It was supposed to be a routine mission, a “milk run” in the words of George Coker, who was serving on his 55th missions in Vietnam as a bombardier/navigator. Usually, his missions consisted of flying over Vietnam from the aircraft carrier USS Constellation and bombing strategic points like bridges and
BeLinda Stevens Parrish remembers the parade Dalton threw for returning Vietnam War hero Thomas Vance Parrott, who spent more than five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war (POW) camp. “He was my cousin by marriage, not by blood,” she said. “I remember watching TV when prisoners were brought
“It’s Christmastime, Poppy, and we want a story!” “A story? Why don’t you play with your toys?” “We want a story! We want a story! We want…” “Okay! Okay. A story. All right, then, a story you shall have. What kind of story would you like, my children?” “We want
William “Bill” Talley was eating lunch in the cafeteria at his senior living center one day in June when a man walked up to him. This was the man’s greeting: “Hey, I’m Jim Null. I remember when you got shot down.” U.S. Air Force pilots Talley, 88, and Null, 77, were
Retired Air Force Col. Laird Guttersen, 80, who spent five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp and later became an advocate for families of missing military personnel, died June 13 in Tucson of complications of a stroke, according to family members. His F-4 Phantom was shot down over North