Everett Alvarez
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Everett Alvarez was a U.S. Navy officer who is one of the longest held prisoners of war in American history.
Alvarez joined the United States Navy in 1960 and was selected for pilot training. On August 5, 1964, Lieutenant Alvarez's plane was shot down in what was known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Alvarez endured over eight years of brutal captivity by the North Vietnamese, in which he was repeatedly beaten and tortured. Upon his return to the United States in 1973, Alvarez decided to stay in the Navy and retired as Commander in 1980. He later earned a law degree and became Deputy Director of both the Peace Corps and Veteran's Administration. He also married and fathered two children. Alvarez wrote of his experience in Chained Eagle.
