Guide to the Theodore S. Sienicki (Class of 1969) oral history and papers relating to the Vietnam War, 1973

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2016

Collection Overview

Title:	Theodore S. Sienicki (Class of 1969) oral history and papers relating to the Vietnam War
Date range:	1973
Creator:	Sienicki, Theodore S., 1948-
Extent:	0.25 Linear feet
Abstract:	Theodore S. Sienicki recorded information about his service during the Vietnam War in response to questions posed by John F. "Jay" Barry (Class of 1950), Associate Editor of the Brown Alumni Monthly. The recording was made in July 1973, four months after Sienicki had returned home from being a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. This collection contains the transcription of that recording and the article published in the Brown Alumni Monthly based on it by Jay Barry. Sienicki tells the story of his Air Force career as the weapons systems operator in an F-4 fighter-bomber based in Thailand doing bombing missions over North Vietnam. He was shot down and captured on May 3, 1972 and held as a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton prison camp in Hanoi, Vietnam for 11 months until March 28, 1973.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	AMS.1U.S8

Scope & content

Theodore S. Sienicki recorded information about his service during the Vietnam War in response to questions posed by John F. "Jay" Barry (Class of 1950), Associate Editor of the Brown Alumni Monthly. The recording was made in July 1973, four months after Sienicki had returned home from being a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. This collection contains the transcription of that recording and the article published in the Brown Alumni Monthly based on it by Jay Barry. Sienicki tells the story of his Air Force career as the weapons systems operator in an F-4 fighter-bomber based in Thailand doing bombing missions over North Vietnam. He was shot down and captured on May 3, 1972 and held as a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton prison camp in Hanoi, Vietnam for 11 months until March 28, 1973.

Sienicki gives detailed information about the organization of bombing runs over North Vietnam. He describes his 55th mission and his thoughts and experiences when the plane was hit and he had to eject along with pilot Tim Ayres. They both parachuted to the ground and were captured by North Vietnamese soldiers in the Vin Lin Province just north of the DMZ. They were taken by truck north to the "Hanoi Hilton" prison where a large portion of the Americans were held as prisoners of war. Sienicki describes the conditions in the prison, his short time in solitary confinement, the organization of the camp, and the torture endured by other prisoners. He was lucky and did not experience extreme amounts of torture because he was captured toward the end of the war. He talks at length about the psychological aspects of being in a prison and the coping mechanisms devised among the men as a group and individually. He speaks about his anger at the peace groups that visited North Vietnam and talks about Jane Fonda specifically. Sienicki also describes the experience of coming home, the welcome that they received and the effects on his life and relationships with his family and friends.

Access Points

Subject Names

Subject Organizations

Subject Topics

Document Types

Oral histories

Subject Topics

Military

Arrangement

This small collection is stored in one folder.

Biographical/Historical note

Theodore S. Sienicki (Brown, Class of 1969) was born on March 24, 1948 to Meslow and Casimera Sienicki in Elizabeth, NJ and raised in Irvington, NJ. He married Christine Getz, a student at Douglass College of Rutgers University, during his junior year of college. Christine died less than 3 years later on February 5, 1971 of leukemia.

Sienicki enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserve to attend Officer Candidate School on April 18, 1969, and entered OTS on July 22, 1969, graduating with a commission as a 2d Lieutenant on October 21, 1969. Lt Sienicki attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Randolph AFB, Texas, from November 1969 to April 1970, and then switched to Undergraduate Navigator Training, earning his navigator wings at Mather Air Force Base, California, in April 1971. He then completed F-4 Phantom II Combat Crew Training as a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) in January 1972, followed by service as an F-4 Weapon Systems Operator with the 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, from February 1972 until he and pilot, Tim Ayres, were forced to eject over North Vietnam and were both taken as a Prisoners of War on May 3, 1972. After spending 330 days in captivity at the “Hanoi Hilton”, he was released during Operation Homecoming on March 28, 1973. He was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, and then attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, earning his pilot wings in October 1974. Major Sienicki later completed F-111 Aardvark Combat Crew Training and served as Chief F-111 Flight Test Pilot with the Sacramento Air Logistics Center at McClellan AFB, California, from December 1979 to December 1983. He retired from the Air Force on August 1, 1989 with the rank of Major. He lives in New Jersey.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Theodore S. Sienicki (Class of 1969) oral history and papers relating to the Vietnam War, AMS.1U.S8, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Transferred to the Brown University Archives from the Brown Alumni Monthly.


ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Karen Eberhart.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2016-01-26
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

Part of the Vietnam Veterans Archive (Brown University).

Inventory

Box 1, Folder 1

Transcription of audio recording by Theodore S. Sienicki (Class of 1969) in response to questions posed by John F. "Jay" Barry (Class of 1950), Associate Editor of the Brown Alumni Monthly - TAPE 1 of 2
43.0 pages

Contents Note: Theodore S. Sienicki recorded information about his service during the Vietnam War in response to questions posed by John F. "Jay" Barry (Class of 1950), Associate Editor of the Brown Alumni Monthly. The recording was made in July 1973, four months after Sienicki had returned home from being a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. This collection contains the transcription of that recording and the article published in the Brown Alumni Monthly based on it by Jay Barry. The Library does not own the original recording. Sienicki tells the story of his Air Force career as the weapons systems operator in an F-4 fighter-bomber based in Thailand doing bombing missions over North Vietnam. He was shot down and captured on May 3, 1972 and held as a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton prison camp in Hanoi, Vietnam for 11 months until March 28, 1973.

Sienicki gives detailed information about the organization of bombing runs over North Vietnam. He describes his 55th mission and his thoughts and experiences when the plane was hit and he had to eject along with pilot Tim Ayres. They both parachuted to the ground and were captured by North Vietnamese soldiers in the Vin Lin Province just north of the DMZ. They were taken by truck north to the "Hanoi Hilton" prison where a large portion of the Americans were held as prisoners of war. Sienicki describes the conditions in the prison, his short time in solitary confinement, the organization of the camp, and the torture endured by other prisoners. He was lucky and did not experience extreme amounts of torture because he was captured toward the end of the war. He talks at length about the psychological aspects of being in a prison and the coping mechanisms devised among the men as a group and individually. He speaks about his anger at the peace groups that visited North Vietnam and talks about Jane Fonda specifically. Sienicki also describes the experience of coming home, the welcome that they received and the effects on his life and relationships with his family and friends.

1973 July

Box 1, Folder 1

1973 July

Box 1, Folder 1

Brown Alumni Monthly article "POW's: Ted Sienicki '69, It taught me to be humble and tolerant" by John F. "Jay" Barry in October 1973, Vol. 74, No.1, pages 28-29
2.0 pages

Contents Note: This article is based on the transcription of Theodore Sienicki's recording about his experiences during the Vietnam War.

1973 October