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

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