Col. Floyd "Jimmy" Thompson, 69, an Army veteran who was the longest-held American prisoner during the Vietnam War, was found dead Tuesday in his Key West, Fla., home.

He was the longest-held POW in the Vietnam War, being held 10 days short of nine years, according to the Secretary of Defense's Historical Office.

He was captured in South Vietnam on March 26, 1964, after his light observation plane was shot down. He was turned over to the North Vietnamese in 1968, and was interrogated and tortured until his release on March 16, 1973.