The scene was the courtyard of a prison camp near Hanoi called Planiation Gardens, and the time was August, 1971. Eight young American enlisted men going to vash dishes passed a group of senior officers who were out shaving. The eight had made statements against the war and developed rather
In an AAFES parking lot at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, rests a plaque dedicated to former POWs from the Vietnam war, including some from the 388th Fighter Wing. It’s easy to walk past plaques, but this one is worth stopping to consider. For nearly a decade before it moved to Hill
“They stripped me of everything I had.” So began Charlie Crafts’ 26-month odyssey as a prisoner of war in the jungles of Vietnam. Crafts, who now lives in Livermore, consented to a rare interview on his experience as Maine’s first Vietnam POW, and the only one to be imprisoned in
“Major Carl Light Pistol 02 described the incident involving Capt Lasiter as follows: ‘As we approached a point about 30 miles west of the target, I saw Pistol Four burst into flames and immediately afterward a MiG-21 approached from his six o’clock position and pulled up and to the left
Fifty Years After Their Release, Former Vietnam POWs Journey Back to Hanoi