How Paul Galanti survived 2,432 days as a Prisoner of War

As far back as he can recall, self-proclaimed Army brat Paul Galanti dreamed of soaring through the skies. While many teens yearn to sit behind the wheel of a car, Paul envisioned climbing into a cockpit.

“I always wanted to fly,” Galanti said. “Actually kindergarten was the first time I saw an airplane. I’m not sure I could count to 17 but I knew what a B-17 was.”

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Vietnam POW retells his tale (Donald Heiliger)

A prisoner of war for seven years, a University of Wisconsin alum spoke to a group of UW Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets Tuesday, telling a jarring tale of courage, honor and service. Originally trained as a navigator, Col. Don Heiliger became an official pilot when the Air

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Colonel Benjamin Purcell: 5 Years in Hell

Colonel Benjamin Purcell was executive commander of the 80th General Support Group in Vietnam when his helicopter was shot down on February 8, 1968. He and five other passengers were captured by the Viet Cong. Colonel Purcell was the highest ranking Army officer captured during the Vietnam War. He spent more

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POWs and Politics: How Much does Hanoi Really Know A Paper Presented on 19 April 1996 at the Center for the Study of the Vietnam Conflict Symposium “After the Cold War: Reassessing Vietnam,” at Texas Tech University

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Wilfred K. Abbott, Col., USAF

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