Everett Alvarez Jr.

All you want to know about Everett Alvarez Jr.

Everett Alvarez Jr. (b. 1937, Salinas, California) was a Navy Commander who endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war (POW) in American history. Alvarez was the first American POW in North Vietnam. He spent over 8 years in captivity, making him the second longest-held POW in American history.^{[citation needed]}

Alvarez is the grandson of immigrants from Mexico.^[1] He joined the United States Navy in 1960 and was selected for pilot training. On August 5, 1964, during Operation Pierce Arrow, Lieutenant j.g. Alvarez's plane was shot down in what was known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Alvarez endured eight years and six months of brutal captivity by the North Vietnamese, in which he was repeatedly beaten and tortured. (Personal interview with the subject, 2001.)

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".^{[citation needed]}

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 Master's Degree in Operations and Research Analysis and a Juris Doctor degree. He then went on to become Deputy Director of both the Peace Corps and Veterans Administration.^{[citation needed]} 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.