Operation Ivory Coast - Definition and Overview

Operation Ivory Coast was an American military operation in the Vietnam War. On November 21, 1970 US Army Colonel Bull Simons led a joint Air Force and Army team of 40 in a raid on the Son Tay prison camp (located 23 miles west of Hanoi). The goal of the operation was to free 70 to 100 American prisoners of war thought to be held at the camp. The mission was a tactical success with zero Americans killed, but the prisoners had been moved to another camp in July. As a result of the ease that US forces had penetrated deep into North Vietnam, the Viet Cong moved all US POWs to a handful of more easily defended central prison complexes (such as the Hanoi Hilton). Many POWs who returned from the war years later, stated that being in close contact with more Americans actually lifted their morale.