HONOR BOUND: A Portrait of courage
Artist: James Nance
Installation location: U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO
www.jamesnancesculpture.com
Installation location: U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO
www.jamesnancesculpture.com
Jim Nance was commissioned by the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates to create a memorial to the 33 graduates who were held captive by
the North Vietnamese during the 1960s and '70s. The bronze titled "Honor Bound: A Portrait of Courage" depicts, in cruel detail, the reality
faced by the American POW's during the Vietnam War. The 'rope trick' is what the torture was called as depicted by this young soldier. The
prisoners arms were tied behind him at his elbows and wrist, and hoisted up in the air until his shoulders would dislocate. This was the first
act of imprisonment the day they were captured.
The Act of Defiance: Seen as a helpless prisoner, a closer look reveals the flier’s defiance in the face of brutality as the middle finger of his right
hand is extended. "Flipping the bird" was something the academy wanted to show the defiant stand these men took. Many of the early captives
would always try to flip the bird in pictures taken by foreign journalists. Once the Vietnamese caught on to this Western gesture of defiance, the
soldiers were punished even more.
Nance’s father was a B-17 pilot during World War II who was shot down over Germany and spent three years in a POW camp. About
30 years later, when North Vietnam released 591 American POWs in 1973, Nance flew one of the planes carrying the men to freedom.
Nance’s sculpture incorporates other details such as barbed wire across the top of the scene, a bare light bulb overhead and moss green coloring on the walls.
Melted copper of about 40 POW bracelets that were donated by former prisoners and by people who had worn them in the ’70s was included in
the bronze casting as a way to remember the captive Americans.
the North Vietnamese during the 1960s and '70s. The bronze titled "Honor Bound: A Portrait of Courage" depicts, in cruel detail, the reality
faced by the American POW's during the Vietnam War. The 'rope trick' is what the torture was called as depicted by this young soldier. The
prisoners arms were tied behind him at his elbows and wrist, and hoisted up in the air until his shoulders would dislocate. This was the first
act of imprisonment the day they were captured.
The Act of Defiance: Seen as a helpless prisoner, a closer look reveals the flier’s defiance in the face of brutality as the middle finger of his right
hand is extended. "Flipping the bird" was something the academy wanted to show the defiant stand these men took. Many of the early captives
would always try to flip the bird in pictures taken by foreign journalists. Once the Vietnamese caught on to this Western gesture of defiance, the
soldiers were punished even more.
Nance’s father was a B-17 pilot during World War II who was shot down over Germany and spent three years in a POW camp. About
30 years later, when North Vietnam released 591 American POWs in 1973, Nance flew one of the planes carrying the men to freedom.
Nance’s sculpture incorporates other details such as barbed wire across the top of the scene, a bare light bulb overhead and moss green coloring on the walls.
Melted copper of about 40 POW bracelets that were donated by former prisoners and by people who had worn them in the ’70s was included in
the bronze casting as a way to remember the captive Americans.
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970.667.2723
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