Former POW Ralph Galati ’70 Found Purpose in Service

Former POW, Ambassador Shares His Unique Perspective on Vietnam (Douglas Peterson)

On two occasions, Douglas “Pete” Peterson served in Vietnam when he didn’t have to. Already a 10-year Air Force veteran when his number was called in 1966, then-Captain Peterson, with a pregnant wife and two kids at home, was eligible for a deferment, but didn’t apply. Instead, he took his

Documentary honors Vietnam War Veteran Daniel H. Hefel

After 14 years of gathering war stories, Tim Breitbach created a documentary depicting his cousin’s life, Daniel Hefel, a Vietnam War veteran. The film was shown for free March 30 during a public gathering at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, which was attended by a diverse audience of college students,

Shot down over Vietnam: POWs share memories 50 years later (Hayden Lockhart, Everett Alvarez)

This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the fateful day the first U.S. troops went ashore in South Vietnam. But by then U.S. aircraft had already been bombing North Vietnam for seven months and downed American pilots had fallen into a hell that would last for the rest of the

Vietnamese POW Capt. Myron L. Donald looks smilingly at this wife after returning into her arms

Capt. Myron L. Donald looks smilingly at this wife on March 17, 1973 at March Air Force base in California, after he placed a lei around her neck as he deplaned following flight from Clark Air Force base. The former POW from Tucson, Arizona, was held by the North Vietnamese

Prisoners of war share stories of survival (Gaddis, Tschudy)

Today marked 40 years since the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces and the end of the Vietnam War. But, for three men who spent years of their lives as prisoners of war, the memories of that era remain fresh. The men shared their stories at an event hosted