Former Vietnam War POW and retired Navy Capt. John Michael “Mike” McGrath visits with cadets Monday while signing George Hayward’s book “The Party Dolls” about the attempted escape of two POWs in 1969. McGrath and Hayward visited the U.S. Air Force Academy to share McGrath’s experiences as a POW and talk about the book on the 50th anniversary of Operation Homecoming, the 1973 return of more than 600 American POW held in Vietnam including the Navy captain.

POW recalls captivity (Bradley Smith)
Navy Lt. Brad Smith was on a bombing run to destroy a bridge in North Vietnam when he was shot down in 1966. He didn’t see what ripped into his A-4 Skyhawk, but he saw the ground approaching at 600 mph as his crippled jet nose-dived toward the ground. Smith
