Sometimes, we stumble upon the most obscure spots and discover notable figures of history. On the fringe of a University of South Carolina hangout village in Columbia, South Carolina, is a neighborhood called Five Points. There, tucked on a narrow, inconspicuous lot where a few streets meet is a striking memorial. Someone walking by might notice it, but drivers most likely pass it daily without a glance.
Despite the lack of attention, this large, fabricated metal “cell” with a bronze, life-size statue of a man exiting the cell is significant. A raised-letter bronze sign tells the story of Jack Linwood Van Loan (1931–2019).
The statue in Five Points commemorating Jack Van Loan's liberation from a Vietnamese POW camp. Deena Bouknight
Jack Van Loan
Van Loan’s dream of becoming a fighter pilot was planted when, as a young boy, he met a five-star general. Van Loan attended college in his native Oregon, entered the school’s Air Force ROTC program in 1954, and was subsequently commissioned an officer in the U.S. Air Force.He learned to fly F-100 Super Sabre fighter jets and did so for three years before becoming a gunnery instructor pilot. During the Vietnam War, he learned to fly a jet called the F-4 Phantom II.
Jack Van Loen flew an F-4 Phantom when he was captured and became a POW during the Vietnam War. Public Domain
Van Loan’s jet was shot down in 1967. He spent nearly six years in the Vietnam prison Maison Centrale, infamously known as “Hanoi Hilton,” the same prison that held Sen. John McCain (1936–2018).
Van Loan, McCain, and over 100 other prisoners were released as part of “Operation Homecoming” in 1973. The men’s freedom is why the Columbia, South Carolina, memorial exists. It’s also why the edifice resembles a prison cell.
Although Van Loan spent 2,116 days enduring untold trials at the hands of America’s enemies, he eventually stepped back into his role as a Wing Commander. He finished out his career in the military in 1984 as a colonel, after which he retired to Columbia.
During his career, he was awarded eight prestigious distinctions, including three Bronze Stars, a Silver Star, and two Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Jack Van Loan as a young pilot. Erich Anderson
However, the reason he is memorialized with an impressive statue on a tiny plot in Columbia isn’t entirely because of his military service and sacrifice. It’s also because of how much he gave to the Five Points community. For 20 years, he served in leadership and as a volunteer for the Five Points Association, which preserved and promoted the area. In 2017, he was honored as the grand marshal of the community’s Veterans Day parade.
Van Loan got to see the distinct memorial before his death. His account of his prison experience, taken from a manuscript, appears in an article on The State and also on the Super Sabre Society website, dedicated to preserving the history of the pilots who flew the jets.
In his manuscript, he shared details about his time as a prisoner of war, such as when he was tortured and interrogated: “I was thinking, ‘Lord, I need some help here.’ It flashed through my mind what Franklin Roosevelt had said at Chicago when he said, ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’”
When he finally learned he would be released as a POW, he described it as “beyond belief” and noted how the prisoners “just went crazy” once the aircraft commander announced that they were away from the North Vietnamese coast and over the South China Sea.
The memorial plaque explains some of veteran Jack Van Loan's story. Deena Bouknight
When the memorial statue was installed in 2016, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Joe Wilson attended. They posed for a photo with Van Loan in front of the statue of his younger self’s likeness. “You came to South Carolina and you made us better,” Sen. Graham told Van Loan.
The statue of Van Loan was created by Maria J. Kirby-Smith. The structure that represents Hanoi Hotel was collaborated on by Columbia artists Joe Wider, Clark Ellefson, and Joel Hughen.
In October 2019, shortly after Van Loan passed at age 87, The State newspaper and other media honored him again in print. The Five Points neighborhood also held a ceremony at Van Loan’s memorial to bring attention to his decades of patriotism and his commitment to bettering a community.
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