How a Vietnam POW survived to salute the flag when he returned home (James Cook)

Hey Nashville. I’m Gary Estwick. One of my many hats at The Tennessean is race and culture editor. I want to share a story.

I’ll never forget reporter Danielle Dreilinger’s message when she let us know she made contact with our first Vietnam War veteran. For me, the crowning achievement of our series.

We replied on our internal messaging app with GIFs and celebratory words. For Danielle’s task was about as close to a needle in a haystack as you can find in journalism: Track down three Americans whose actions during the Vietnam War were immortalized through Associated Press photographs. 

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

Wells speaks about time spent as POW (Kenneth Wells)

During 16 months spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, former U.S. Air Force pilot Ken Wells said the thing that sustained him most was his faith and acceptance of God. On Friday evening, Wells spoke at Ohio Valley University before a group of students and visiting veterans

Read More »

An Indomitable Spirit (Bernard Talley)

What’s the measure of a man? Is it how he handles power or where he stands in moments of great challenge and despair? The Bible says God measures a person by their heart (1 Samuel 16:7), not their position, wealth, looks, education or success. The heart of a person is

Read More »