This is the story of America's longest held prisoner of war. John 'Jack' Downey, an American CIA operative, was imprisoned by the Chinese for 21 years during the Cold War.Don speaks to Barry Wirth, author of 'Prisoner of Lies: Jack Downey's Cold War.' They explore why the CIA were in Asia in the 1950s, Downey's capture and imprisonment, and why it took so long for him to be released.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.
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Just before 11 a.m. on March 12, 1973, a 42-year-old American male crosses the Lowu border bridge from Shenzhen, China, into Hong Kong. Wearing thick-rimmed, square glasses, royal blue trousers with a matching high-button jacket, and a navy cap over his slightly balding head, the man carries just a black suitcase and an overcoat.
A British police officer salutes him, and the man grins, surprised, delighted. After 20 years, 3 months, and 14 days of solitary confinement, indoctrination sessions, and little distraction from the whitewashed walls of his cell, he is finally back among friends. The man is CIA agent John T. Downey, Jack.
in 1952 the c-47 aircraft he'd been flying in was shot down in manchuria he has been confined in a chinese prison ever since for more than two decades Greetings, this is American History Hit, and I'm Don Wildman. And here, at the almost end of summer, as temperatures drop, it's only appropriate we have a Cold War tale to tell.
That of an American spy in the 1950s who, as it happened, was captured, tortured, and imprisoned by the Chinese for 21 years. His name was John Thomas Downey, Jack Downey, a legend of CIA lore, who is the subject of a new book published this year entitled Prisoner of Lies, America's Longest Held POW, Jack Downey's Cold War.
The author of this book is journalist Barry Wirth, and we're lucky to have him today. Hello, Barry. Congrats on the book release. Thanks so much. Good to be here. Before we dive into this account of American espionage, let's brief ourselves on the context, and it's a big one. 1950s. We're in post-World War II period.
American foreign policy has now shifted to fears that communism is overtaking the world, particularly in Asia. Harry Truman and his lot have engaged the country in a civil war between North and South Korea, a slog that becomes a standstill, lasting from 1950 to 1953.
But prior to the Korean War, and this is what we really need to talk about, is the loss of China to communist forces led by Mao Zedong. Can you take us through American thinking at the time, the strategy of that time, how espionage would emerge as a major factor?
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