Six years, nine months and four days — that’s the length of time 1959 Conroe graduate Col. James E. Ray spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.
He was shot down on Mother’s Day 1966 and was released two days before Valentine’s Day 1973. Upon his return home to Conroe, the city hosted a parade around the downtown square and celebration at Tiger Stadium in early March 1973 where the stadium was filled with supporters.
Many people will write tributes today to the Apollo 11 astronauts on the fortieth anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon, including a lot of “where were you?” memoirs (I was thirteen, and glued to our television set, trying to decipher the fuzzy images being transmitted over CBS to
Quite a few of our country’s heroes have significant history at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, “The Cradle of Naval Aviation,” but none of them have a story quite like former Commanding Officer Capt. John Bryan (JB) McKamey. For over 10 years now, the former base commanding officer has rested
Commemorating Veterans Day at the Deuel High School gym Monday, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Lebert recounted his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Lebert, a 1960 graduate of Watertown High School, joined the Air Force in 1965. During his 89th mission, in January 1968, Lebert’s plane
When 2nd Lt. John “Spike” Nasmyth climbed into his F-4 Phantom II on Sept. 4, 1966, to fly a combat mission over Vietnam, he never foresaw that he’d be blown out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile. The last words he heard before his jet was transformed into a
The exhibit features war memorabilia, photographs, drawings, and documents depicting the lives of the American pilots held in Hoa Lo prison and their desire to end the war and return to their families. Small bells with “Merry Christmas” written on them, Christmas trees and candy on the table… This