| Everett Alvarez Jr. |
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Alvarez joined the United States Navy in 1960 and was selected for Pilot training. On August 5 1964 , during Operation Pierce Arrow , Lieutenant Alvarez's plane was shot down in what was known as the Gulf Of Tonkin Incident . Alvarez endured eight years and seven months of brutal captivity by the North Vietnamese , in which he was repeatedly beaten and tortured. Alvarez was especially esteemed by his fellow prisoners because he was for almost a year the only aviator prisoner of war. There is a story about a White House reception he attended upon his release. John Wayne was introduced to him and broke down telling him "I only play a hero, you are a hero". 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 Juris Doctor degree and became Deputy Director of both the Peace Corps and Veterans Administration . He also married and fathered two children. Alvarez has co-authored two books, writing of his prisoner of war experiences in ''Chained Eagle'' and ''Code Of Conduct''. Everett Alvarez High School in his native Salinas, California is named after him. There is also a park named in his honor in Santa Clara, California and a post office named in his honor in Montgomery County, Maryland . SEE ALSO
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