Defiant: The POWs Who Endured Vietnam's Most Infamous Prison, The Women Who Fought for Them, and The One Who Never Returned
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About this ebook
50 years ago, the POWs who endured Vietnam's most famous prison came home. A powerful story of survival and triumph. Alvin Townley's Defiant will inspire anyone wondering how courage, faith, and brotherhood can endure even in the darkest of situations.
“A riveting tribute to true American heroes.”—Senator John McCain, POW (1967-73)
"Defiant is Unbroken meets Band of Brothers—and then some." —Congressman Pete Sessions
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 eleven 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 U.S. Senator, and a third served in the U.S. Congress.
Alvin Townley
Alvin Townley spent a year traveling throughout the country to explore the legacy of America's Eagle Scouts. In thousands of miles of travel, he met with Eagles from all walks of life. The result was Legacy of Honor, a uniquely powerful narrative of character and virtue in American life. Alvin's journey truly began years ago in Atlanta, Georgia, where he followed the Scouting path of his grandfather and father and earned his Eagle Scout rank with Troop 103. He is a Brotherhood Member of the Order of the Arrow and has completed High Adventure treks at the Florida Sea Base, the Northern Tier Canoe Bases, and Philmont Scout Ranch. The author graduated from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He has interned in the U.S. House of Representatives, served on the executive staff of an international consulting firm, and worked for his alma mater, where he built relationships with alumni across the country and spoke to classes on corporate strategy and ethics. Alvin currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where he works and coaches at Marist School. He also works with Reach for Excellence, a tuition-free program benefiting talented middle school students from underserved communities.
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Reviews for Defiant
12 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My husband was wounded in action in Viet Nam. Both he and I read this book. It was factual, moving, gripping, and one of those books that take you back in time. A lovely job was done by the author Alvin Townely. He was factual and did an excellent job!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Defiant is a not to be missed book! If you really want to know what it is like to be a prisoner of war (POW) in another country then you should read this book. While I am not very versed in what the United States does in regards to the POWS that we have in regarding to the different torture techniques as this would be top secret, I can just assume that we treat the POWS here in the United Statesway better then the men featured in this book endured in North Vietnam. In fact, this book is so intense that at times I had to put it down to clear my head. If reading this book you don't get close to these men then you must not be human. I could picture everything that that the men went through including what they must look like with their injuries and broken bones. When the men were finally able to reunite with their families, I cheered. It was both a happy but sad reunion. It is reading things like this and what the other countries do that makes me not sorry about the things that the United States does to our POWs. It is all in the name of war and freedom