11/21/1970: Operation Ivory Coast – Son Tay POW Prison Raid

By 1970, the U.S. knew there were at least 350 American prisoners of war in North Vietnamese prison camps, in addition to POWs shuffled between makeshift camps in South Vietnam and Laos. One such camp was in Son Tay, some 23 miles west of Hanoi, North Vietnam’s capital. Despite being only a few miles away from thousands of NVA troops, the camp was relatively isolated compared to other POW camps, and the Department of Defense determined that it could mount a special forces rescue mission to free the estimated seventy prisoners held there.

Conducting a raid in the heart of enemy territory, and safely extracting dozens of prisoners, was a daring proposition that required considerable planning and review, as well as very accurate intelligence. Extensive rehearsal occurred in Florida between May and November of 1970 in order to prepare the team to execute the mission.

The raid itself was conducted in the early morning of November 21st 1970, involving 6 helicopters and 22 other aircraft flying into North Vietnam in airlift, MiG defense, missile defense, close air support, and command roles. The assault team itself landed in the courtyard of the prison at 2:19 AM, and immediately began to quickly and methodically search the cell blocks while rapidly killing the guards. However, contrary to intelligence, the prison contained no prisoners. (It turns out the prisoners had in fact been moved to another prison closer to Hanoi because it was thought the river the Son Tay prison was next to may flood.) Once they were sure the prison was empty, the raiders quickly withdrew. Despite the fact that the mission was superbly executed, it had failed due to flawed intelligence, and the ensuing criticism would lead to restructuring within the U.S. intelligence agencies. The preparation and execution of the raid was quite intricate and is described in detail in The Son Tay Raid: American POWs in Vietnam Were Not Forgotten

Despite its failure, the mission did have some lasting benefits. It bolstered morale to show that the U.S. would not forget its POWs. It also caused North Vietnam to concentrate its prisoner population in fewer camps, which had the benefit of decreasing the isolation felt by the POWs. The excellent tactical execution of the raid has also made it one of the models for future Special Forces operations. (See also Beyond Hell and Back: How America’s Special Operations Forces Became the World’s Greatest Fighting Unit)

(Article for “Vietnam War Timeline” / “Vietnam Timeline” / “Vietnam War History” for November 21 1970)