Vietnam POW Al Brunstrom

Col. Al Brunstrom of the U.S. Air Force, retired, 83, describes how he was shot down in Vietnam in the RF-101 (Voodoo) he was flying, on a scale model of the aircraft, at his home in the Woods and Lakes community near Ocklawaha, Fla. on Tuesday, August 5, 2014. Brunstrom was a POW from April 22, 1966 when he was shot down until Feb. 12, 1973 during the Vietnam War. Brunstrom, who ejected from the plane before it crashed stated “I was flying at 640 knots at 300 feet with a bridge as my target when I felt two anti-aircraft missiles hit the plane. One first and then another.” (Star-Banner Photo/Bruce Ackerman) 2014.

Col. Al Brunstrom of the U.S. Air Force, retired, 83, poses with a statue of Dick Meadows, Special Forces, who was instrumental in the Son Tay Raid, at Brunstrom’s home in the Woods and Lakes community near Ocklawaha, Fla. on Tuesday, August 5, 2014. Brunstrom was a POW from April 22, 1966, when he was shot down in Vietnam in the FR-101 (Voodoo) he was flying, until Feb. 12, 1973, during the Vietnam War. Brunstrom, who ejected from the plane before it crashed stated “I was flying at 640 knots at 300 feet with a bridge as my target when I felt two anti-aircraft missiles hit the plane. One first and then another.” 

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

Vietnam POW and Michigan native Donald ‘Digger’ Odell

Donald E. “Digger” Odell, an Air Force fighter pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years after being shot down in 1967, died Thursday in Michigan. He was 86. “Lt. Col. Odell was an American hero and inspiration to several generation of Airmen,” said Brig. Gen. Rolf

Read More »

Vietnam POW speaks to 15th Wing senior leaders (Thomas Norris)

The 15th Wing opened Readiness Day, where senior leaders discussed maintaining optimal mission readiness, Aug. 24 here, at Hollister Auditorium, with a speech on individual readiness and resiliency from a former prisoner of war. Retired Air Force Col. Thomas Norris, then a captain, was shot down Aug. 12, 1967, after dropping bombs

Read More »