By Aarne Heikkila, Producer, NBC News
YORBA LINDA, CALIF. -- It was 40 years ago that hundreds of Vietnam-era Prisoners of War were saluted at the biggest White House dinner ever following their release in a prisoner exchange. Richard Nixon was president then, and on Friday at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., nearly 200 of those P.O.W.'s came together once more.
Below, we've posted some of the archival photos from the original event, which took place on May 24, 1973.
Here, President Nixon and his wife, Pat Nixon, sing "God Bless America" with Irving Berlin, the original composer of the song.
There were about 600 Prisoners of War that night in the State Department Auditorium. At the time, it was the largest dinner ever held at the White House.One of the men being welcomed home was future Arizona Sen. John McCain, who had been a P.O.W. for six years.
The veterans were accompanied by wives, mothers and significant others.
Also in attendance: Julie Nixon Eisenhower and her husband, David Eisenhower.
President Nixon and his wife Pat entertained the crowd by singing "God Bless America" alongside Irving Berlin, the original composer of the song.
The next day, Col. John Dramesi gave President Nixon an American flag made from handkerchiefs and scraps of material that he created while in captivity. The Dramesi flag has since become a symbol of the POW ordeal, according to the Nixon Library.
