Former POW Ralph Galati ’70 Found Purpose in Service

‘I shouldn’t be alive’: At reunion of Vietnam POWs, one recounts his capture 47 years ago (Lewis, Berg)

After more than five months in which he had no control over his life, Keith Lewis found a world of virtually unlimited possibilities when he emerged from captivity in early 1973. He chose religion. Lewis’ F-4 fighter-bomber had been shot down over Vietnam in October 1972. Saturday will mark the

Mad Dog McDow (Rick McDow)

Meet Colonel (Retired) “Mad Dog” Rick McDow, United States Air Force. This southern gentleman and Tuscaloosa grad (ROLL TIDE!) had dreams of becoming a military aviator, having heard stories from his uncle who flew jets during the Korean War. Amidst the backdrop of Vietnam, Rick joined the Air Force

‘Killed’ in Vietnam and buried with comrades, one Marine returned from the dead (Ronald Ridgeway)

Ronald Ridgeway was “killed” in Vietnam on Feb. 25, 1968. The 18-year-old Marine Corps private first class fell with a bullet to the shoulder during a savage firefight with the enemy outside Khe Sanh. Dozens of Marines, from what came to be called “the ghost patrol,” perished there. At first,

Chilled Wine and Warm Hearts Awaiting a P.O.W. in Jersey (Joseph Abbott)

There is a bottle of champagne in the Abbott home on Rensterville Road in Alloway, N. J., that has been chilling there since October, 1968. It will bbe opened when Maj. Joseph S. Abbott Jr. of the Air Force returns home from North Vietnam some time soon.

Pilot Killed in Crash at Sea Was POW in Vietnam War

Retired Navy Capt. Charles Gillespie Jr. of San Marcos, who was shot down over Vietnam and spent 5 1/2 years in the “Hanoi Hilton” POW prison, was identified Thursday as the pilot killed in a civilian plane crash, officials said. Gillespie, 60, was flying a turboprop plane 80 miles northwest