Glory denied : the Vietnam saga of Jim Thompson, America's longest-held prisoner of war

Now hailed as a classic, one of the most unforgettable and heartbreaking books ever written about the Vietnam War. Glory Denied is the harrowing and heroic story of Floyd "Jim" Thompson, captured in March 1964, who became the longest-held prisoner of war in American history. Tom Philpott juxtaposes Thompson’s capture, torture, and multiple escape attempts with the trials of his young wife, Alyce, who, feeling trapped, made choices that forever tied her fate to the war she despised. "One of the most honest books ever written about Vietnam" (Oliver Stone), Glory Denied demands that we rethink the definition of a true American hero. 16 pages of photographs "He had dreamed as a youngster during World War II of being a military man. Marrying shortly after high school, he was drafted by the army in 1956 and sent to a faraway land called Vietnam in 1963, at a time when America still seemed innocent. In fact, Floyd "Jim" Thompson might have led a perfectly ordinary life had he not been captured on March 26, 1964, just three months after arriving in Vietnam, becoming one of the first Americans taken prisoner and, ultimately, the longest-held prisoner of war in American history.". "Now, for the first time, Thompson's epic story and that of his family, who also paid dearly for his sacrifice, are brought to life in Glory Denied, a searing reconstruction of one man's tortuous journey through war and its aftermath. Weaving together scores of interviews with Thompson and his family; comments from friends, fellow soldiers, and former prisoners of war; and excerpts from service records, medical reports, and intelligence briefings, Tom Philpott delivers an exceptionally nuanced and moving portrait of a man, a family, and a nation."--BOOK JACKET. Prisoner: Dying -- Pit -- Key West -- America's son, 1933-1963 -- Bergenfield -- Alyce -- Marriage -- Army -- Special forces -- Orders -- Gone again -- War and dreams, 1964 1973: In-country -- Camp Khe Sanh -- Patrols -- Friendly fire -- Final letters -- Captive -- Missing -- Confinement -- Harold -- Massachusetts -- New life -- Settling in -- North Vietnam -- Christmas '67 -- Bao Cao -- Camp K-77 -- Roommates -- Shaping up -- Rockpile -- Escape -- Peace talks -- No bracelet -- Going home -- War comes home, 1973-1980: First lie -- Reunion -- Children -- Pulling up roots -- Power of faith -- White house -- Hurting time -- Wild streak - Dreamhouse -- Broken-hearted -- Divorced -- New partners -- Tennessee -- Simple negligence -- Place in the sun -- Bridge players -- Turnaround -- No reprieve, 1981-1992: Captive once more -- Rehabilitation -- Disappeared -- Separate moves -- Murder suspect -- Tennessee trial -- Survivor -- Epilogue -- Postscript: 10 years on

Now hailed as a classic, one of the most unforgettable and heartbreaking books ever written about the Vietnam War.

Glory Denied—the harrowing story of America’s longest-held POW, the wrenching agonies faced by his family, and the larger story of a nation divided—returns to Norton a decade after its much-heralded publication. Excerpted in The New Yorker and later made into an opera, it is the heroic story of Floyd “Jim” Thompson, captured in March 1964, who became the longest-held prisoner of war in American history. Tom Philpott juxtaposes Thompson’s capture, torture, and multiple escape attempts with the trials of his young wife, Alyce, who, feeling trapped, made choices that forever tied her fate to the war she despised. “One of the most honest books ever written about Vietnam”
(Oliver Stone), Glory Denied demands that we rethink the definition of a true American hero.