Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, The Women Who Fought for Them, and The One Who Never Returned

“A vivid testimony to what the human spirit can overcome . . . For those interested in Vietnam’s Band of Brothers, it is a must read.” —Jay Winik, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of April 1865

During the Vietnam War, hundreds of American prisoners-of-war faced years of brutal conditions and horrific torture at the hands of North Vietnamese guards and interrogators who ruthlessly plied them for military intelligence and propaganda. Determined to maintain their Code of Conduct, the POWs developed a powerful underground resistance. To quash it, their captors singled out its eleven leaders, Vietnam’s own “dirty dozen,” and banished them to an isolated jail that would become known as Alcatraz. None would leave its solitary cells and interrogation rooms unscathed; one would never return.

As these men suffered in Hanoi, their wives at home launched an extraordinary campaign that would ultimately spark the nationwide POW/MIA movement. The members of these military families banded together and showed the courage not only to endure years of doubt about the fate of their husbands and fathers, but to bravely fight for their safe return. When the survivors of Alcatraz finally came home in 1973, one veteran would go on to receive the Medal of Honor, another would become a US Senator, and a third served in the US Congress. Defiant is powerful account of survival and triumph, and how eleven men held on to their courage and faith in the darkest of situations.

“A page-turner.” —Marine Corps Times

“A gripping account . . . Townley’s telling of these important stories is fresh and vivid, thanks to his interviews with surviving prisoners and their family members . . . [He] also adds an important, and often overlooked, dimension to the prisoners’ stories—that of their wives’ campaign at home to thrust the plight of the POWs into the national spotlight.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A riveting tribute to true American heroes.” —Senator John McCain, POW (1967-73)

Includes photographs

© 2024 Thomas Dunne Books (Ebook): 9781250037619

Release date

Ebook: 26 March 2024