"The man who appreciates freedom the most is the free man who has become a slave." (Memoir)

James A. Mulligan, Jr.

Captain Jim Mulligan, USS Enterprise, Off Vietnam, Yankee Station, 1965 [detail] War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; World War II, 1939-1946; Korean War, 1950-1955 Branch: Navy Unit: USS Enterprise (CV 6), Navy Aviator Service Location: Vietnam; also: Korea Highest Rank: Captain POW: Yes Place of Birth: Lawrence, MA

James Mulligan, Jr.'s memoir offers an astounding amount of detail on the 2522 days he spent as a captive of North Vietnam, after his plane was shot down in March 1966. Mulligan called himself a memory bank for the other POWs, memorizing names and details about over 400 of them, which he mentally reviewed three times every day. "We were in terrible straits," he recalled, "but the mutual support we gave each other...tied us together in an iron-like chain of resistance." Mulligan made a point of giving his captors false information and shunned their attempts to "educate" him on the error of his ways, even if it meant foregoing better treatment.