David Everett ’65, Former POW, Visits STA

Former prisoner of war reflects on capture (Pete Camerota)

In honor of Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Day, a former prisoner of war came to Ramstein Air Base, Sept. 16 to share his experience and visit one of his last duty stations before he retired. At the time of becoming a prisoner of war, retired Maj. Pete Camerota,

50 years later, longest-enlisted POW talks about how he survived (William Robinson)

2023 marks 50 years since Vietnam prisoners of war were freed. Among them is the longest-held enlisted prisoner, Captain Bill Robinson, who now lives in Lenoir City. Despite spending more than seven years in captivity, he is grateful. He was just 22 years old and was a flight mechanic on

Former Vietnam POW Gaither ‘stood tall’ in captivity

Dozens attended a funeral service at Barrancas National Cemetery (BNC) onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola May 16 for retired Cmdr. Ralph Ellis Gaither Jr., a naval aviator well-known in the Pensacola community as a Vietnam veteran and Prisoner of War (POW) who had exemplified defiance while in enemy hands.

Utah’s Jay Hess survived more than 5 years in notorious Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam

Jay Hess was 14 years into his Air Force service. The fighter pilot, in the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief, was dropping 600 pound bombs in the heavily defended area around Hanoi, in north Vietnam. Hess finished the steep dive, released his bombs and began to pull out when his

Col. Vernon P. Ligon Jr., Vietnam POW

Between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day lies a lesser-known but no less important commemoration. POW/MIA Day, Sept. 15, is a day for remembering the men and women who, like Air Force Col. Vernon P. Ligon Jr., have suffered at the hands of a wartime enemy. All too often, those who