Be Resolved To Win Enemy Us Pilots

During the Vietnam War, the first U.S. prisoner to be sent to Hoa Lo was Lieutenant, Junior Grade Everett Alvarez Jr., who was shot down on August 5, 1964. The prison complex was sarcastically nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton” by the American POWs, in reference to the well-known Hilton Hotel chain. There is some disagreement among the first group of POWs who coined the name but F8D pilot Bob Shumaker was the first to write it down, carving “Welcome to the Hanoi Hilton” on the handle of a pail to greet the arrival of Air Force Lieutenant Robert Peel. Beginning in early 1967, a new area of the prison was opened for incoming American POWs; it was dubbed “Little Vegas”, and its individual buildings and areas were named after Las Vegas Strip landmarks, such as “Golden Nugget,” “Thunderbird,” “Stardust,” “Riviera,” and the “Desert Inn.” These names were chosen because many pilots had trained at Nellis Air Force Base, located in proximity to Las Vegas.