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.
I had the honor of photographing George E. Smith, a Vietnam Veteran and former Prisoner of War for 614 Magazine. The Vietnam War has resurfaced in the American consciousness lately thanks in large part to the documentary by Ken Burns. The documentary tells the story of the Vietnam War through
Retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Paul Montague enlisted in 1952. Sixteen years later, on March 28, 1968, he was captured by the Vietnamese armed forces, the Viet Cong. The helicopter pilot was flying his CH-46 Sea Knight when he was shot down trying to pick up a recovery team that
It’s an indelible image of the Vietnam era: George Alan Rose, then 30, stands on a rain-slicked tarmac. The Air Force fighter pilot has just been released from captivity in North Vietnam. His wife, Becky, wraps her arms around him. Their son, Glen, gazes up at his father and reaches for
As far back as he can recall, self-proclaimed Army brat Paul Galanti dreamed of soaring through the skies. While many teens yearn to sit behind the wheel of a car, Paul envisioned climbing into a cockpit. “I always wanted to fly,” Galanti said. “Actually kindergarten was the first time I
Col. James Lamar was shot down during a bombing mission over North Vietnam in 1966 and spent 7 years as a POW, including at the prison camp called the ‘Hanoi Hilton’