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.
First Lieutenant Loren Harvey Torkelson was from Crosby and was a month shy of his 26th birthday when his plane was shot down over North Vietnam. He was in his second tour of duty as an Air Force F4 Phantom pilot with the 389th Tactical Fighter Squadron when it happened.
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Drabic of Union Bridge received more good news Tuesday. Their son, Eddie, will be released from the Viet Cong and flown out of Hanoi Friday. Sgt. Eddie Drabic was listed as “missing in action” since 1968, being captured only four days after he arrived in Vietnam.
Robert Wideman was a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War. The now Fort Collins resident, attended a veterans’ group breakfast in Loveland at Mimi’s Café a few years ago. Being a member of that group, I attended regularly. On Wideman’s first visit, he introduced himself. He stated as he stood
On October 1, Thomas Pyle ’53 shared his story about coming to CFS as a 12-year-old from Wilmington, DE, and how the discipline, work and faith he learned at the school helped him through 6 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Most probably had seen it before, but the symbol-filled ceremony honoring prisoners of war and service members missing in action that began the penultimate day of the Vietnam Veterans of America National Convention in Springfield still tugged at the emotions of the 200 or so vets who attended the 7