Former POW Ralph Galati ’70 Found Purpose in Service

Five decades after surviving a year as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, the St. Joe’s graduate and former head of the Office of Veterans Services is being recognized for a lifetime of giving back.

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

Optimism helped Vietnam vet survive as POW (Spike Nasmyth)

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

Interview with POW William Lewis

40 Years Later: An Interview with a Former Vietnam POW (Willard Gideon)

Col. Will Gideon, former 437th Supply Squadron commander, who spent nearly seven years locked deep within the jungles of North Vietnam as a POW. Through the darkness, Gideon never lost his light.

“Long-Term Non-Specific Optimism”: Surviving The Hanoi Hilton (Porter Halyburton)

Porter Halyburton was born in 1941 and grew up in Davidson, North Carolina, with his grandparents because his parents divorced when he was young. His grandfather taught at Davidson, and Porter later attended that university. He enjoyed sports and being outdoors, often roaming the area around Davidson with a .22

The Great Warhawk Nation (Donald R. Spoon, M.D.)

I was born in Mound City, Missouri on 22 December 1941. I lived there until 1952, then moved to Trenton, Missouri where I graduated from high school. While there I was active in the high school band (trombone 6 years), glee club, mixed chorus, and sports (football and track). I was also active