In North Vietnam in 1970 several soldiers, sailors and airmen were killed, beaten, starved and locked in solitary confinement causing serious mental problems in the prisons of Vietnam in North. Many of the American prisoners were Army and Air Force pilots shot down during heavy bombing raids ordered by President Johnson in 1964. 1 For nearly 2,000 days, or more than six years, many of these Americans were imprisoned at Son Tay, about 23 miles west of Hanoi in North Vietnam. After multiple reports to the Pentagon from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Security Agency (NSA), one of the largest orchestrated prison rescue attempts was coordinated in a joint effort by the forces armies. This operation displayed extreme planning and attention to detail that forever changed North Vietnam's treatment of American prisoners of war (POWs).2History44 years ago, in the spring of 1970, SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft provided high-altitude photos while Buffalo Hunter drones provided low-altitude and surveillance imagery of a possible prison camp containing between 50 and 100 American prisoners of war. In May, the Air Force's Special Operations Squadron received coded messages indicating 55 prisoners at Son Tay. POWs used the laundry to signal a figure of eight indicating that they wanted to be picked up eight miles away on Mount Ba Vi.3 These reports emerged and small groups in the Washington area, including the Pentagon, the DIA, the CIA and the NSA, they were all available. Work by locating and keeping tabs on all possible POW compounds using multiple intelligence assets. 4 After several reports of deaths and inhumane... middle of the paper... the speed of the C-130s is 250 knots. So, while the cruise speed was set at 105 knots for the mission, it was just above stall speed for the C-130s and was almost reaching maximum performance limits for the HH-3 and 5 helicopters. 17Furthermore, we learned that the Air Force, Army, and top policymakers in Washington DC can successfully work together in joint operations and successfully plan and execute a mission without suffering casualties, which in turn has helped restore the credibility of the leaders of the Nations in do whatever we can to bring our troops home.(2)Works CitedGlines, CV, "The Son Tay Raid," Air Force Magazine, 1995, web March 8, 2014.McKinney, Mike. Chariots of the damned. New York: Saint Martins press, 2001.MCRaven, William H.Spec Ops. Novato, CA: Presido Press, 1995.Schemer, Benjamin F. The Raid. New York: Harper and Row, 1976