Mishawaka native Richard “Dog” Brenneman jokes about the deprived quarters where he spent 1,953 days as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
“You had a bucket to go potty, and if you were lucky, you had a lid,” recalls the 75-year-old retired Air Force officer, chuckling. “You usually had a lid.”
In early 1966, while flying a combat mission over North Vietnam, Captain Render Crayton’s A4E Skyhawk was struck by anti-aircraft fire. The plane suffered crippling damage, with a resulting fire and explosion. Unable to maintain flight, Captain Crayton ejected over enemy territory. What happened next, though, demonstrates his character and
A physician now working in South Carolina is among those persons who can discuss torture from the personal perspective of having been its victim. Nearly 20 years ago, on Sept 4, 1966, Thomas M. McNish—then a fighter pilot in the US Air Force and still a professional military officer—was shot
On July 1, retired USAF Col. Ken Cordier recalls his amazing story of patriotism and endurance as a fighter pilot and POW during the Vietnam War. Cordier was forced to eject from his F-4C Phantom jet when it was hit by a surface-to-air missile on Dec. 2,1966. He was immediately
Memories of being caged, shackled and exposed to the powerful herbicide Agent Orange linger in the mind of retired U.S. Army Captain Isaac “Ike” Camacho, the first American to escape a prisoner of war camp in Vietnam. Still, Camacho, who spent nearly two years as a prisoner of war, said
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