North Vietnam Propaganda Stamp of US Pilot and Vietnamese Soldier

NORTH VIETNAM in 1967 issued this art rendered propaganda stamp based on the famous ‘Guerilla Girl’ photo showing Capt. Bill Robinson being taken into captivity by a diminutive female soldier. Although it was claimed that the girl captured the US airman single handed, this was a staged photo and she was one of a large party who captured him. The stamp also states that a total of US aircraft downed by 5 June 1967 (just 229 days later) had risen to 2000 according to the North Vietnamese (i.e over two aircraft shot down per day).

On 20 September 1965, Capt. Bill Robinson had the misfortune to become the longest held enlisted prisoner of war in American history when the HH43B helicopter he was aboard was shot down by enemy fire in Ha Tinh Province, North Vietnam. He and his crew survived the crash but were soon captured on the ground.  On 12 February 1973, he along with fellow POWs were released. He spent a total of 7 1/2 years in captivity at various prisons including the notorious Hanoi Hilton.  He was horribly mistreated – as he says in his biography -- “We were all treated equally, we all got the hell beaten out of us”.