Ernest Cary Brace (1931 - 2014)

Ernie Brace was a Prisoner of War for 2868 days during the Vietnam War.

Biography

Ernie Brace is Notable.

Ernie Brace served in the United States Marine Corps in the Korean War
Service started: 1947
Unit(s): Marine Attack Squadron 121
Service ended: 1961

Birth and Early Life

Ernest Cary Brace was born on 15 August 1931 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States to Cary Ernest Brace (26 June 1909 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan-27 January 1967 in Arizona) and Ruth Elizabeth Kelland (23 June 1912 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan-7 November 1995 in Arizona) . ^[1]

Sibling

1. Betty Ruth Brace born 12 April 1933 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA. She died on 23 March 1994.

Education

Ernie attended Redford High School in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.

Marriage and Family

He was married twice.

1. Patricia Emmons. She thought he was dead and she remarried during his captivity. They officially divorced in June 1973 in San Diego, California.
2. Nancy Jorina Rusth. They married on 23 February 1974. She was a nurse he met while recuperating at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California.

Children of the Brace-Emmons Marriage

1. Michael Brace
2. Ernest Brace
3. Patrick Brace
4. Cary Brace

Military Service

He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 15 in April 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He was first trained as an Aviation Radar and Radio Technician. Then in March 1950, he entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program and was commissioned and given his pilot wings as a 2nd Lieutenant on 16 August 1951.

He flew F4U-4 Corsairs and AD-2 Skyraiders with VMA-121during the Korean War. He flew 100 combat missions between April 1952 and March 1953 and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work there. He got into some gambling debt and later disgraced himself with a faked death in January 1961 involving his T-28 Trojan, a military airplane. After federal court proceedings acquitted him, the Marine Corps gave Captain Brace a court martial and dishonorable discharge in July 1961 which ended his military career. In 1974 President Gerald Ford reversed this by giving him a full pardon and an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps due to his heroic behavior during the many year in Laos and Vietnam.^[2]

Before going to Vietnam, Ernie was a test pilot with North American Aviation and flew helicopters in the Los Angeles, California area. He became a contract pilot with USAID/CIA and worked as an advisor to the Thai Border Patrol Police in 1964. He was flying supplies to an advanced base in Northern Laos when he was taken as a prisoner.

He was a Civilian Prisoner of War from 21 May 1965 to 28 March 1973.

He was the longest held civilian Prisoner of War in Vietnam. Almost eight years in total. He was Missing in Action, not even listed as a Prisoner of War for 7 of those years.

Even though he was a civilian, he was taken by the Pathet Lao in Laos and kept in camps there until later in October 1968 when they turned him over to the North Vietnamese who took him to the Hanoi Hilton prison complex. By the time he got to Hanoi, he was unable to walk due to being kept in such savage conditions. In Hanoi he lived in solitary confinement due to being considered a high risk prisoner. He had tried to escape captivity on 4 different occasions. It turned out that the person in the cell next to him was John McCain who initiated clandestine communication through teaching Ernie the tap code. Ernie went into great detail about his total experience there in his two books. ^{[3] [4]}

Honors

His Distinguished Public Service Medal Citation

To Ernest C. Brace for distinguished public service while a Prisoner of War during nearly an eight-year period from 21 May 1965 to 28 March 1973. Employed as a civilian contract pilot in support of our Government's objectives in Southeast Asia, Mr. Brace escaped from his communist captors a total of three times prior to September 1966. After each escape, the rigors of his confinement were increased. In October 1968 he was taken to the citadel prison in Hanoi in such poor physical condition that he was unable to walk. There he lived in isolation as a high risk prisoner, eventually establishing clandestine communication with the American leadership in that prison. Although a civilian and not technically bound by the Military Code of Conduct, by his own aggressive example he was a continual force for the strengthening of the Americans' adherence to that Code. Despite the atmosphere of enemy harassment and brutal treatment, he continued to establish and maintain communications through many unusual and ingenious methods, which resulted in American and Allied prisoners presenting a posture of increased resistance to the enemy's wishes and at the same time improving prisoner morale. His ceaseless efforts in the extremely adverse conditions of the communist prisons of Southeast Asia demonstrated his professional competence, unwaivering devotion and loyalty to his country. Despite the harsh treatment throughout his long years of incarceration Mr. Brace's patriotism, determination and faith in his country are a tribute to the principles that made our Nation great and are worthy of the highest praise and recognition. I take great pleasure in awarding Mr. Ernest C. Brace the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

1. Distinguished Flying Cross.
2. Purple Heart with a Gold Star.
3. Air Medal with 3 Gold Stars.
4. Distinguished Public Service Medal.
5. Prisoner of War Medal.
6. Korean Presidential Unit Citation.

The entire set is available here.

Later Life

He and Nancy moved permanently to her hometown of Klamath Falls, Klamath, Oregon.

After his return from Vietnam and a year in the hospital recuperating from his injuries, he worked as a manager for Evergreen International Aviation. Then he worked for Sikorsky Aircraft.

Death and Burial

Ernie died on 5 December 2014 in Klamath Falls, Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States at the age of 83 of a pulmonary embolism.

His ashes were scattered over his favorite fishing place according to his wishes.

Sources

• Wikipedia at here
• 1940 United States Federal Census.
• Veteran Tributes.[1]
• POW Network. [2]
• Find A Grave Index.
• The New York Times. [3]
• Florida Marriage Indexes. Marriage Ernest C. Brace 1953 in Dade County, Florida.
• California Divorce Index. Ernest C. Brace and Patricia L. Emmons.
• California Marriage Index. Ernest C. Brace and Nancy J. Kiel and also under Nancy J. Rusth.
• Associated Press, Name Card Index 1 February 1973.
• Associated Press, Name Card Index 7 July 1961.
• The Congressional Record Vol. 159, # 111, Tuesday, 30 July 2013 in the US Senate. Senator John McCain's tribute to Ernest Cary Brace. [4]
• Web: Obituary Daily Times Index.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Wiki
2. ↑ Wiki
3. ↑ Brace, Ernest C. (1988). A Code to Keep: The true story of America's longest held civilian prisoner of war in Vietnam. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-7090-3560-8 and Brace, Ernest C. (2012). Monkey Paw Soup: And Tales of Drugs, Thugs, Revolution, & War. Ernest C. Brace. ISBN 978-0-615-59019-6.
4. ↑ Wiki

Acknowledgements