50 years ago, direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War officially ended as the last remaining combat troops and prisoners of war returned to American soil.
It was a complex moment for the country, as the war was deeply unpopular and ended in defeat. More than 58,000 Americans died in the war, along with three million Vietnamese. Fredrik Logevall told Under the Radar that Americans were ready for the war to be over.
WGAL’s film preservation project with Millersville University rediscovered the footage of that homecoming. While digitizing film that once aired on WGAL, Adam Omar learned the story of Donald Glen Smith. Smith was declared missing in action, then killed in action before he’d finally been found as a prisoner of war.
William Butler was an Air Force captain who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam – some of it in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” – before returning home to Calistoga to become a veterinarian who dedicated his life to helping fellow veterans and others in need.
The North Vietnamese captors of American servicemen were adamant. No writing on the pri son walls. No noise. No dis courtesy to the guards. Regulations issued by the North Vietnamese in 1969 pro mised a reward for prisoners who informed about violations and punishment for those who tried to oppose
Come join our Deckerville area resident, Vietnam POW survivor and now retired United States Air Force Colonel Robert A. Abbott, as we step back 50 years to March 31, 1973.
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