Into The Mouth of The Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam

The riveting account of an Air Force pilot, prisoner of war and Medal of Honor Recipient

By: Malcolm McConnell, Julio Medina

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Into The Mouth of The Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam tells the gripping true story of Lance Sijan. He was a United States Air Force captain in the Vietnam War. On November 9, 1967, Sijan was ejected from his F-4 Phantom II at high speed and a low altitude, causing him to suffer massive injuries to his entire body. During his violent ejection and very rough parachute landing on the karst ridge, Captain Lance Sijan suffered a fractured skull, a mangled right hand, with three of his fingers dislocated, and deep cuts and gashes in his forearms, a compound fracture of the left leg which was a vertical splintering of the tibia known as a green tree fracture.

He was without food, very little water, and no survival kit; nevertheless, he evaded enemy forces for 46 days while crawling through jungles eating nothing but various plants and bugs. During this entire period, Lance Sijan was only able to move by sliding on his buttocks and back along the rocky limestone ridge and later along the jungle floor.

After managing to move several thousand feet, Sijan crawled to a road along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, where he was captured by the North Vietnamese on Christmas Day, 1967.

Emaciated and in poor health, Sijan was transported to a holding compound in Vinh, North Vietnam, where he was placed in the care of two other recently captured POWs, Air Force Major Robert R. Craner and Air Force Captain Guy Gruters. Although in terrific pain from his severe wounds and brutal beatings and torture by his captors, Sijan had not disclosed any information other than what the Geneva Convention guidelines and the Military Code of Conduct allowed (name, date of birth, service, rank, and service number).

Suffering terribly from exhaustion, malnutrition, and disease, he was soon transported to Hanoi, under the attentive care of both Craner and Gruters. However, in his weakened state, he contracted pneumonia and died in Hỏa Lò Prison (better known as the "Hanoi Hilton") on January 22, 1968. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and a dormitory at his alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy, is named in his honor.

Lance became the first Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor. Lance Sijan was one of 65 POWs who died in captivity, his story represents the heroism and devotion of all those who did not return from the grim prisons of Southeast Asia.

POW Medals of Honor
Seven other Southeast Asia POWs were awarded the Medal of Honor: Col. George "Bud" Day, USAF; Col. Leo Thorsness, USAF; Vice Adm. James Stockdale, USN; Col. Donald Cook, USMC (posthumous); Master Sgt. Jon Cavaiani, USA; E-3 William Port, USA; and Capt. Humbert "Rocky" Versace, USA (posthumous).

This nonfiction war story has been hailed as one of the most memorable war stories in not only Air Force History but throughout ALL military history. Into The Mouth of The Cat will be remembered as one of the most epic Vietnam War books of all time. The perseverance and dedication of Captain Sijan are moving enough to make this book a motivator for personal development, a story of the greatest sacrifice and humility, and a piece of military history that will live on through the ages.

Virtual voice does not work

So many small mistakes in pronunciation takes away from this heartbreaking and inspirational narrative. Still, the story stands as a reminder of courage and fortitude of the warriors in the US military.

Great story about a dedicated serviceman

This was a great story, I wish I had read it years ago. The Narration by Virtual Voice which is an AI program, and leaves something to be desired. It's ok to listen to, it sounds like a real person, but there are a lot of errors in the narration that a real person would not have made. It gets to be slightly annoying once it's noticed.