In September of 65, Jim Lamar was the F-105 Operations office at McConnell. Upon receiving orders to Southeast Asia (SEA), he had an instant gut feeling that something bad would happen to him. He arrived in Korat in time for Thanksgiving and combat missions soon followed to North Viet Nam and Laos. On every mission, he wondered if something was going to happen on this mission. In May of '66, he led a mission to destroy a bridge and lost one aircraft. They got the bridge, but were fragged the next day for the same target. Just before takeoff, they got photo confirmation and were able to go to their secondary target, a marshaling yard near the Red River. Previous missions had received a lot of flack.
Radio discipline was always heavily briefed. On this mission it was an important item for number 4. He was a great pilot, but a smart aleck, and he talked too much. After the tanker rendezvous, he headed to the target. Before the flight got there, the EB-66 reported bingo fuel and left before he could provide jamming assistance.
On the run-in, Jim briefed everyone to stack high because he would be in the weeds. They crossed over a mountain and down into the valley, then pulled up to the perch. As he hung there, he saw the flack and really wanted to go somewhere else. He remembered the Wing Commander brief that you just had to forget the flack. If you didn't drop bombs on the target, then you would just have to go back, and it would be worse. As Jim pulled out of the dive, closed the speed brakes and added afterburner, he was smoking fast and jinking. He had taken some hits, but the plane is really humming at better than 600 knots. He headed to the bailout area which was about 50 miles west. Then #4 said, "get out you've got a big fire going". If he could see the fire from his position, then the plane must really be on fire. Ok, time to get out and everything works… the good news. The bad news is that the dash one says not to eject over 500 knots. Jim woke up in the trees with a broken left arm, and he could hear people. There weren't any good hiding places, and the peasants soon found him. They keep pulling on his clothes until he figured out that had never seen a zipper before. After he showed them the how to use a zipper, he was quickly stripped down to his socks and underwear. His arms were tied behind his back with a rope put around his neck for his trip to their huts. They had dirt floors, no lights, and thatched roofs; he knew he was deep in the words. Surprisingly, one guy could speak English. They gave him water with a cup made from a banana leaf. Two young girls were giggling, so he checked and his boxer shorts needed to be adjusted. They gave his flight suit back and then took two hero shots of villagers holding a knife and pistol in threatening ways. The solders arrived and took Jim to their camp where his wounds were treated by a doctor and nurse. A young man started asking questions, and Jim just gave the standard answers of name, rank, DOB, and serial number. He had the typical argument of being protected by the Geneva Convention with their typical answer that NV didn't sign the convention. He was an air pirate, and if he didn't talk, he would be punished. Not tortured, but punished. That night Jim received enough punishment to know he needed a better plan. It would be better to give answers. Really bad ones would be good answers.
The next day, the young officer said his government wants him to do an experiment. He asked if the survival radios worked. He wanted Jim to go back where he was shot down and prove that hey worked. Well, Jim wasn't born yesterday; so, he said he wouldn't do it. The officer said okay then more punishment. Jim needed to find some other way to thraught them. He agreed if he didn't have to ware a blindfold. Jim said to himself that he would tell them to go away as soon as he talked to them.
They took him down to the crash site and set him down by a tree. The soldiers began digging a trench not too far away. They gave him the emergency radio and turned on the beeper. He turned on the other radio and heard Denver flight calling for him, Oak Lead. After establishing contact, Denver 01 told him to move farther west for a pickup. Jim said "go away". They questioned his request, but they did leave. The soldier said Jim had to talk longer. Soon, more triple A was set up. An older officer showed up and said the next time he had to ask for a rescue. When Jim refused, the officer said he would be killed for refusing. Your grave is ready. Do as you're told.
Pontiac flight shows up and tells Jim he has to head west. He told the flight to tell Channel 90 (Korat) and Brigham to keep all aircraft away from this spot. The officer got very excited and took Jim's radios. In his broken English, he said Pontiac lead, Pontiac lead, come back.
Back at camp, they tried to hold a press conference. They laid out his helmet, chute and all the survival gear and told Jim to look down and then the lights flashed. The newsmen started asking questions. When Jim replied with just his Name, Rank, and serial number, they said he must talk. He replied "If you want me to talk, you will have to torture me like the officers' did." That ended the interview, and he was sent to the Hanoi Hilton. On the way, he was in a 4 passenger car. The guard was in the back seat with Jim, and he kept going to sleep on Jim's shoulder. He though about escaping, but with a broken arm deep in enemy territory, he didn't think he would get very far.
After 6 years, 9 months, and 4 days, he said good by to Uncle Ho. While there, he met some of the finest men that he had ever known. As everyone was about to leave, Jim developed another premonition that other prisoners would go home but not him. It was hard to take, and he prayed for strength to handle it. When he got on the plane, he wept because he thought everyone on the plane would die with him.
Two weeks later, he was still going over his mission to see if he could have avoided his stay. He suddenly realized that #4 didn't say he was on fire, but said, good hit lead, target on fire. As a side note, #4 was captured about 3 months after Jim was captured.