My friend Captain Jerry Coffee spent seven years and nine days in Hanoi as a prisoner of war in the Communist prisons of North Vietnam. While flying reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam, piloting his jet fighter, Captain Coffee was shot down by enemy fire. After parachuting to safety, he was captured by
For over a decade I wore a POW bracelet in Sgt. Don MacPhail’s honor and memory. This is the story of Sgt. Don MacPhail and our unique history in pictures, words, video links and newspaper files. For my 16th birthday on August 16, 1971, Irene Pfeffer gave me the bracelet
Arthur Burera retired Air Force colonel who was shot down over North Vietnam in 1966 and spent 83 months as a prisoner of war, has died. The highly decorated war hero, who was held for a time in Hanoi with a pilot named John McCain, was 77. Burer had Alzheimer’s disease.
A story of survival, endurance, and overcoming obstacles for your Memorial Day. Lt. Col. Paul Kari spent nearly eight years as a POW after being shot down over North Vietnam. What happened afterward also tested his limits. Kari and I walked the land on his pristine spread in West Liberty.
Air Force Capt. Willis E. Forby was forced to eject from his F105D Thunderchief after being hit by anti-aircraft fire on a bombing mission near Ha Tinh, North Vietnam. Forby’s wingman called for help and the 38th Air Rescue Squadron in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand responded. Helicopter pilot Capt. Thomas Curtis,