Red McDaniel was born in North Carolina in 1931, and grew up in the town of Kinston. After graduating from Elon College in 1954 he joined a naval aviation program so he could continue teaching and coaching athletics for a year. He earned his Naval Aviator wings at Corpus Christi, Texas in 1956 and flew the A-1E Skyraider for the next seven years. In 1965, McDaniel transitioned to the brand-new A-6 Intruder. In 1966 he boarded the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) with the third A-6 squadron deployed to Vietnam, and arrived on Yankee Station in October. He flew 81 missions, ten of which were hard target "alpha" strikes. The A-6 was designed for all-weather, single aircraft night missions. On his final mission over Vietnam, McDaniel was flying in a 24-aircraft formation during daytime. He was shot down May 19, 1967, two weeks before Enterprise was scheduled to return home. After ejecting, Red was partially paralyzed and was captured. His navigator remains missing in action to this day. He describes his time as a prisoner of war, being brutally tortured, the tap code, an escape attempt, more torture, and surrendering completely to God. Red McDaniel was released from the Hanoi Hilton and flew to the Philippines on March 4, 1973, having spent six years in captivity. McDaniel stayed in the Navy, and after recovering from his injuries he took command of a ship.