Longest Vietnam POW passes away

Sgt. Rock

Full Access Member
Vietnam veteran, POW George Robert Hall dies at 83:

A Vietnam War veteran, who endured one of the longest captivities as a prisoner of war in American history, has died.

Retired Air Force Col. George Robert Hall succumbed Sunday to his 20-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 83.

“He was just a great American. He was just a strong, strong individual,” said his brother Sam Hall of Hattiesburg, a retired golfer. “You couldn’t survive seven and one-half years as a prisoner of war and 20 years with that disease and not be a strong person.”

George Robert Hall, who graduated from Hattiesburg High School in 1948, spent 7 ½ years (from 1965 to 1973) as a prisoner of war of the North Vietnamese army, after his plane was shot down during a reconnaissance mission.

Andrew Wiest, director of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for the Study of War and Society, said Hall’s time trapped in and around Hanoi, including at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, ranks among the longest POW experiences in U.S. history.

“His experience was about as prolonged and brutal as you can get,” said Wiest, who has written several books about the Vietnam War.

Sam Hall said his brother’s weight, normally 170 pounds, sunk to under 100 pounds as a result of the torture he endured.

George Robert Hall spent much of his captivity in solitary confinement, using a stealthy tap system on the prison walls to communicate with other prisoners.

“He was one of those that I would compare to the World War II greatest generation,” said Ted Tibbett, chairman of the Hattiesburg veteran’s committee.

“He was a true officer. He served and came back. He was in tremendous pain and came back and went to work.”

Tibbett said one of Hall’s biggest contributions to Hattiesburg was his fund-raising efforts for the Veterans’ Memorial Park downtown.

“He raised thousands and thousands of dollars to build that park and he was chairman emeritus of that park to this day,” said Tibbett.

Wiest, who grew up in Hattiesburg, remembers being about 12 when George Robert Hall was released from his captivity and returned to Hattiesburg.

An overflow crowd packed Southern Miss’s Bennett Auditorium to greet him.

“That kind of thing resonated,” Wiest said. “You knew it was something very out of the ordinary and something very much to be appreciated and honored.”

George Robert Hall is survived by his wife, Pat Hall, along with their three children. In 2005, the couple co-wrote “Commitment to Honor,” a memoir of his POW experience.

By Ed Kemp
Hattiesburg (Miss.) American staff writer

A big salute to Colonel Hall for your service and dedication..may you Rest In Peace.
 

TheOl55

Full Access Member
And we've lost another Great one.

May you find the Peace you so Richly deserve Col. George Robert Hall

God Bless
 

ninja man

Full Access Member
not to combine threads here, but where are these types of people now? instead we have soldiers posing next to caskets and others making obscene gestures. it is dissapointing to see what is happening now when for so long so many fought so hard with no recognition, just because they thought it was right. i was not born here in the states, but i was adopted at 3 years old. this is my country and always has been, and hope this country returns to its morals. and more people like this show up.
 

hotrodpc

Super Moderator
not to combine threads here, but where are these types of people now? instead we have soldiers posing next to caskets and others making obscene gestures. it is dissapointing to see what is happening now when for so long so many fought so hard with no recognition, just because they thought it was right. i was not born here in the states, but i was adopted at 3 years old. this is my country and always has been, and hope this country returns to its morals. and more people like this show up.

Let's get this right. I see your point totally, but where you say, so many fought with NO recognition just because THEY THOUGHT IT WAS RIGHT. There were many in Vietnam who didn't even think it was right, but they stood by their country and fought with their country. Don't forget, many Vietnam Vets were draftees and didn't even want to be there, and didn't agree. Many weren't given a choice but to go fight or sit in jail.
 

kwo51

Full Access Member
The morals of this country left when we made abortion legal! Now we have legalized being queer and and allowing them to be married. This trend is well stated in the Bible and destruction to the country that followed this path is near. We will get what we deserve. I could not have lived as a prisoner of war with out being killed trying to escape. RIP Colonel. I was just an enlisted grunt ,was not worth anything to uncle hoe.
 

ninja man

Full Access Member
true. but its the ones who did something afterwards. we always hear these stories about how when they were finished, they started something or became a part of something to make a difference. volunteering their time. now days people do it for political gain. and all the people who start programs because "it happened to them and they dont want it to happen to anyone else" had absolutely no interest until it happened to them. i just think the older generation just has a no bs attitude in general. the younger gen has some growing up to do.
 

IHC656

New member
Rest in peace Colonel.
As U.S. civilian I thank you for your service to the United States & to my wifes country of origin formly known as South Vietnam.
 
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