He said he had played dead when enemy soldiers took the hill and then hid in the jungle for more than 10 days before he was captured. He spent 23 months as a prisoner of war, much of that time in solitary confinement. He was released in March 1973. President Gerald R. Ford presented him with the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, on Dec. 12, 1974.

He said he had played dead when enemy soldiers took the hill and then hid in the jungle for more than 10 days before he was captured. He spent 23 months as a prisoner of war, much of that time in solitary confinement. He was released in March 1973. President Gerald R. Ford presented him with the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, on Dec. 12, 1974.