Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Cormier, Arthur (1934- ) |
Born |
Oct. 24, 1934 |
Birthplace |
Rumford, ME |
Places of Residence |
Rumford; Lovell |
Notes |
Taken from the Winter 2008 Newsletter, written by Catherine Stone: On November 13, 1965, Air Force Staff Sergeant Arthur Cormier was captured by North Vietnamese soldiers and was held prisoner for seven years, three months and one day. Under normal circumstances he would have been designated a "Prisoner of War", entitling him to the minimal standards of treatment set out by the Geneva Conventions. These were not normal circumstances however. The President never asked Congress to declare war on North Vietnam. Instead, the fighting was designated a "police action". In consequence, the North Vietnamese refused to follow the Geneva Conventions, resulting in a horrific experience for Arthur and his fellow POWs. Arthur was born on October 24, 1934 in Rumford, Maine and enlisted in the Air Force in 1954. Over the next ten years he participated in jump school, survival school, underwater swimming school and medical training. In 1963 he joined the Air Force Rescue and Recovery Service, an elite parachute rescue outfit. In mid-1964 Arthur finished his proficiency training and was sent to Southeast Asia as a pararescue man. He left behind his wife, Eileen, and four children, ages 3, 2, 1, and 10 weeks. His first tour of duty lasted four months. In October 1965, he was sent back on his second tour of duty, this time for one year. On November 6, 1965, Arthur’s Ch-3C "Jolly Green Giant" helicopter was shot down over hostile territory. The mission that day was to leave from Thailand and rescue a downed A1-E pilot in North Vietnam. As the rescue team’s parachute jumper, Cormier was the man designated to leave the aircraft to go to the downed pilot’s assistance. Not surprisingly, the flight encountered fire 30 miles from Hanoi, resulting in the crash of their "bird". Fortunately, all four crew members bailed out. For eight days Arthur eluded capture, once waving off rescue attempts because of the danger to his rescuers. Exhausted, thirsty, and in pain from shoulder and arm injuries, he was finally captured, as were two of his crew. So began a long and painful ordeal. For the next seven years he would be imprisoned in the "Hanoi Hilton", a facility in downtown Hanoi built by the French for Vietnamese prisoners, and "The Zoo", an abandoned movie studio on the outskirts of Hanoi. The conditions were intolerable. The POW’s were constantly interrogated and tortured, and no form of communication amongst them was allowed. To keep their sanity they devised a tap code. As Arthur described it in an interview in Lovell last summer, the code was a matrix of 5 by 5, using 25 letters with a K being replaced by C. A was one tap one tap, B was one tap two taps and so on. "It was slow, but where were we going?" he said. This simple code could be used with tapping, coughing, waving, sweeping a broom, or moving a window shutter or door. He remembers that he memorized about 378 names, numerous poems and so on: "After all, I had nothing else to do all day." Arthur did not escape long torture sessions, which he remembers occurring five times. One such session was in July 1966, when he was forced to confess "his crimes". After several days of interrogation and torture, passing out several times, he recalled the following: "I finally agreed to write I was on a rescue mission on an unarmed helicopter and we violated the territory and airspace of North Vietnam….They weren’t happy with that so they made me add that we bombed and strafed innocent women and children and bombed dykes and all that. He [the interrogator] was happy with that. I mean it was either that or some of the guys got really hurt real bad. I figured that anyone who read that was going to realize….Later in another interrogation I asked what is this for? I said no American is going to believe that. He said you’re right but it’s for our own people. It’s not for the American people and I said ‘oh’. But if anyone still reads it it’s not going to make any sense anyway." Perhaps the most intolerable part of his imprisonment was the scarcity of food. His meals consisted of one soup, a side meal and bread or rice. When he was shot down he weighed 185 pounds; however, he dropped as low as 110 pounds. He knew this because the prisoners developed a water displacement technique using a trough to calculate their weight. The death of President Ho Chi Minh in 1969 brought about a slight improvement in the food and a lessening in torture, and Arthur left Hanoi weighing 145 pounds. Arthur was released with 141 other prisoners on February 12, 1973. One month earlier he had been offered an earlier release but he replied: "No. I’ll go home in the order of shoot down. We had all agreed that the sick and wounded would go first and then by order of shoot down. And we stuck to that agreement." Arthur was in the second group to load onto an airplane and he reunited with his family at Westover Air Force Base in 20° below zero weather. He had not seen his wife for seven years and his four children scarcely knew him. Arthur recounted the reunion: "It was a pretty traumatic experience getting released. A lot of ups and downs….On the third day my wife wanted a divorce. I should have given it to her but I tried to make it work." They divorced in 1977. He continued his service in the Air Force and retired as a Captain in 1984, after spending thirty years on active duty. He left as a highly decorated officer, having received numerous awards during his career including three Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars, two Meritorious Service Medals, the Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and two Purple Hearts. In 2000, Arthur moved to Lovell where he had owned property since 1973. When asked about his experiences as a prisoner, Arthur credits his survival to the knowledge that he knew he would be released one day. In retrospect he said: "I learned a lot about myself so it wasn’t a complete waste. I’m a much better person for it. Now it’s just a good story to tell". It’s definitely a story, and one that history will hopefully never repeat. |
Occupation |
Air Force from 1954 to 1984. Retired as a Captain. Prisoner of War during Vietnam. |
Spouse |
1st - Eileen M. (Weth) Cormier, 3rd - Khamnang |
Titles & honors |
3 Silver Stars; Legion of Merit' Distinguished Flying Cross; 2 Bronze Stars; 2 Meritorious Service Medals; Air Medal; Air Force Commendation Medal; 2 Purple Hears. |
Related Records
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50th Reunion of Vietnam POWs - 2023.27.0001
Group photo of the Vietnam POW reunion held at the Nixon Library on May 24, 2023. Arthur Cormier is in the third row, 6th from the right.
Record Type: Photo
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62. Arthur Cormier - 2001.26.0001
Interview of Arthur Cormier, a Vietnam War Prisoner of War, on February 28, 2002. The tape was transcribed by Irene St. Germain in 2011.
Record Type: Archive
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Arthur Cormier at his First News Conference, Marcy 1973 - 2006.42.0002
Arthur Cormeir during his first news conference in March 1973 after being released.
Record Type: Photo
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Arthur Cormier in Thailand, Sept. 1964 - 2003.04.0001
Arthur Cormier as a Staff Sergeant in September, 1964. Taken in Korat Thailand, during his first tour of duty in Southeast Asia. Used in the Winter 2008 Newsletter.
Record Type: Photo
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Arthur Cormier on his Day of Release, Feb. 12, 1973 - 2003.04.0002
Arthur Cormier on February 12, 1973. After being held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam he is pictured being turned over to the American authorities at Gia Lang Airport. 3 copies. Used in the Winter 2008 Newsletter.
Record Type: Photo
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Arthur Cormier Returning Home After Release - 2006.42.0001
Two photos of Arthur Cormier with his first wife Eileen on February 15, 1973, the day he returned after being released as a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War. He noted that the photos were taken at 2 am and the weather was 20 degrees below zero.
Record Type: Photo
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Arthur & Khamnang Cormier, 2007 - 2007.83.0002
Arthur Cormier with his wife Khamnang in August 2007. He is holding two of Robin Siegel's dogs, Seymour and Possum. Taken from Photo CD #2.
Record Type: Photo
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Cormier, Arthur - 1974.02.1005
Information on Arthur Cormier. Located in the file category "People".
Record Type: Archive
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Cormier, Arthur - Interview in 2007 - 2007.67.0001
Interview of Arthur Cormier conducted for the National Veteran's Historical Archive in Washington D.C. The interview was conducted on June 28, 2007 at the home of Bruce and Pat Thurston of Lovell. 3 hours and 13 minutes. In DVD format.
Record Type: Archive
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Veteran's Exhibit, Box 1 & 2 - 2001.20.0002
Material primarily gathered from the 2001 Veteran's Exhibit, later updated for the 2013 Honoring Our Veterans Exhibit. The material is housed in 2 10Hx15Wx12D archival record storage boxes. Contents of Box 1: Notebooks & Files Notebooks: Military Correspondence - Harold Thomson; Edward Bell; Harlan Rowe; Byron Emery; Milton Barker; Enfield Wilson; Edward Davey Jr.; Jimmy. Miscellaneous Military Information - David Thomson (WWII); Lucinda (Me...
Record Type: Archive