
bird" in honor of the camp's black dust, debris and general
filthiness.
Plantation (Citadel)
Hanoi's Citadel, the North
Vietnamese "showcase" prison, had once been the home of the colonial
mayor of the city. Part of the facility was converted to a village
of clean cells, garden patches, and scrubbed corridors where
captives were photographed and shown to delegations to convince
visitors that the North Vietnamese treated prisoners humanely.
Hanoi Hilton (Hoa Lo)
American POWs gave Hoa Lo,
perhaps the best known of all the North's prison camps, the ironic
tag of "Hanoi Hilton." The French occupiers of Vietnam had built it
at the turn of the century. Speaking about the prison's rusted
shackles and ever-present rats, Lt. Ronald Bliss reflected: "You
could look at this place and . . . just hear the screams of about
fifty years, because it was -- it is -- a hard place." Some of the
most brutal torture of Americans took place here in specially
equipped rooms.
Briarpatch (Xom Ap
Lo)
Located about 35 miles west of Hanoi, this prison was opened
in the late summer of 1965 to accommodate the overcrowding at Hoa Lo
("Hanoi Hilton"). The prison had no running water or electricity and
the diet was so severe that prisoners kept here for long periods
inevitably suffered from malnutrition.
Camp Hope (Son Tay)
Located 20 miles northwest of
Hanoi, this prison opened in May 1968 to alleviate overcrowding in
Hanoi's jails. American prisoners were also removed from Hoa Lo to
undermine POW camaraderie there. The camp was filthy and the cells
had little ventilation. Rats ran rampant. Yet, many occupants here
were spared the more brutal torture routine at other camps.
Portholes (Bao Cao)
Located along the southern coast of
North Vietnam, "Portholes" was typified by tiny cells that looked
like chicken coops. Most were three feet wide, six feet high and six
feet long. The cells were bare except for wooden leg stocks,
restraints used to punish uncooperative POWs.
Faith (Dan Hoi)
The Dan Hoi prison, just northwest of
Hanoi, was actually six compounds in one that imprisoned 220
prisoners at its peak. Treatment here was generally more humane than
at the other POW camps. Many of the prisoners transferred from other
facilities found the freedom to congregate, permitted at Faith,
exhilarating.
Farnsworth (Duong Ke)
This facility opened south of
Hanoi in the summer of 1968. Farnsworth guards' treatment of
officers in the U.S. armed forces was especially brutal. American
officers were kept in small, windowless rooms painted black and were
seldom allowed outside. The North Vietnamese treated the enlisted
men better, keeping them in larger groups and giving them regular
exercise and recreation after 1970.
Skid Row (Ban Liet)
Prisoners named this prison,
located a few miles south of Hanoi, after its filth and poor
condition. After 1971 the prison became a place of banishment for
POWs who did not cooperate at Hoa Lo prison.
Dogpatch (Loung Lang)
Located in the northwest corner
of North Vietnam, Dogpatch was colder, damper and darker than Hoa
Lo. Its cells had small slits for windows, thick walls and ceilings,
and were crammed with up to 20 prisoners. One prisoner there
recalled that the camp had "about all the qualities of a dungeon
except that it was not underground."
Mountain Camp (K-49)
The name given this camp reflected
its location in rugged mountain terrain just north of Hanoi.
Although prisoners were isolated from one another, the basic
conditions were better than in many other camps. Each room had a
table, stool and toilet and, a rarity in almost all the POW camps, a
straw mattress bed.
Rockpile (Noi Coc)
Despite its grim name, this prison,
located 30 miles south of Hanoi, was comfortable compared to other
facilities. The sleeping quarters were larger than most, and
prisoners were given a dining room, a separate latrine and even a
bathing area. Prisoners were allowed to move around the camp and
mingle, a freedom almost never granted
elsewhere.