Cpt. Eugene “Red” McDaniel: Shot down and Tortured for 6 years in Vietnam

Inspired other POWs and credits his faith in God to survival

When his A-6 Intruder was hit by a SAM, Red and his Weapons officer bailed out: never to see each other again. Landing in a tree, he fell 40 feet from the tree, and crushed his vertebrae along with other small bones. Beaten with fan belts, he was tortured for the next three years on a regular basis. When some POWs escaped, he was taken in for a week long torture session until he confessed that he was the mastermind of it all. Electrocution, beatings, broken bones, infection and starvation were his life. He fed false information the whole time. Red was given the Navy Cross Citation for his effort in defiance. After his release and the end of the war, Red went on to serve as the Commanding Officer of the USS Niagara Falls and the USS Lexington till his retirement in 1982. He was also awarded: Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit with Valor, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star with Valor, and two Purple Hearts.

This was a man of Valor and distinction whose belief in God sustained him during and after his imprisonment. Valor is in you. Set it free.