Gaining strength from the past: Museum opens exhibit on POWs (William Beekman)

Avenue Of Heroes Banner Recipient … Captain Render Crayton, USN

In early 1966, while flying a combat mission over North Vietnam, Captain Render Crayton’s A4E Skyhawk was struck by anti-aircraft fire. The plane suffered crippling damage, with a resulting fire and explosion. Unable to maintain flight, Captain Crayton ejected over enemy territory. What happened next, though, demonstrates his character and

TOWN TURNS OUT TO GREET A P.O.W. (Richard Perricone)

Sgt, Richard Perricone’s hometown gave him a rousing welcome today — something they had been waiting to do for more than six years. Uniondale Avenue, the main thoroughfare, was lined with American flags and banners were strung across the street proclaiming “Welcome Home, Richard.” And as the fire chief’s red

Ex-POW that Jerry West honored featured in PS Air Museum (Robert Barnett)

The Palm Springs Air Museum’s collection of Vietnam-era POW/MIA bracelets has steadily grown since the first bracelet — bearing the name of U.S. Air Force Col. Norman Schmidt — was donated in late February. There are now close to 50 of these bracelets on display at the air museum, thanks

Michael Thomas Burns: Prisoner Of War

Michael Thomas Burns was fulfilling a lifelong dream of flying jets in the Air Force when he was shot down over Vietnam during a combat mission July 5, 1968. Burns was captured and later transferred to the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp. After spending 1,714 days in captivity,

Phoenix Veterans Day Parade grand marshal Col. Gobel James: Grace under fire

Several decades before he was chosen as one of seven grand marshals in this year’s Veterans Day Parade, Col. Gobel James spent 32 years in the military, most of it as a U.S. Air Force pilot. “The Korean War was on when I joined the Air Force in 1952 and