Diane Atkins and Howard J. Hill had never met, but for 17 years they shared a very special bond. Hill was an Air Force first lieutenant on Dec. 16, 1967, when the tail of his Phantom F-4D was blown off over Hanoi by a North Vietnamese MIG-27. He ejected and parachuted into the arms of North Vietnamese soldiers. Atkins was a 22-year-old engineering technician in Lynn, Mass., when she contributed to a POW relief fund in 1969 and received a bracelet bearing Hill’s name. She wore it for years, but eventually consigned the bracelet to her jewelry box. She never forgot about Hill. “I always thought, ‘My God, I hope he’s OK.’ ” Then, on May 29, Atkins saw Hill being interviewed on ABC’s “20/20.” Hill, who was released in 1973, is now a colonel and senior adviser on POW and MIA affairs for the secretary of defense. Atkins contacted Hill through the Pentagon, and last weekend, at a ceremony in Hill’s honor at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Lynn, they met for the first time. “For 17 years, I’ve had this bracelet, and for 17 years I hoped and I prayed and I waited, and tonight’s the night I can give this bracelet back,” Atkins said. “It’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever been able to do.”
How a Vietnam POW survived to salute the flag when he returned home (James Cook)
Hey Nashville. I’m Gary Estwick. One of my many hats at The Tennessean is race and culture editor. I want to share a story. I’ll never forget reporter Danielle Dreilinger’s message when she let us know she made contact with our first Vietnam War veteran. For me, the crowning achievement of our
