User:Zacktar/John Dramesi

Colonel John A. Dramesi is a retired U.S. Air Force officer who was held as a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was held along with Senator John McCain and has critcized McCain's conduct as a prisoner and after release.

While a prisoner, Dramesi twice attempted to escape, without success. On the second occasion, his partner, Edwin Atterbury, was killed, and the entire prison population was subjected to "barbaric" reprisals. Plans for a third escape attempt, to be assisted by Navy SEALs in Operation Thunderhead, were cancelled after the SEALs were injured, and one killed, when jumping from a helicopter.

Dramesi was released in 1973. Following his release, he continued his career in the Air Force, serving as a planner for U.S. forces in Europe and as commander of a wing of the Strategic Air Command.