Veterans Day has deep meaning for members of the military and their families.
For Jessie Harris, a USPS custodian at the Westchester, NY, Processing and Distribution Center and an Army veteran, Nov. 11 is a day to reflect on one of the most harrowing experiences of his life: the four-and-a-half months he spent as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.
“Sometimes when I talk about it, it takes me right back there. I can feel every emotion,” he said.
Air Force Capt. Willis E. Forby was forced to eject from his F105D Thunderchief after being hit by anti-aircraft fire on a bombing mission near Ha Tinh, North Vietnam. Forby’s wingman called for help and the 38th Air Rescue Squadron in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand responded. Helicopter pilot Capt. Thomas Curtis,
“He could play anywhere and do the job well,” Fredette was quoted as saying in a newspaper article highlighting Purrington’s two seasons with the Elks Pony League team. “He was one of those rare players who did everything right.” Purrington also did whatever he was asked to do on whichever
For weeks the returned P.O.W.s had been stepping from “freedom birds” onto the television screens—most of them saluting crisply, walking smartly, looking physically fit and acting mentally alert. As the nation’s early apprehensions faded, a new idea set in: perhaps the P.O.W.s had been humanely treated after all. That illusion
Shot down in the early days of the Vietnam War, Lt. Commander Denny Moore endured seven and a half years in eight different North Vietnam prisons including three internments in the infamous Hoa Lo – dubbed “The Hanoi Hilton” by the POWs. Denny Moore has kept his personal story to
Prior to his POW experience, Robert Shumaker had other memorable moments in the service. During one mission in the Mediterranean, multiple mechanical malfunctions forced him to freefall 2,000 feet before he could open his parachute. He was also one of the top 32 candidates for NASA’s Apollo program during the
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