Eugene Barker McDaniel (born 27 September 1931) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

and a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He was released from captivity on 4 March 1973 after six years of confinement.

Background

McDaniel was born in September 1931 to Willard and Helen McDaniel, poor

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He was the eldest of eight children. In High School, he was heavily involved in athletics and played basketball and baseball. He had an offer to play baseball professionally, but his father insisted that McDaniel attend college, having only finished 4th grade himself. McDaniel attended Campbell Junior College in

Buies Creek, North Carolina Buies Creek ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

< ...

on an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

. He met his wife Dorothy Howard, the daughter of a Baptist minister, at Campbell and married her six years later. Following Campbell, McDaniel attended

Elon College Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

Elon, North Carolina Elon () is a town in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina, Burlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan statistical area. The population as of the ...

and enlisted in the Navy. He became interested in aviation since he felt it complemented his athletic mindset. He attended flight school in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

then moved to

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

. He had three children with Dorothy prior to his capture in Vietnam, Mike, David and Leslie.

Navy career

McDaniel began US Navy active duty 15 March 1955 and was designated a

1 October 1956 after completing training. From 1956 to 1960, he was a Special Weapons Delivery Instructor with VA-25 and VA-65, which was equipped with the

Douglas A-1 Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly designated AD before the 1962 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, unification of Navy and Air Force designations) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the ...

at the time. From 1961 to 1963, he was a Replacement Air Group (RAG) Flight Instructor with VA-42. From 1963 to 1965, McDaniel was with as an assistant Carrier

Air Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

(CATC) after completing training for Air Intercept Controller (AIC) / Carrier Controlled Approach (CCA) in

Glynco, Georgia Glynco is an area in Glynn County, Georgia located on the northwestern edge of Brunswick, Georgia. Glynco is a portmanteau of the words "Glynn County". History In 1942, the Naval Air Station Glynco was established on the area now known as Glynco. ...

. McDaniel deployed on a combat tour to Vietnam as Maintenance Officer with VA-35 aboard starting in November 1966. He flew 81 combat missions up to May 1967. McDaniel was shot down while flying an

A-6A Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twinjet all-weather subsonic attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace. It was formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The A-6 was designed in res ...

aircraft (buno 152594) on 19 May 1967 during an Alpha strike on Văn Điển, south of

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, in North Vietnam during

Operation Rolling Thunder Operation Rolling Thunder was a gradual and sustained aerial bombardment campaign conducted by the United States (U.S.) 2nd Air Division (later Seventh Air Force), U.S. Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) against North Vietnam from 2 ...

. He was listed as "missing in action" until the Hanoi government acknowledged that he was being held prisoner in 1970. His bombardier-navigator, James Kelly Patterson, also ejected from the A-6, but as of 2014, it was presumed that Patterson was captured and died at some point later. McDaniel was tortured while in captivity during the Vietnam War. The most severe torture resulted from his active role in camp communications during an organized escape attempt by his fellow prisoners in June 1969. During that time McDaniel was detained in isolation for more than two weeks, severely beaten, bound with ropes resulting in a

compound fracture An open fracture, also called a compound fracture, is a type of bone fracture (broken bone) that has an open wound in the skin near the fractured bone. The skin wound is usually caused by the bone breaking through the surface of the skin. An open fr ...

of his arm, deprived of sleep and subjected to electrical shock. Even though he was not directly involved in planning the escape attempt, he refused to give his torturers the names of the organizers and accepted responsibility for the attempt himself. He is the author of ''Scars and Stripes'', a book telling about his six years of captivity in North Vietnam, with much of it in

Hỏa Lò Prison Hỏa Lò Prison (, Nhà tù Hỏa Lò; ) was a prison in Hanoi originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later perio ...

, known as the Hanoi Hilton. He was released from captivity on 4 March 1973, after 6 years of captivity and spent much of 1973 attached to Portsmouth Naval Hospital,

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. When McDaniel returned home from Vietnam, he was awarded the Navy's second highest award for bravery, the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

. Among his other military decorations are two

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

s, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with Combat "V", the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars with Combat "V", and two

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s for wounds received while in captivity. Captain McDaniel resumed active duty and served as Commanding Officer of from 21 June 1975 to 10 September 1976 and Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier from 25 May 1977 to 30 November 1978. Under his command, ''Lexington'' experienced no serious accidents while accomplishing more than 20,000 carrier landings. While Captain McDaniel was commander of the ''Lexington'', Gerard Bianco was commissioned by the Navy to go aboard and paint the most exciting thing he found, which turned out to be Captain McDaniel. McDaniel's portrait hangs in the

National Museum of the United States Navy The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy ...

in Washington, D.C. McDaniel served as Director of Navy/Marine Corps Liaison to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1979 to 1981. In this capacity, Captain McDaniel worked daily with Congress on national defense planning and provided legislators with information vital to the strategic development of Navy forces throughout the world. He retired from the Navy 6 January 1982.

Post-Navy Career

McDaniel subsequently became involved in the

Vietnam War POW/MIA issue The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia. Following the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, 59 ...

, leading to a "grassroots campaign to focus attention on American servicemen still missing in Southeast Asia." In 1982, McDaniel ran on the Republican ticket against Democratic incumbent

Charles Orville Whitley Charles Orville Whitley (January 3, 1927 – October 27, 2002) was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1977 and 1986. Born in Siler City, North Carolina, Whitley attended Siler City High School, graduating in 1943. He se ...

to represent

North Carolina's 3rd congressional district North Carolina's 3rd congressional district is located on the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coast of North Carolina. It covers the Outer Banks and the counties adjacent to the Pamlico Sound. The district is currently represented by ...

. McDaniel was defeated 63% to 36% in that election. In 1988, McDaniel went on a speaking tour of US Navy commands to encourage military personnel to register to vote and discussing his experiences as a POW. McDaniel was President of the American Defense Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. He founded ADI to increase public awareness of the need for a strong national defense. In 2010, McDaniel was on a speaking tour for US Navy officers and also speaking at returning soldier and sailor workshops. McDaniel was present at the inactivation ceremony for USS Enterprise (CVN-65) on December 1, 2012 at the Norfolk Naval Base. It was the first time he had returned to the ship after launching from her deck in his A-6A Intruder and being shot down and captured on 19 May 1967.

Awards and honors

for his time in captivity 14–29 June 1969. * 2x

one for 21 to 24 May 1967 and a second for September 1967. * 2x

one with Combat "V" for his time in captivity and one without for his service as Director of the House of Representatives Office of Legislative Affairs from December 1978 through June 1981. * Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 10 April 1967. * 8x

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

(Individual) * 4x

(Strike/Flight) * 3x

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

with Combat "V" * 2x

Prisoner of War Medal The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is . The ...

, 19 May 1967 – 4 March 1973. * American Patriots Medal, from the

Freedoms Foundation Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge (now Founding Forward) is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Val ...

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania The village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement. It is located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. The remaining village is in Schu ...

, February 1979.

Navy Cross Citation

For his actions in captivity from 14–29 June 1969 he received the Navy Cross with the following citation:

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniel, Eugene 1931 births Living people People from Kinston, North Carolina People from Virginia Beach, Virginia Campbell University alumni Elon University alumni United States Naval Aviators American prisoners of war in the Vietnam War Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)