Burer was POW in Vietnam almost 7 years (Arthur Burer)

Arthur Burera retired Air Force colonel who was shot down over North Vietnam in 1966 and spent 83 months as a prisoner of war, has died.

The highly decorated war hero, who was held for a time in Hanoi with a pilot named John McCain, was 77. Burer had Alzheimer’s disease.

Well-known in San Antonio’s MIA and POW communities, Burer spoke openly about his experiences in Vietnam over the years. In his honor, members of Randolph AFB’s 560th Flying Training Squadron will do a flyover during his burial at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Monday.

Read more

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

And with honor I return (Ronald Webb)

The bombing started on Dec. 18, 1972 and lasted 11 days. Waves of B-52s dropped 20,000 tons of ordnance on and near the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and the port city of Haiphong. For the nearly 600 American POWs held by the North Vietnamese, the destruction wreaked by Operation

Read More »

Behind Barbed Wire: A POW’s Story (Edward Leonard)

I arrived at Udorn RTAFB in early May, 1967, to fly A-1E and A1-H Skyraider with the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando). I was to fly 247 combat missions during three consecutive tours and participated in the rescue of 18 aircrew members. On May 31, 1968, going for number 19, I

Read More »

Nevadan recalls POW ordeal (William Elander)

Here’s how Nevada Republican delegate Bill Elander describes becoming a prisoner of war: a bad day. “After 50 or 60 missions, I had a bad day,” the Sparks resident and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel said in an interview at the national GOP convention. “I was shot down in 1972

Read More »