SYNOPSIS: By midsummer 1964 events were taking place in the Gulf of Tonkin that 
would lead to the first clash between U.S. and North Vietnamese forces. In late 
July the destroyer USS MADDOX, on patrol in the gulf gathering intelligence, had 
become the object of communist attention. For two consecutive days, 31 July-1 
August, the MADDOX cruised unencumbered along a predesignated route off the 
North Vietnamese coast. In the early morning hours of 2 August, however, it was 
learned from intelligence sources of a possible attack against the destroyer. 

The attack by three North Veitnamese P-4 torpedo boats (PT boats) materialized 
just after 4:00 p.m. on August 2. The MADDOX fired off three warning volleys, 
then opened fire. Four F-8 Crusaders from the aircraft carrier USS TICONDEROGA, 
also took part in the skirmish. The result of the twenty-minute affair saw one 
gunboat sunk and another crippled. The MADDOX, ordered out of the gulf after the 
incident concluded, was hit by one 14.5 mm shell. 

A day later the MADDOX, accompanied by the destroyer USS C. TURNER JOY, received 
instructions to reenter the gulf and resume patrol. The USS CONSTELLATION, on a 
Hong Kong port visit was ordered to join the TICONDEROGA stationed at the mouth 
of the gulf in the South China Sea. The two destroyers cruised without incident 
on August 3 an din the daylight hours of August 4 moved to the middle of the 
gulf. Parallel to the movements of the C. TURNER JOY and MADDOX, South 
Vietnamese gunboats launched attacks on several North Veitnamese radar 
installation. The North Vietnamese believed the U.S. destroyers were connected 
to these strikes. 

At 8:41 p.m. on August 4 both destroyers reportedly picked up fast-approaching 
contacts on their radars. Navy documents show the ships changed course to avoid 
the unknown vessels, but the contacts continued intermittently. At 10:39 p.m. 
when the MADDOX and C. TURNER JOY radars indicated one enemy vessel had closed 
to within seven thousand yards, the C. TURNER JOY was ordered to open fire and 
the MADDOX soon followed. For the next several hours, the destroyers, covered by 
the TICONDEROGA's and the CONSTELLATION's aircraft, reportedly evaded torpedoes 
and fired on their attackers. 

Historians have debated, and will continue to do so, whether the destroyers were 
actually ever attacked. Most of the pilots flying that night spotted nothing. 
Stockdale, who would later earn the Medal of Honor, stated that a gunboat attack 
did not occur. The skipper of the TICONDEROGA's Attack Squadron 56, Commander 
Wesley L. McDonald, said he "didn't see anything that night except the MADDOX 
and the TURNER JOY." 

President Lyndon B. Johnson reacted at once to the supposed attacks on the 
MADDOX, ordering retialiatory strikes on strategic points in North Vietnam. Even 
as the President spoke to the nation, aircraft from the CONSTELLATION and 
TICONDEROGA were airborne and heading for four major PT-boat bases along the 
North Vietnamese coast. The area of coverage ranged from a small base at Quang 
Khe 50 miles north of the demarcation line between North and South Vietnam, to 
the large base at Hon Gai in the north. 

At 1:30 p.m. on August 5, 1964, a flight of sixteen aircraft from the 
TICONDEROGA on the Vinh hit petroleum storage complex in response to the 
presidential directive to destroy gunboats and supporting facilities in North 
Vietnam which the President indicated were used in the attack on the MADDOX. The 
results saw 90 percent of the storage facility at Vinh go up in flames. 

Meanwhile, other coordinated attacks were made by aircraft from the 
CONSTELLATION on nearby Ben Thuy Naval Base, Quang Khe, Hon Me Island and Hon 
Gai's inner harbor. Skyraiders, Skyhawks and F8s bombed and rocketed the four 
areas, destroying or damaging an estimated twenty-five PT-boats, more than half 
of the North Vietnamese force. 

LTJG Richard C. Sather was an A1 Skyraider pilot assigned to Attack Squadron 145 
onboard the USS CONSTELLATION. During the retaliatory strikes, his "Spad" was 
hit by enemy fire just offshore from the city of Thanh Hoa, some 25 miles north 
of the island of Hon Me. No parachute was seen, and no emergency radio beepers 
were heard. It was generally agreed that Sather had died in the crash of his 
aircraft. He was declared Killed in Action, and his body was not recovered. 

Among the pilots participating in the Hon Gai attack was LTJG Everett Alvarez 
Jr., an A4C Skyhawk pilot assigned to Attack Squadron 144 onboard the USS 
CONSTELLATION. His flight was given an ocean target right on the border with 
China, a port facility where the Chinese border meets North Vietnam. None of the 
pilots had ever flown this area. The CONSTELLATION pilots were briefed on a 
problem that would evidence itself several times later in the war -- it was 
paramount that they not come anywhere close to dropping bombs on Chinese soil 
when launching attacks on the Hon Gai area. Yet, looking at the map, pilots 
realized that "if you sneezed or did something wrong, the bomb could end up in 
China with no trouble at all." 

Just before launch, the target was changed to Hon Gai. There was little time to 
study the new target, and then they were off in a mass "gaggle." The flight 
leader briefed them to expect PT boats tied up at the southeast pier. 

When the aircraft reached the bay, however, Alvarez noted that the PT boats were 
out in the bay rather than at the pier. The flight rolled into two layers of 
smog--actually one layer of smog and one of anti-aircraft smoke. The pilots 
realized they were being fired on and noted that Alvarez had been hit. 

Alvarez's call sign was Four-Eleven, and he came up on the air saying, "411, I'm 
hit," followed by "I can't control it. I'm ejecting." Accompanying aircraft 
heard his emergency beeper, made three or four orbits, and then were forced to 
leave the area because of low fuel states. Alvarez was captured and imprisoned. 

The Navy had lost two aviators, LTJG Everett Alvarez from VA 144 and LTJG 
Richard C. Sather from VA 145, an A-1 squadron. Alvarez earned the dubious 
distinction of being the first naval aviator captured by the North Vietnamese 
and spent eight-and-one-half years in captivity. 

Richard Sather, in a sense, was less fortunate, becoming the Navy's first pilot 
killed during the conflict. It was twenty-one years, August 14, 1985, before the 
Vietnamese "discovered" his remains and returned them to U.S. control. 

Finally, on February 12, 1973, Everett Alvarez was released from prisoner of war 
camps and sent home. Alvarez had been a prisoner of war for eight and one-half 
years. In all, 591 Americans were released. The remains of Richard Sather were 
not returned until 1985. 

Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, 
prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. 
Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified 
information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive 
today. These reports are the source of serious distress to many returned 
American prisoners. They had a code that no one could honorably return unless 
all of the prisoners returned. Not only that code of honor, but the honor of our 
country is at stake as long as even one man remains unjustly held. It's time we 
brought our men home. 

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977 
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor 
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602 
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and 
spelling errors). 
UPDATE - 09/95 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO 

EVERETT ALVAREZ, JR. 
Lieutenant Commander - United States Navy 
Shot Down: August 5, 1964 
Released: February 12, 1973 

Born: On 12/23137 in Salinas, California. 
Education: B. S. in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara university in 1960. 
Entered: Navy in June 1960--Aviation Officer Candidate Program. He received 
his Commission in October 1960. 
Flight Training--Pensacola, Florida; Kingsville, Texas. 
Designated Naval Aviator in November 1961. 
First Assignment--Attack Squadron 144 at NAS Lemoore and the USS 
Constellation. 

Lt. Cdr. Alvarez was shot down and captured August 5, 1964 on the first raid 
in North Vietnam in retaliation for the North Vietnamese torpedo attack on the 
USS Destroyer Maddox and USS Turner Joy. This was called the Tonkin Gulf 
Incident of 4 August 1964. Lt. Cdr. Alvarez was the longest held POW in North 
Vietnam. He was a prisoner for 8 1/2 years. As for the future, Lt. Cdr. 
Alvarez plans to remain in the Navy. 

This is his personal message: "For years and years, during our long 
incarceration, we dreamed of the day when we would return home to our families 
and friends. We never gave up hope that this day might come soon, because we 
had faith--faith in God, in our country, and in ourselves. It was this faith 
that maintained our hope that someday our dreams would come true. And now they 
have come true. 

Now we have returned to the greatest country in the world. Now we have seen 
the other side, and we know what it is like. Now we are able to fully 
appreciate our way of life and what we have. We have so much to be thankful 
for. No one can be prouder than I am for having had the association of some of 
the bravest men this country has ever seen--my fellow prisoners who were held 
in North Vietnam jails." 

On one occasion, before a group of well-wishers, he said, "You're beautiful. I 
love you. But let's never forget the thousands of men who will never return." 

November 1996 
Evererr Alvarez Jr. retired from the United States Navy as a Commander. He 
and his wife Tammy live in Maryland.