The Civil War song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” applied to all veterans who fought and were being welcomed back from one of the most tragic wars in American history. Families longed for their loved ones to come back from the trauma of war, but some did not come back and some did not come back whole. Throughout America’s wars many have paid the ultimate price of life for their country and many the price of a disability. November 11 was first declared Armistice Day by President Woodrow Wilson. After World War II and Korea, Armistice Day became Veteran’s Day in honor of all veterans. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the legislation on June 1, 1954. From then on, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars. Here in Kleberg County we have over 2,500 veterans and counting. In the past I have written about notable veterans like Cruz Mata, a POW in a German prison camp, and Eusebio Reyes, a survivor of the Bataan Death March. There are other veterans, as well, here in Kleberg County that have endured the ravages of a prisoner of war camp or the wounds that last a life time. This is a tribute to all veterans of foreign wars.

One veteran who has the title of being the first prisoner of war in the famous Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam is not from Kleberg, but trained here as a pilot at Naval Air Station Kingsville in 1961. Commander Everett Alvarez Jr. was aboard the USS Constellation on August 5, 1964 when the call came in that the USS Turner Joy and USS Maddox were under fire by Vietnamese torpedo boats. This call caused what is known as the Tonkin Gulf Incident which may or may not have happened. Commander Alvarez endured one of the longest periods as a prisoner of war in American history and was the first American POW in North Vietnam. He spent eight and a half years in captivity, making him the second longest-held POW in American history.

Alvarez is the grandson of immigrants from Mexico. 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 the immediate aftermath of what is 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 in what he called the “quiz room.” The “quiz room” located in place called the “briar patch” was where he and fellow prisoners of war were tied and beaten for days to sign false statements about America and the Vietnam War. While in captivity he recalls the day a worm descended from his body that caused him to shout out for help to the guard. The guard explained to him that everyone had parasite worms in their bodies or otherwise they would die. Commander Alvarez also talks about all the insects and bugs in what the Vietnamese called food which was not more than rice and water infested with insects. Alvarez was thought of highly by his fellow prisoners because he was for almost a year the only aviator prisoner of war. In his book, “Chained Eagle,” he talks about a reception at the White House where he sat with John Wayne and was introduced to him and where Wayne broke down telling him “I only play a hero, you are a hero”.

Upon his return to the United States in 1973, he came to find his wife had remarried although he suffered the anguish of the same through letters he received while a POW. He came home to find his family in turmoil. In addition, he came back after eight and half years in captivity a different person looking for some kind of closure to his ordeal. 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. He married and had 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.

In his own words Commander Alvarez said “Not a single man I met during all my years in captivity agreed with conduct of the war. As military men we were told we could not strike certain harbors, airfields, missile sites and other targets. That was no way to win a war. The lesson we should learn from Vietnam is that if we are going to get involved in a foreign war again, let’s make up our minds as a country that the cause is worth fighting for, then let’s go in and do it right and win. Otherwise, we shouldn’t get involved in the first place.”

For those that come back, the struggle of the American veteran rejoining society is in many cases difficult and in need of special attention such as in the case of Commander Everett Alvarez. Because of the beatings he endured he was in need of special care with mental and physical wounds that would last a life time. The remedy for the lack of hospitals and medical services to serve veterans is to provide veterans with a prescribed system that will allow them to visit Doctors and medical facilities in their home towns without having to travel distances to support facilities. In Kleberg County alone there are over 2,600 veterans that need health services and many travel as far as San Antonio for health care. While legislation passed that opened the door to a veteran’s hospital in the Valley, it only seems logical that a system could be developed for veterans to use medical support in their home towns.

The question is why doesn’t the Veterans Administration have a prescribed insurance program that can be used by veterans at local facilities much like most insurance programs are administered by various insurance companies?

Today, we should be able to welcome Johnny coming back from a war with something more substantial than a song and dance.

To all that served in a foreign war, Peace be with you.