Floyd James Thompson
Floyd James Thompson | |
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Floyd James "Jim" Thompson (July 8, 1933 – July 16, 2002) was a
Early life
Jim Thompson was born July 8, 1933, in
Military career
After completing
Vietnam War
Captain Thompson went to
Capture
On March 26, 1964, Thompson was a passenger on an observation plane (an
Aerial search and ground patrols failed to find any trace of the aircraft.[2]: 94 On March 27, 1964, an Army officer visited Thompson's home and told his pregnant wife Alyce that he was missing. The trauma sent her into labor and their son was born that evening.[4]
Prisoner of war
Thompson spent the next nine years (3,278 days) as a
Return to the United States
The years following Thompson's release were not happy ones. His troubled life was chronicled in an oral biography called Glory Denied by Tom Philpott. Although Thompson was promoted to lieutenant colonel upon release and then to full colonel, he had missed the most important years of his military career while in prison. He had no formal military education beyond OCS and lacked even a college degree or experience as a company commander.[2]: 295
He had difficulty adjusting to a vastly changed peacetime Army. In addition, Thompson's marriage had been troubled even before his captivity, and his wife Alyce, believing him dead, was living with another man at the time he was repatriated. He and his wife divorced in 1975. Alyce told author Tom Philpott that she believed prison had affected her husband's mind. She said he suffered from nightmares and was abusive towards both her and the children.[8] Thompson later remarried but divorced soon afterwards. Thompson never formed any kind of a relationship with his children. His daughters were 6, 5 and 4 when he left, and his son was born the day of his capture. Only his eldest child barely remembered him. He eventually became completely estranged from all of them.
Thompson said that one of the things that helped him cope with his brutal imprisonment was thinking of the fine family that awaited his return. He developed a very serious drinking problem and was in several military hospitals for treatment.[2]: 349
In 1977, Thompson attempted
Retirement
The stroke that left Thompson's left side paralyzed[2]: 431 and his age contributed to his forced retirement from active duty in the Army. A ceremony was held for him in The Pentagon on January 28, 1982. Thompson received the Distinguished Service Medal in appreciation for his 25 years of service to his country as an Army officer.[9] Because of his recent stroke, he had a hard time speaking, so Michael Chamowitz, his close friend and lawyer, read his retirement speech.
I am honored to receive this award (the Distinguished Service Medal) today but at the same time I am saddened to be leaving active military service. The Army has been my life and I am proud of each of my twenty-five years of service.
Of those 25 years, I spent nine as prisoner of war. Those days were grim, and survival was a struggle. I was able to withstand that long agony because I never lost my determination to live—no matter how painful that became—because I love my country and never lost faith in her, and because I had dreams of what my life would be like upon my return to America. Those dreams were always, unquestionably, of a life that was Army. I found that the dream of continued service gave me a goal that helped me survive my years as a POW.
After my return from Vietnam, the opportunity to serve became the motivating force in my life. Military service has given me my greatest challenges and my greatest rewards. I have worked hard for sound leadership development in the Army and for realistic training. The greatest problem faced by POWs was fear of the unknown. This fear can be reduced, not only for the potential POW but across the awesome environment of the battlefield, by training which is honest enough to address the real issue of combat and which is tough enough to approximate battlefield conditions.
No, I do not now retire freely—there was much I still wanted to do—but circumstances present me no alternative. I leave active military service because I must. But for the rest of my life, the Army will be no less a part of me, and of what I am, than what it has always been.
Colonel Floyd James Thompson
January 29, 1982[10]
Later years and death
In 1981, Thompson moved to Key West, where he remained active in the community, according to the Monroe County Office of Veterans Affairs. In 1988, Thompson and a number of other former prisoners of war were awarded medals by President Ronald Reagan.
In 1990, Thompson's son Jim was convicted of murder and imprisoned for sixteen years.[11]
On July 8, 2002, the staff of JIATF (Joint Interagency Task Force) East and some of his close friends threw Thompson a birthday party. He was described as being in high spirits and full of excitement. During the celebration, he quoted General
Eight days later, on July 16, 2002, Thompson was found dead in his Key West By the Sea condominium, at the age of 69. His body was cremated, and his ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Florida. There is a memorial marker for him at
In an update to Glory Denied, Tom Philpott reported that Alyce Thompson died of cancer in 2009. He also mentioned that Thompson's daughter Ruth had suffered three disabling heart attacks and had lost a son to suicide. Philpott reported that Ruth had told him the strength of character that she inherited from both her parents had helped her though the difficult times. Glory Denied was later turned into an opera written by Tom Cipullo.[12]
Military awards
In October 1974, Thompson started to receive medals and awards in recognition for his service in
In recognition of his escape from
A ceremony was held on June 24, 1988, in the White House honoring
His military decorations and awards include:
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See also
- Prisoner of War Camps
- Aircraft losses of the Vietnam War
- Awards and decorations of the Vietnam War
- U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War
References
- ^ Martin, Douglas (18 July 2002). "F. J. Thompson, 69, Longtime P.O.W., Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ ISBN 0-393-02012-6
- ^ "Veteran Tribute: Floyd James Thompson (Colonel, USA)". Veterantributes.org. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Bio, Thompson, Floyd J." Pownetwork.org. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
- ^ "Airman Missing From Vietnam War Accounted For (Whitesides)". Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ New York Times, July 19, 2002
- ^ Tom Philpott (2001-04-02). "The Prisoner". The New Yorker. New York City. p. 56. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ^ Richard Bernstein (2001-08-02). "The Glory And Tragedy Of a P.O.W. Scorned". The New York Times. New York City. p. E1. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ISBN 0-393-02012-6
- ISBN 0-393-02012-6
- ^ Glory Denied: The Saga of Jim Thompson, America's Longest-Held Prisoner of War, « The Thompson family's postwar lives read like a Jerry Springer show, replete with severe alcoholism, spousal abuse, adultery, teenage pregnancy, bitter divorce and the jailing of Thompson's son on a murder charge».
- ^ Midgette, Anne (7 May 2007). "A Former P.O.W., Now Sentenced to Loneliness". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ISBN 0-393-02012-6
- ISBN 0-393-02012-6
External links
- Glory Denied: The Saga of Jim Thompson, America's Longest-Held Prisoner of War
- F. J. Thompson, 69, Longtime P.O.W., Dies, Published: July 18, 2002 in The New York Times
- "Floyd James Thompson". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- POW Network
- POW/MIA Freedom Fighters
- Booknotes interview with Tom Philpott on Glory Denied: The Saga of Jim Thompson, America's Longest-Held Prisoner of War, August 5, 2001.