Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, obviously, I thank Representative Foster for yielding me this time. I also thank Chairman McHenry for that very comprehensive and exact description of this piece of legislation and his kind words.

Mr. Speaker, I do rise today, as well, to support the Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act. This legislation would award the Congressional Gold Medal to retired United States Naval Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr., who was the first aviator captured in the Vietnam war, but also the second longest-serving prisoner of war in the history of our Nation.

A native son of Salinas, California, in Monterey County, Everett Alvarez has made immense contributions to our country.

While growing up, he always wanted to be in the U.S. Navy. As a kid in an immigrant family, surrounded by other immigrant families in his neighborhood, he was instilled with that sense of service, that attitude that he should always give back to the country that gave he and his family so much opportunity.

He attended Santa Clara University where he earned a degree in electrical engineering and remains a lifetime member of the board of fellows.

While he was at SCU, Alvarez would stare at the naval jets flying over campus that were going in and out of the nearby Navy base at Moffett Airfield in Mountain View.

Right before he graduated in 1960, he took, and he passed the exams to join the Navy and train as a pilot. While in the Navy, Alvarez was assigned and trained to fly the A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bomber jets. In May 1964, Lieutenant JG Alvarez was assigned to the USS Constellation, which was off the coast of Vietnam, otherwise known as Yankee Station.

For the first few months, Alvarez carried out numerous missions over Laos, Cambodia, and parts of northern Vietnam; however, his first combat mission was the day after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which also turned out to be his last mission.

On August 5, 1964, during Operation Pierce Arrow, Lieutenant JG Alvarez was sent on a mission to target and take out torpedo boat bases in north Vietnam. However, right as he got to the coast of north Vietnam, his A-4 Skyhawk was hit by enemy fire. He immediately tried to gain altitude, but quickly realized he couldn't.

Everett worked hard to get his plane out to the ocean and made one final radio transmission to his wingmen just before he bailed out into Ha Long Bay in which he said: I will see you guys later.

Unbeknownst to all, Everett wouldn't see freedom for the next 8 years and 6 months, or the next 3,113 days.

Now, for the first part of his captivity, Everett was in solitary confinement for 13 months, mainly because the U.S. hadn't started the formal bombing campaign against the north Vietnamese, but, at that time, the north Vietnamese were unprepared for prisoners of war, so for his first 6 months in captivity, the enemy didn't know what to do with him. They kept him in a local jail, treating him like a local criminal.

As time went on, though, the enemy constantly interrogated him, demanding he tell them about U.S. intentions and operations. Everett refused and subsequently was put into a 7-by-7-foot cell.

As tough as that period was, Everett will tell you that his toughest time was from 1965 to 1969, 4 years, when he and other POWs were constantly pressured and used as propaganda, including being beaten and marched through the streets. His torture included a rifle butt to the left side of Alvarez's face that dislocated his jaw and still causes him difficulty today.

He suffered numerous other injuries at the hands of his captors, including ones that required surgeries later in his life to both his arms and his back. Much of Everett Alvarez's captivity was spent at the Hoa Lo Prison, otherwise known as the Hanoi Hilton, where conditions were absolutely horrific.

During those years, Everett was confined to a room that was about 10 feet by 12 feet and was given nothing but a straw mat and a bag filled with straw that was supposed to be a pillow.

They starved him so much that Everett's weight fell to just over 100 pounds, even though his normal weight was 170 pounds. Although, he was physically weak, Mr. Speaker, having endured starvation, isolation, and torture, Everett Alvarez remained strong.

He said that the POWs took care of one another by communicating with each other and tapping on prison walls. Everett personally and regularly inspired and encouraged his fellow POWs to return with honor by not cooperating with the enemy and staying loyal to the United States of America.

On January 12, 1973, we know that U.S.' involvement with the Vietnam war ended with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords and soon after, on February 12, Everett Alvarez was released from captivity.

Upon arrival at the U.S. airbase in the Philippines, he greeted the Navy Admiral awaiting him with: Lieutenant JG Alvarez reporting back, sir.

After his release and hospitalization, Alvarez resumed his naval service. He even graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, with a degree in operations research and systems analysis.

On June 30, 1980, Commander Alvarez retired from the Navy, completing a 20-year naval career. During his service, Commander Alvarez earned the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, and the Prisoner of War Medal.

After leaving the Navy, Alvarez continued to give back by serving his country. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as a Deputy Director of the Peace Corps and Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration.

In an article with Stars and Stripes, Everett Alvarez was asked, despite the nightmare of being a POW for the second longest amount of time in our Nation's history, what allowed him to realize that he is the American Dream?

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, his response was that I am nothing special. I am just one of the guys that had to do what we had to do, and that is how we did it. We just took one day at a time.

Mr. Speaker, he may think that he is nothing special, but what he did in captivity as the second longest-serving POW in our Nation's history and what he has done for our country is not just special; it is unfathomable, and it is absolutely amazing. His service to our Nation, his sacrifice as a POW, his strength, and his symbol as an American for Americans deserves the highest honor that Congress can bestow, a Congressional Gold Medal.

I am honored to be the author of this bill, and I am also proud that 300 Members of this Chamber cosponsored this legislation, demonstrating how deserving Commander Alvarez is of this recognition. I am also honored that Senator Padilla is the sponsor of this legislation in the Senate, and I look forward to working with him and his Senate colleagues in order to obtain the appropriate amount of support so that this bill passes out of the U.S. Senate and makes it to the President's desk for signature into law.

For now, I urge all of my congressional colleagues to support the Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act to honor Everett Alvarez, an American and an example of what we stand for as Americans.

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