On behalf of the United States of America, I extend heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and former comrades of Colonel Chaicharn Harnavee who passed away on February 4 in Lopburi province. Colonel “Chip” Chaicharn, a Thai Army Special Forces soldier, was the longest-held POW in Hanoi’s Hỏa Lò Prison (also known as the “Hanoi Hilton”) during the Vietnam War. A fellow prisoner with U.S. Senator John McCain, U.S. Navy Admiral James Stockdale and many others, Colonel Chaicharn was held at Hỏa Lò for nearly ten years. He was honored with the U.S. Silver Star and Legion of Merit for demonstrating tremendous bravery in helping American POWs. I and many other Americans who have served in Thailand were honored to have known him. He was brave, humble and wise. The words of an unknown author seem to aptly describe the life of this great man, “The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.”
