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Scars and Stripes
The word ‘hero’ is used far too often. So is the word ‘courage.’ In the case of Capt. Eugene McDaniel and his hellish experience during the Vietnam War, neither word accurately describes his struggle in enduring the horrors of being one of the most brutalized Prisoner of War (POW). When his plane was shot down over the skies of Vietnam, McDaniel would be captured and spend six agonizing years as a POW in Hanoi Hilton. His captors used barbaric and sadistic torture techniques on him, but McDaniel remained a source of hope and strength for his fellow POWs by clinging to his faith in even the darkest of hours. In this 35th anniversary edition of Scars and Stripes, a whole new generation of Americans will come to understand the power of prayer, belief, and devotion to God had in sustaining McDaniel during his six years as a POW in Vietnam.
225 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 29, 2025
Captain Eugene "Red" McDaniel of the United States Navy was shot down from his A-6 Intruder into the Vietnam jungle in May of 1967. He became a prisoner of war (POW), housed at the "Hanoi Hilton," the Hoa Lo Prison for over six years. 'Hoa lo' translates to "hell's hole."
CAPT McDaniel in his short memoir describes the layout of the prison complex. Each room of the complex is given a nickname such as "Little Vegas," "The Zoo," and 'The Quiz Room."
The POWs created and used an amazing communication system by tapping on walls using a code system, modeled after Morse code. They also passed notes on toilet paper by way of the toilets and used their brooms to sweep and stamp out messages in the courtyard to other prisoners.
Much of the book details the tortures CAPT McDaniel endured. This was not easy to read about but a necessary element that must be shared for the historical account.
During this time of torture and imprisonment, CAPT McDaniel's faith in God both wavered and solidified. When conditions in the prison were better and POWs allowed to have more liberties, he led prayer and church services. He came in his time of imprisonment to have compassion for his captors and experienced feelings of forgiveness toward them.
As I was reading the captions under the photos placed at the end of the book, I felt a sense of awe. I chatted with this fine gentleman, his wife, and son Mike back in 2019 in the waiting room of an army hospital. It was an honor to read this book--to read about CAPT McDaniel's service, his faith, and the values he espouses in his life.
CAPT McDaniel in his short memoir describes the layout of the prison complex. Each room of the complex is given a nickname such as "Little Vegas," "The Zoo," and 'The Quiz Room."
The POWs created and used an amazing communication system by tapping on walls using a code system, modeled after Morse code. They also passed notes on toilet paper by way of the toilets and used their brooms to sweep and stamp out messages in the courtyard to other prisoners.
Much of the book details the tortures CAPT McDaniel endured. This was not easy to read about but a necessary element that must be shared for the historical account.
During this time of torture and imprisonment, CAPT McDaniel's faith in God both wavered and solidified. When conditions in the prison were better and POWs allowed to have more liberties, he led prayer and church services. He came in his time of imprisonment to have compassion for his captors and experienced feelings of forgiveness toward them.
As I was reading the captions under the photos placed at the end of the book, I felt a sense of awe. I chatted with this fine gentleman, his wife, and son Mike back in 2019 in the waiting room of an army hospital. It was an honor to read this book--to read about CAPT McDaniel's service, his faith, and the values he espouses in his life.
December 31, 2021
Right upfront I am going to say that if you are a sensitive reader, this is NOT the book for you.
That having been said, this was an amazing book. It was a difficult read, not because of how the book was written, but because of the terrible things that these outstanding men faced.
The painful truth of what our heroes suffered at the hands of the VC is absolutely sickening. I fail to understand how a group of people could be so cruel and merciless to another human being. How awful and sick does someone have to be to carry out such barbaric things?
Again, this is not a book for someone who is a sensitive reader, and I would not hand this book to someone under the age of 18. The emotions are very raw and real in it. It goes into quite a bit of detail about the things they suffered and endured. It doesn't sugar coat the truth at all in anyway.
I went into this book knowing that it was going to be difficult to read because I have read other similar accounts of POWs and they are never easy to read, but every time I read a book like this my heart breaks into a thousand pieces.
I cried through quite a bit of this book as I read of the great price that has been paid for my freedom. These things need to be told and taught to the future generations so that they might recognize and appreciate the fact that a price beyond our wildest imaginations has been paid that we might be free. There is no way that we can ever pay these heroes back for what they have done for us.
All I can say is that America's patriots will NEVER forget what these amazing men went through for us.
We have not forgotten, and we will not forget — EVER!
POW/MIA — You are NOT forgotten! Thank you a thousand times over for what you have done for us!
* climbs off soapbox *
As far as the writing style of the book, it had a way of drawing you in and gripping you until the end. It was very well written.
One thing that slightly confused me was towards the beginning of the book when he was talking about his experience at church. It wasn't really a clear testimony of salvation which disappointed me.
But it was incredible to read about how he was later able to forgive his captors. That would take a lot to forgive them for what they did to him.
I also really enjoyed reading his wife's words in the back of the book. I can't imagine what that would have been like for her!
There was some editing of some language in the book that needed to be done.
Over all this is a book that Americans need to read. The world needs to know the past so that it is not repeated in the future.
My heart's cry and prayer after reading this is "Please God, may this never again be repeated."
That having been said, this was an amazing book. It was a difficult read, not because of how the book was written, but because of the terrible things that these outstanding men faced.
The painful truth of what our heroes suffered at the hands of the VC is absolutely sickening. I fail to understand how a group of people could be so cruel and merciless to another human being. How awful and sick does someone have to be to carry out such barbaric things?
Again, this is not a book for someone who is a sensitive reader, and I would not hand this book to someone under the age of 18. The emotions are very raw and real in it. It goes into quite a bit of detail about the things they suffered and endured. It doesn't sugar coat the truth at all in anyway.
I went into this book knowing that it was going to be difficult to read because I have read other similar accounts of POWs and they are never easy to read, but every time I read a book like this my heart breaks into a thousand pieces.
I cried through quite a bit of this book as I read of the great price that has been paid for my freedom. These things need to be told and taught to the future generations so that they might recognize and appreciate the fact that a price beyond our wildest imaginations has been paid that we might be free. There is no way that we can ever pay these heroes back for what they have done for us.
All I can say is that America's patriots will NEVER forget what these amazing men went through for us.
We have not forgotten, and we will not forget — EVER!
POW/MIA — You are NOT forgotten! Thank you a thousand times over for what you have done for us!
* climbs off soapbox *
As far as the writing style of the book, it had a way of drawing you in and gripping you until the end. It was very well written.
One thing that slightly confused me was towards the beginning of the book when he was talking about his experience at church. It wasn't really a clear testimony of salvation which disappointed me.
But it was incredible to read about how he was later able to forgive his captors. That would take a lot to forgive them for what they did to him.
I also really enjoyed reading his wife's words in the back of the book. I can't imagine what that would have been like for her!
There was some editing of some language in the book that needed to be done.
Over all this is a book that Americans need to read. The world needs to know the past so that it is not repeated in the future.
My heart's cry and prayer after reading this is "Please God, may this never again be repeated."
March 16, 2014
I have been fond of saying that in warfare, there are no true winners. Philip Caputo's "A Rumor of War" reinforced that sentiment in me. Eugene (Red) McDaniel's "Scars and Stripes" jars me to re-examine it.
McDaniel and Caputo, U.S. officers who served in Vietnam, have shared soul-shaking accounts of the horrors and inhumanities that define war. Both have earned a place in my bookshelf of Vietnam war history and memoir. I regard both as "men among men."
In some sense, the two books provide opposite bookends of my collection. Caputo courageously admits in "A Rumor of War" the loss of faith that constant dealing with violence and corpses brought to him. McDaniel though, attributes the indestructible piece of himself that withstood nearly six years of imprisonment as a downed A-6 pilot flying missions deep into enemy territory, to an eternal source.
"Scars and Stripes" is McDaniel's memoir of hellish days, from May, 1967 through February, 1973 when he and other captured Americans underwent a magnitude of calculated cruelty and pain at the hands of their captors that will overwhelm the mind of most. In these pages, McDaniel depicts the utter tragedy of war with a matter-of-fact poignancy. It is a quick, powerful read.
The book will reward those who can force themselves, with the aid of McDaniel's stark words, to enter the various buildings of the infamous Hanoi Hilton that McDaniel brings back to life: The Zoo and Zoo Annex, the Chicken Coop, the Quiz Room. You'll witness bloody and systematic brutality that was designed to break the strongest man's will to cling to those principles he holds most dear.
Perhaps miraculously, so many men did not break. The signing of the Paris Peace Accords in early 1973 ended a macabre endurance contest that renders all other contests insignificant by comparison. Historians will long argue the morality of that controversial war which now, as veterans on both sides go on to meet their Maker, continues its slow retreat from worldwide discussion topic to the annals of more distant history.
Just weeks before this review, General Vo Nguyen Giap, supreme commander of the North Vietnamese Army during the height of the U.S. involvement in the conflict, passed away at age 100. Those familiar with Giap's personal story, most especially his later years, may want to read "Scars and Stripes" with Giap, Hal Moore (of "We Were Soldiers" fame) and the many hundreds of Vietnamese and American former combatants who eventually have reunited to exchange peaceful embraces, in mind. McDaniel's story has a place in the patchwork quilt of evidence that men on both sides who refused at any cost to abandon their highest principles - and the greatest of these is love - were the war's biggest winners.
McDaniel and Caputo, U.S. officers who served in Vietnam, have shared soul-shaking accounts of the horrors and inhumanities that define war. Both have earned a place in my bookshelf of Vietnam war history and memoir. I regard both as "men among men."
In some sense, the two books provide opposite bookends of my collection. Caputo courageously admits in "A Rumor of War" the loss of faith that constant dealing with violence and corpses brought to him. McDaniel though, attributes the indestructible piece of himself that withstood nearly six years of imprisonment as a downed A-6 pilot flying missions deep into enemy territory, to an eternal source.
"Scars and Stripes" is McDaniel's memoir of hellish days, from May, 1967 through February, 1973 when he and other captured Americans underwent a magnitude of calculated cruelty and pain at the hands of their captors that will overwhelm the mind of most. In these pages, McDaniel depicts the utter tragedy of war with a matter-of-fact poignancy. It is a quick, powerful read.
The book will reward those who can force themselves, with the aid of McDaniel's stark words, to enter the various buildings of the infamous Hanoi Hilton that McDaniel brings back to life: The Zoo and Zoo Annex, the Chicken Coop, the Quiz Room. You'll witness bloody and systematic brutality that was designed to break the strongest man's will to cling to those principles he holds most dear.
Perhaps miraculously, so many men did not break. The signing of the Paris Peace Accords in early 1973 ended a macabre endurance contest that renders all other contests insignificant by comparison. Historians will long argue the morality of that controversial war which now, as veterans on both sides go on to meet their Maker, continues its slow retreat from worldwide discussion topic to the annals of more distant history.
Just weeks before this review, General Vo Nguyen Giap, supreme commander of the North Vietnamese Army during the height of the U.S. involvement in the conflict, passed away at age 100. Those familiar with Giap's personal story, most especially his later years, may want to read "Scars and Stripes" with Giap, Hal Moore (of "We Were Soldiers" fame) and the many hundreds of Vietnamese and American former combatants who eventually have reunited to exchange peaceful embraces, in mind. McDaniel's story has a place in the patchwork quilt of evidence that men on both sides who refused at any cost to abandon their highest principles - and the greatest of these is love - were the war's biggest winners.
May 28, 2019
Captain McDaniel tells about his POW experience in a very understandable and realistic manner. He starts off with how he came to be shot down, his time in the jungle and with the North Vietnamese civilians, and how he came to the prison camp. While describing the torture, the daily life, the loneliness, and the others in the camp, the underlying message throughout is how he gradually came to the end of himself as a moral and religious man to realizing what his Savior had suffered in his behalf and to rely on that faith with his whole being. He was able to leave North Vietnam and go home to family and friends; but most of all, he was able to leave the bitterness and anger behind him.
February 24, 2020
Scars and Stripes
I was fortunate enough to have served under CAPT McDaniel when he was the CO of the USS Lexington. As one of his Radioman I admired him then for his strength and convictions. Skipper thank you for your service and sacrifices. This book is a testimony to the man you are.
I was fortunate enough to have served under CAPT McDaniel when he was the CO of the USS Lexington. As one of his Radioman I admired him then for his strength and convictions. Skipper thank you for your service and sacrifices. This book is a testimony to the man you are.
February 21, 2025
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but simply the presence of faith."
"Scars and Stripes" is the emotional story of Eugene McDaniel and his seven-year emotional rollercoaster in Vietnamese prisoner of war camps. McDaniel's served in the Navy during the Vietnam War (1965-1972), was shot down while flying an A6A jet on May 19, 1967, crushed two vertebrates after falling forty feet out of a tree, captured by compassionless Vietnamese, imprisoned, tortured and finally released seven years later on March 4, 1973.
"Scars and Stripes" is often a difficult book to read as McDaniel immediately takes you into his gritty world as a POW, carefully describing the torture and brutality endured by so many for so long. That McDaniel was able to take such punishment, carry on, rally his fellow prisoners, and actually forgive his jailers--he had the presence of mind and spirit to do it then, not in some soul-searching period well after his release--is something few can empathize with.
This book tells of the grotesque conditions and treatment human beings can inflict on other human beings and how through it all his experience with God and a God that never left him. It’s a story of grit, teamwork, depravity, desperation, redemption and triumph in his ability to survive. At first, I was not sure I could get through the narration, it seemed to slow and deep in tone, but it ended up being fantastic story and holding my attention very strongly.
"Scars and Stripes" is the emotional story of Eugene McDaniel and his seven-year emotional rollercoaster in Vietnamese prisoner of war camps. McDaniel's served in the Navy during the Vietnam War (1965-1972), was shot down while flying an A6A jet on May 19, 1967, crushed two vertebrates after falling forty feet out of a tree, captured by compassionless Vietnamese, imprisoned, tortured and finally released seven years later on March 4, 1973.
"Scars and Stripes" is often a difficult book to read as McDaniel immediately takes you into his gritty world as a POW, carefully describing the torture and brutality endured by so many for so long. That McDaniel was able to take such punishment, carry on, rally his fellow prisoners, and actually forgive his jailers--he had the presence of mind and spirit to do it then, not in some soul-searching period well after his release--is something few can empathize with.
This book tells of the grotesque conditions and treatment human beings can inflict on other human beings and how through it all his experience with God and a God that never left him. It’s a story of grit, teamwork, depravity, desperation, redemption and triumph in his ability to survive. At first, I was not sure I could get through the narration, it seemed to slow and deep in tone, but it ended up being fantastic story and holding my attention very strongly.
February 20, 2023
I cannot adequately put into words how this book has touched me. It is a story of faith, family, and duty to country, that cannot simply be summed up here. A courage and desire to live that goes beyond anything that one can fathom. Six years of torture, a living hell really in Hanoi.
A story of a true American hero and his family who remained home to carry out the wait. A truly inspiring book.
A story of a true American hero and his family who remained home to carry out the wait. A truly inspiring book.
January 1, 2023
'"Scars and Stripes" made me take a closer look at the Vietnam War.
McDaniel's story, painful and cruel; and yet, he never forgot to see the good in life and the hope for better days. His darkest days caused him to develop a closer relationship with God than he ever thought possible. An insanely good book. I look forward to reading it again someday.
McDaniel's story, painful and cruel; and yet, he never forgot to see the good in life and the hope for better days. His darkest days caused him to develop a closer relationship with God than he ever thought possible. An insanely good book. I look forward to reading it again someday.
November 27, 2025
I read a lot of inspiring stories and this was certainly one of them.
Shot down over north Vietnam in 1965, the author survived a harrowing experience at the hands of his captors.
Not for the faint of heart, but a strong man returned a better person, his words.
Shot down over north Vietnam in 1965, the author survived a harrowing experience at the hands of his captors.
Not for the faint of heart, but a strong man returned a better person, his words.
December 15, 2024
Spectacular, heart-wrenching, inspiring and very well done!
March 29, 2014
Scars and Stripes is a gripping account of Red McDaniel's experiences as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. The conditions that he and his fellow POWs lived through were atrocious, yet their conduct should serve as an inspiration for generations.
October 3, 2012
Excellent book! Thoroughly enjoyed every page. I've reread this book many times. Shared it with my daughter.
May 2, 2013
I loved reading about how his faith strengthened both him and the faith of his fellow prisoners. great read!
March 19, 2014
It really gets a 4.8 star rating. Incredible incredible book on a Vietnam POW. I can't wait to read it over.
(note: I read the 1st ed., but I don't think it differs much from this reprint)
(note: I read the 1st ed., but I don't think it differs much from this reprint)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews