What makes Everett Alvarez, Jr. unique is that he was imprisoned for eight and a half years, making him the second-longest held prisoner of war (POW) in American history. It wasn’t long after his arrival at Hỏa Lò that Alvarez grew ill, thanks to the inedible quality of the food provided to POWs by those overseeing the prison camp. As aforementioned, Alvarez was the second-longest held POW in American history, after US Army Col. Floyd James Thompson, who was imprisoned by the North Vietnamese for nine years.