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CAPTURED: Shot Down In Vietnam — History
CAPTURED: Shot Down In Vietnam

During the Vietnam War, hundreds of American aviators were shot down, imprisoned, and tortured, experiencing the harshest conditions imaginable.

For as many as eight long years, the prisoners of war (POWs) stayed true to their mission and survived behind bars. They communicated through codes and raps on prison walls. They were incredibly brave and resisted enemy propaganda. Their families knew little of their fate.

50 years ago, the US government saved 591 of those POWs from North Vietnamese captivity. Now, hear their personal and intimate stories like never before, from the dramatic moment of being shot down to the tearful family reunion.

CAPTURED features newly re-surfaced recordings from Presidents Richard Nixon and Lyndon B Johnson’s oval offices.

Broadcast veteran Tyler Russell McCusker conducts original interviews with 85-year-old Commander Everett Alvarez Jr., the first American shot down, 91-year-old Captain Eugene “Red” McDaniel, POW families, authors, and historians.

Put yourself into the action with hundreds of historically-accurate sound effects and scene-setting original music compositions that create an immersive, enthralling soundscape.

This new podcast from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation is a compelling and powerful exploration of the human cost of war and the resilience of the American spirit.

Copyright: © Any unauthorized use prohibited.

Latest Episodes:

"If Nixon Stayed" Episode 1 - When Nixon Left Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

The first episode of a new show from the CAPTURED team.

August 8th, 1974 marked the end of Richard Nixon’s presidency, but what if it didn’t? In this series premiere, we revisit the emotional final hours of Nixon’s administration and imagine what might’ve happened if he had fought to stay in office. Featuring archival audio and expert interviews, the episode blends history and fiction to ask: how different would America be if Watergate never happened? Before the hypotheticals begin, we confront the moment everything changed.

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If Nixon Stayed - Coming April 10 Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

From the team that brought you CAPTURED comes a new series that explores the concept of Richard Nixon staying in office for his full second-term: If Nixon Stayed.

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Introducing: If Nixon Stayed (Trailer) Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

Introducing a new docuseries, from the team that brought you CAPTURED: Shot Down In Vietnam, that reimagines the course of history. Using newly-released archival materials, expert interviews and historical analysis, this podcast takes a deep-dive to explore what could have been if President Nixon continued the success of his 1972 landslide election victory to complete his second term and fulfill his bold vision of peace and prosperity for a new American century.

“Therefore, I should resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.” When President Richard Nixon somberly delivered those words on August 8, 1974, as millions of Americans watched on primetime TV, he made history. For many, that’s one of the few things they know about the 37th president. But that same president less than two years earlier won one of the biggest landslide victories in the history of US presidential elections.

In his second inaugural address, President Nixon laid out a bold vision for his second term stating, “Let us pledge together to make these next four years the best four years in America’s history, so that on its 200th birthday American will be as young and as vital as when it began, and as bright a beacon of hope for all the world.”

This six-part series envisions how world history could have been altered with a completed second-term of Nixon’s presidency including: a different outcome in Vietnam, a reshaping of Middle East alliances, the creation of a big tent Republican party, an ambitious reduction of the federal bureaucracy and an expansion of visionary domestic programs in areas including healthcare and energy.

Fifty years after President Nixon’s historical resignation, it’s time to challenge assumptions about the past, explore what could have been and contemplate how the ripples of history shape the future.

Coming this Fall ...

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Bonus Episode | An Interview w/ Sid Stockdale Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

Recorded live at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum's 50th-Anniversary Reunion for former Vietnam War POWs in May 2023, Sid Stockdale, one of Vice Admiral Jim and League of Wives co-founder Sybil Stockdale's four sons, joins Tyler to discuss what he remembers of his parents' critical roles in the Vietnam POW crisis and how their impact reverberates five decades later.

Sid's book, A World Apart: Growing Up Stockdale During Vietnam, is available now.

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Chapter 10: Freedom Bird Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

The finale of our story brings us to December 1972, as President Richard Nixon's administration strives to bring an end to the stalemate in peace negotiations with the North Vietnamese.

In this episode, we'll hear how Operation Homecoming came to bring 591 POWs home in February of 1973, 8.5 long years after Everett's capture.

For more info and photos specific to this episode, visit www.capturedpodcast.com.

CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam is a docuseries from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation, produced by the team at Foundwave, and respectfully created in honor of Ross Perot, Sr.

If you're interested in learning more about Vietnam POWs, you can visit the new exhibit "CAPTURED" at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

This series is produced by Steph Weaver-Weinberg. Original music compositions, foley effects, and mastering from Jonathan Rock. Research, background, and history from Jason Schwartz. Executive production from Joe Lopez & the team at Richard Nixon Foundation and Kali Mason from Perot Family Collections. Co-executive production, interviewing, and hosting by Tyler Russell McCusker.

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Chapter 9: The Son Tay Raid Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

In November of 1970, fifty-six U.S. Special Forces soldiers executed the most ambitious rescue mission of the Vietnam War, raiding a North Vietnamese prison camp known as "Son Tay," just outside of Hanoi.

In this episode, we hear from Terry Buckler, the youngest of the Son Tay Raiders. At the time, he was a 20-year-old Buck Sergeant who had never before seen combat. Despite this lack of experience, Terry was selected out of thousands of top-tier applicants to participate in this hazardous mission.

Terry walks us through the events leading up to the raid and details what happened when their chopper touched down in Son Tay on that cold night -- and how it impacted Everett's, Red's & the other POW's captivity.

Colonel Bull Simons, the leader of the raid, also chimes in via the archived recording of a 1974 interview with Murphy Martin.

For more info and photos specific to this episode, visit www.capturedpodcast.com.

CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam is a docuseries from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation, produced by the team at Foundwave, and respectfully created in honor of Ross Perot, Sr.

If you're interested in learning more about Vietnam POWs, you can visit the new exhibit "CAPTURED" at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

This series is produced by Steph Weaver-Weinberg. Original music compositions, foley effects, and mastering from Jonathan Rock. Research, background, and history from Jason Schwartz. Executive production from Joe Lopez & the team at Richard Nixon Foundation and Kali Mason from Perot Family Collections. Co-executive production, interviewing, and hosting by Tyler Russell McCusker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chapter 8: Seal Team Six in Pearls Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

In Part 2 of our two-part focus on the League of Wives, we examine how exactly this courageous band of women was able to organize under Sybil Stockdale and make a significant impact on the return of their lost men.

We rejoin Andrea Rander, wife of Chief Warrant Officer Donald Rander, and Pat Mearns, wife of Lt. Col. Arthur Mearns, in 1967. Andrea has been notified that Don was a confirmed POW, being held in North Vietnam with several hundred other American servicemen; a surprising phone call in '69 launches her and fellow wives to new heights on a flight to Paris as the women take on a North Vietnamese delegation face-to-face.

Pat had not had the luxury of an update on Art's condition. She shares with us the particular kind of agony that she and the other MIA wives/families were faced with -- that of the unknown.

Soon, Pat and Andrea's paths would cross at the White House, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with President Richard Nixon in their efforts to bring their men home.

We also hear from Pat and Art's daughter, Missy, who shares what it was like for her to cope with the loss of her father at such a tender age.

Expert historian and author Heath Hardage Lee helps break it all down.

You can find Heath's book The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home on Heath's websitewww.heathleeauthor.com or anywhere books are sold.

For more info and photos specific to this episode, visit www.capturedpodcast.com.CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam is a docuseries from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation, produced by the team at Foundwave, and respectfully created in honor of Ross Perot, Sr.

If you're interested in learning more about Vietnam POWs, you can visit the new exhibit "CAPTURED" at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

This series is produced by Steph Weaver-Weinberg. Original music compositions, foley effects, and mastering from Jonathan Rock. Research, background, and history from Jason Schwartz. Executive production from Joe Lopez & the team at Richard Nixon Foundation and Kali Mason from Perot Family Collections. Co-executive production, interviewing, and hosting by Tyler Russell McCusker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chapter 7: Not a Widow, Not a Wife Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

In Part 1 of our two-part focus on the League of Wives, we are introduced to Andrea Rander and Pat Mearns, each young mothers to two girls when their husbands were shot down in North Vietnam.

Guided by expert historian and author Heath Hardage Lee, we set the scene for the League's formation by tracing Andrea and Pat's experiences up until the notification, or lack thereof, that their husbands had been captured.

In the next chapter, we'll focus on how exactly this courageous band of women was able to organize under leader Sybil Stockdale and make a significant impact on the return of their lost men.

You can find Heath's book The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home on Heath's websitewww.heathleeauthor.com or anywhere books are sold.

For more info and photos specific to this episode, visit www.capturedpodcast.com.CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam is a docuseries from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation, produced by the team at Foundwave, and respectfully created in honor of Ross Perot, Sr.

If you're interested in learning more about Vietnam POWs, you can visit the new exhibit "CAPTURED" at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

This series is produced by Steph Weaver-Weinberg. Original music compositions, foley effects, and mastering from Jonathan Rock. Research, background, and history from Jason Schwartz. Executive production from Joe Lopez & the team at Richard Nixon Foundation and Kali Mason from Perot Family Collections. Co-executive production, interviewing, and hosting by Tyler Russell McCusker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intermission: The Tapes Jun 19, 2023

Show notes

In this special episode, we depart from our central narrative and turn our attention to Washington D.C., where Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson & Richard Nixon were making a crucial impact on the treatment and release of the hundreds of American prisoners of war who were being brutally mistreated in North Vietnamese prisons.

By way of recordings from the White House, curator & historian Bob Bostock walks us down President Nixon's path to the Presidency and examines how his administration's policies on Vietnam intersected with his personal attention to the POW crisis.

Newly-unearthed archival audio, like tapes and phone calls from the Oval Office, will be heavily featured so you can hear from the presidents in their own words.

For more info and photos specific to this episode, visit www.capturedpodcast.com.CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam is a docuseries from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation, produced by the team at Foundwave, and respectfully created in honor of Ross Perot, Sr.

If you're interested in learning more about Vietnam POWs, you can visit the new exhibit "CAPTURED" at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

This series is produced by Steph Weaver-Weinberg. Original music compositions, foley effects, and mastering from Jonathan Rock. Research, background, and history from Jason Schwartz. Executive production from Joe Lopez & the team at Richard Nixon Foundation and Kali Mason from Perot Family Collections. Co-executive production, interviewing, and hosting by Tyler Russell McCusker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chapter 5: The Last Word We Heard Jun 12, 2023

Show notes

Mike McDaniel was nine years old when his father, Capt. Red McDaniel, was shot down and captured in the jungles of North Vietnam on May 19, 1967. It would be three long years until he and the rest of the clan heard any further news on the status of their patriarch.

Meanwhile, Everett hinged his optimism on the dream of an eventual reunion with his wife, whom had promised that she would wait for him forever.

This episode focuses in on Red & Everett's communication (or lack thereof) with their loved ones back on US soil. Though their family members were not forced to endure horrific maltreatment at the hands of the North Vietnamese, they were experiencing their own kind of torture, not knowing the condition of their beloved men.

For more info and photos specific to this episode, visit www.capturedpodcast.com.CAPTURED: Shot Down in Vietnam is a docuseries from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation, produced by the team at Foundwave, and respectfully created in honor of Ross Perot, Sr.

If you're interested in learning more about Vietnam POWs, you can visit the new exhibit "CAPTURED" at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

This series is produced by Steph Weaver-Weinberg. Original music compositions, foley effects, and mastering from Jonathan Rock. Research, background, and history from Jason Schwartz. Executive production from Joe Lopez & the team at Richard Nixon Foundation and Kali Mason from Perot Family Collections. Co-executive production, interviewing, and hosting by Tyler Russell McCusker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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