Breckner, former fighter pilot, dies in car crash (William Breckner)

A former fighter pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam who retired from the Air Force as a major general has died in a crash on Colorado 105.

State troopers say William “Bud” Breckner, 74, of Monument, was driving home when he lost control on a curve and slid into some trees early Saturday.

In the late 1970s, he was assigned to the Air Force Academy, where he served as deputy commandant and later as vice commandant of cadets.

Breckner loved the Colorado Springs area, and he loved the United States, his son, Rand Breckner, 41, said Sunday.

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

P.O.W. Casualties Reported (Carroll Beeler)

Tass, the Soviet press agency, reported from Hanoi today that American air strikes over the North Vietnamese capital had inflicted casualties on Ameri can pilots held prisoner there. A Tass correspondent, Alex ander Mineyev, said that raids “during three straight nights” had dropped bombs in the area of a prison

Read More »

Silver Star Recipient, Vietnam POW Speaks to Online History Class (Franke, Doremus)

When a CM junior found out his great-grandmother wrote to American POWs in Vietnam, he shared the discovery with Mr. Bradley. West Roxbury, Mass.– As Catholic Memorial School junior Kevin Pumphret held the letter in his hands and read the words of Navy captain Bill Franke, his mind returned to a discussion from his American War in Vietnam course – the experience of prisoners of war.

Read More »