the "hanoi taxi" flew bob hope to uso shows in south vietnam. the "hanoi taxi" was used in 1973, in the final days of the vietnam war, to repatriate american pows from north vietnam. the "hanoi taxi"'s name comes from the writing on the flight engineer's panel by the pows aboard the plane for the freedom flight. the commander of the first pick‐up jet—no. 60177—was maj. james e. marrott, originally of provo, utah. his navigator was lieut. col. james c. warren, originally of chicago. both flew reconnaissance and electronic warfare planes over south vietnam during the war.