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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Location of Service: Ubon, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/25900

View full service history

"But we practiced the tap code and that night we were ears to the wall after the guards cleared out and we could now talk. We were now communicating with the rest of the prison camp." (Audio interview, 25:12)

In 1968, Captain Michael Thomas Burns had just fulfilled a lifelong dream of flying jets in the Air Force when he was shot down on his eighteenth mission over Vietnam. He was captured and eventually transferred to the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp, where his relationships with his fellow prisoners became key to his survival. One of his greatest moments came when he was taught the "tap code," a system of tapping on the walls that was used to spread messages throughout the camp. His interview is peppered with descriptions of his friends in prison, their nicknames and the one-liner jokes that they shared--and his commentary demonstrates how their camaraderie kept them alive throughout their 56-month captivity.

Michael Thomas Burns Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Michael Thomas Burns Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • Stuart, R.J.
  • Burns, Michael Thomas
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar

Home State

  • Florida

Headings

  • -  Burns, Michael Thomas
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Location of Service: Ubon, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1966-1973
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was a prisoner of war (POW) for five years.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-11-15)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/25900

Cite as

  • Michael Thomas Burns Collection (AFC/2001/001/25900), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Prisoner of War

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lugar, Richard, R.J Stuart, Michael Thomas Burns, and U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. Michael Thomas Burns Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.25900/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., Stuart, R. J., Burns, M. T. & U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar. (1966) Michael Thomas Burns Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.25900/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Michael Thomas Burns Collection. 1966. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.25900/>.