It was an unusual treasure the Stevenson Creek dredging contractor found – a Vietnam-era prisoner of war (POW) wristband. Employees of Gator Dredging of Clearwater, Florida discovered the bracelet when their hydraulic barge’s hose sucked it from the creek during dredging operations.
“It traveled through approximately 500 yards of pipe to our processing plant and into a machine that separates waste solids, sand and water,” said William Coughlin, III, chief operating officer for the company. Coughlin did some research and found the family of Maj. Glenn H. Wilson, an Air Force fighter pilot who went missing in North Vietnam in 1966 and was repatriated in 1973.
Coughlin returned the bracelet to Wilson’s family, writing: “It is somehow fitting that the endurance he showed during his time in captivity is echoed by the survival of the wristband which bears his name. We are sending the wristband to you and (in) honor of the service and sacrifice Major Wilson made during his time overseas.”
Born in North Hornell, NewYork, Wilson was commissioned a second lieutenant through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1955 and immediately went on active duty. He completed pilot training in March 1957, followed by F-84F Thunderstreak advanced training and F-100 Super Sabre combat crew training. Wilson married his wife, Adlyn, in 1957 and they eventually had three children.
Wilson was flying the F-4 Phantom with the 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, South Vietnam from November 1966 until nine months later, when he was forced to eject and was taken as a prisoner of war. He spent most of the next six years in captivity at the Hoa Lo Camp, Hanoi, better known as the “Hanoi Hilton.”
Wilson and 39 other prisoners were released from prison during Operation Homecoming March 14, 1973. By that time, his daughter Leslie was 14, daughter Linda was 12 and his son Tom was 10. Following his release, Wilson said his plans for the future were “to go back into the Tactical Air Command and be part of the 1st Team again.” He was later promoted to lieutenant colonel and went on to serve in the Air Force for a total of 27 years before retiring in 1982. He died Jan. 30, 1988. Adlyn – who never remarried – passed away 25 years later, in August 2013.
Old news clips of Wilson’s arrival back in the United States reveal the tears of deep emotion and smiles of freedom as the former prisoners arrived back on American soil. Navy Capt. James Stockdale, who went on to become a vice admiral and vice presidential candidate, was the senior-ranking prisoner and officer in charge at the Hanoi Hilton – and the first prisoner repatriated.
