GSW 2012 POW/MIA Convocation featuring Bill Arcuri, Ret USAF, former POW, Vietnam. September 19, 2012
In an AAFES parking lot at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, rests a plaque dedicated to former POWs from the Vietnam war, including some from the 388th Fighter Wing. It’s easy to walk past plaques, but this one is worth stopping to consider. For nearly a decade before it moved to Hill
Almost 50 years ago this month, they began to arrive. It was called Operation Homecoming, and it saw 591 American military prisoners of war finally free after years of often brutal captivity in Vietnam. Over several weeks in February and March of 1973, they were returned to military bases in
After an emotional speech, former prisoner-of-war Gary L. Thornton looked at the flag-draped casket holding the remains of his friend and mentor, Thunderbirds pilot Russell C. Goodman, and snapped a salute. “Welcome home to the hero, professional and patriot,” Thornton said. “Welcome home, Major Russell Clayton Goodman, United States Air
SFC Harry L. Ettmueller, USA, was the Chief Engineer at Hue, 1967-68. He was captured by the North Vietnamese during the TET ’68 offensive on February 5, 1968 and remained a POW until March 5, 1973.I have not been able to find Harry’s obituary, which is what I would normally
Navy Lt. Brad Smith was on a bombing run to destroy a bridge in North Vietnam when he was shot down in 1966. He didn’t see what ripped into his A-4 Skyhawk, but he saw the ground approaching at 600 mph as his crippled jet nose-dived toward the ground. Smith