n December 1972—40 years ago this month—the US executed Linebacker II, the largest B-52 bombing campaign of all time. The period from Dec. 18 to Dec. 29 saw the huge USAF bombers mount shattering strikes on North Vietnamese railways, airfields, surface-to-air missile storage sites, petroleum dumps, and other infrastructure targets
1,882 days; five and a half years. That’s how long Vietnam veteran Wayne Smith was a prisoner of war. “We were in pretty bad shape, we certainly were,” said Smith. He shared his story with us and dozens of people at Punta Gorda’s Military Heritage Museum. The Air Force captain’s
The bright blue Corvette in David Harker’s garage holds a special place in his heart. It was a gift on the day in March 1973, when he returned to Lynchburg after five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His classmates sold bumper stickers to raise money for the
The word “hero” is used far too often. So is the word “courage.” In the case of Capt. Eugene “Red” McDaniel, neither word accurately describes the horrors he endured as one of the most brutalized prisoners of war in Vietnam. When his A-6 Intruder aircraft was shot down over North
A synoptic, personal analysis is made of the situations associated with those Americans lost in Southeast Asia SEA from 1962 to 1979 and considered as Prisoners of War POW or as missing in action MIA. The geographic loss points, prisoner treatment, indigenous population attitudes, and political environment are discussed. Probable