Former POW Celebrates 30 Years Of Freedom (Charles Brown)

As U.S. prisoners of war in Iraq await their freedom, Col. Charles Brown, 439th Maintenance Group commander here recalled the end of his own POW experience 30 years earlier.

On April 1, 1973, a young, Captain Brown walked off a C-9 Nightingale onto the tarmac here after spending 101 days as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. He was imprisoned at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” after his B-52 Stratofortress was hit by a missile Dec. 19, 1972.

Brown’s experience as a POW takes on renewed significance in light of current events in Iraq. “It brings back old memories,” he said.

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

Martin Stanley Frank

On 12 July 1967; Sgt. Cordine McMurray, then Sgt. Martin S. Frank, SP4 James L. Van Bendegom; SP4 James F. Schiele, SP4 Nathan B. Henry, SP4 Stanley A. Newell, and SP4 Richard R. Perricone were riflemen assigned to a search and destroy patrol operating in the Ia Drang Valley, Pleiku

Read More »

OPERATION HOMECOMING: THE STORY OF LTC (RET.) RAYMOND SCHRUMP

During the Vietnam War, there were 725 U.S. Prisoners of War (POWs). Operation Homecoming was a series of diplomatic negotiations that made the return of 591 American prisoners of war held by North Vietnam possible in 1973. The operation was divided into three phases; the first phase required the initial reception of prisoners

Read More »

Remembering Ed Carlson, Vietnam POW

Since last Veteran’s Day, Ken Burns’ in-depth documentary on the Vietnam War has aired. It is a powerful reminder of an unpopular war in which many “baby boomers” fought and died. It also prompts memories of the brutal treatment of American POWs and 1,350 who were listed as missing in

Read More »