Ronald J. Webb was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Air Force on January 22, 1960, through the Air Force ROTC program while he attended Indiana University. He would serve five years in the Air Force as a navigator, before an opportunity allowed him to earn his pilot wings in June 1966. Webb served as an F-4 pilot with the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron at DaNang AB, South Vietnam beginning in March 1967. On his 44th mission over Vietnam, Webb was involved in a freak mid-air collision and was forced to eject over North Vietnam. On June 11, 1967 Webb was taken as a Prisoner of war and would spend the next 2,094 days in captivity. For nearly six years he would survive interrogations, physical abuse, and malnutrition at Hỏa Lò Prison, known to American POWs as the “Hanoi Hilton”. Major Webb would finally be released during Operation Homecoming on March 4, 1973.
Rod Knutson – Vietnam Voices
Vietnam War veteran Rod Knutson talks about his experiences. Knutson served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines. He was born and raised in Billings, Montana, graduating from Billings Senior High in 1956. He was one of about 651 prisoners of war who returned to the United States alive. Reports peg the number who died in prison at around 114. He spent 2,673 days as a prisoner of war — more than seven years —
