Laird Guttersen, 80; Ex-POW Aided Families of Military Prisoners

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 Vietnam in 1968. After his release in 1973, he began calling on the U.S. government to give the public a complete accounting of Americans missing in action or still captive overseas.

The veteran pilot also criticized the White House for not doing more to help the families of POWs

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

The Cookie Caper (Robert Purcell)

“The Cookie Caper” In Honor of Col Robert B. “Percy” Purcell, Prisonerof War: North Vietnam (July 1965 – February 1973)

Marine Veteran Recalls Being Perfect Liar to Survive As POW (Frank Cuis)

In Enemy Hands (Harlan Chapman)

In 1972, the return of missing and captured soldiers

I’ll Always Be There (Dennis Thompson)

It’s been nearly 50 years since Dennis Thompson was captured by North Vietnamese forces as a prisoner of war. But he still sees the black enclosed room with no light where they kept him. For five years — he counted 1,864 days — the Vietnamese imprisoned him, 850 days of

Faith, determination of POW key to survival (Paul Montague)

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Paul Montague enlisted in 1952. Sixteen years later, on March 28, 1968, he was captured by the Vietnamese armed forces, the Viet Cong. The helicopter pilot was flying his CH-46 Sea Knight when he was shot down trying to pick up a recovery team that