From today through July 4, The Post, in conjunction with the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, is featuring US citizens explaining what the American dream means to them in 2026. Up first is Everett Alvarez, a retired commander in the US Navy, now living in Maryland.

We’re not a perfect union. But I tell you, it’s the best experiment that the world’s ever seen. I’m an example of the American dream. My grandparents, both maternal and paternal, were from Mexico. I was born in Salinas, California. You ever read John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath?” Well, I grew up with those kids. They came from the Dust Bowl to California. 

My mom worked in the packing sheds in Salinas. My dad was a welder. Even as poor as we were … I didn’t know we were poor. Right after graduation [from the University of Santa Clara], I came into the Navy in 1960. 

I was a pilot in a jet squadron and we were on the USS Constellation when things started to heat up in Vietnam. And I was involved in the very first raid into North Vietnam, in what is called the Tonkin Gulf Incident, in August 1964. And I was shot down. 

I became the first prisoner held by the North Vietnamese in the prison we nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton. Eight and a half years as a POW. The Vietnamese government did not treat us as POWs … we were considered criminals and treated like criminals. We lost some fellows along the way due to the rough treatment. 

[The other POWs and I] established a very good covert communication method between the cells to remain close to support each other. Not everybody had faith in God, but most of us did. That was important. And we used that closeness in order to survive.

Young people do not understand; we’ve had it so good here for generations. [Most Americans] cannot appreciate what we have until you lose it. 

It’s so much better than anything else that you can have, especially in today’s world … when you have Russia and you have China and you have Iran and you have North Korea. It’s our job to point out to the rest of the world, Hey, this is dangerous. 

The American Dream Video Project showcases real stories that illuminate pathways to opportunity. Featured at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD), this series is part of the Center’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. MCAAD is Washington, DC’s newest cultural institution, offering interactive exhibits and stories about achieving the American Dream. For more information, visit mcaad.org.