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Thomas Moe [detail from video]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Cold War
  • Branch of Service: Navy; Air Force
  • Service Unit/Ship: 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing; 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 16th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron; 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron,; Naval Reserve
  • Location of Service: Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam; Hanoi, North Vietnam
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/81770

View full service history

"It seemed like half the US Air Force came back to try to get me out of there." (Video interview, 36:48)

Conducting a bombing run in January 1968, a weapons malfunction forced Air Force Colonel Thomas Moe to bail out over enemy territory. After three days on the ground successfully avoiding capture, he was eventually discovered and imprisoned by the North Vietnamese for the next five years. Although offered an early release, he refused, on the grounds that POWs should be sent home according to the order of their capture. After further pressure to accept a release, he went on an eight-day hunger strike. Constant torture and beatings led to extensive kidney damage; through the care of his roommate, Myron, and his mental resolve, he survived until his release in March 1973.

Interview / Recording

More Resources

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Thomas Nelson Moe Collection

Names

  • U.S. House of Representatives/John Boehner
  • Moe, Thomas Nelson
  • Weis, Tristan
  • Boehner, John

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Moe, Thomas Nelson
  • -  Cold War -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  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

  • Cold War

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Service Unit/Ship: Naval Reserve
    • Dates of Service: 1960-1963
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Service Unit/Ship: 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing; 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron; 16th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron; 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron,
    • Location of Service: Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam; Hanoi, North Vietnam
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Dates of Service: 1964-1995
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran flew 85 combat missions flying in the F-4 Phantom II in Vietnam. He ejected over North Vietnam on 1/16/1968, spending 1881 days as a prisoner of war (POW). He also served in the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, as Vice Commander Inspector General Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC), and the Air Attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland.

Materials

  • Video: DVD [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-01-10)
  • Manuscript: Biography [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2012)
  • Manuscript: Memoir [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1996-01)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/81770

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

U.S. House Of Representatives/John Boehner, Thomas Nelson Moe, Tristan Weis, and John Boehner. Thomas Nelson Moe Collection. 1960. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.81770/.

APA citation style:

U.S. House Of Representatives/John Boehner, Moe, T. N., Weis, T. & Boehner, J. (1960) Thomas Nelson Moe Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.81770/.

MLA citation style:

U.S. House Of Representatives/John Boehner, et al. Thomas Nelson Moe Collection. 1960. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.81770/>.