Navy Pilot Chronicles his POW Experiences (Jack Ensch)

August 25, 1972 dawned hot and muggy in Vietnam. Pilots of Fighter Squadron 161, stationed aboard USS Midway (CV 41), readied their aircraft and went over the day’s flight plan. Their mission was an early evening MiG combat air patrol over North Vietnam. Lt. John “Jack” Ensch would serve as a radar intercept officer in an F-4B Phantom.

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Derby resident Ken Johnson was a POW, decorated Air Force pilot

Not many local residents know the name Kenneth R. Johnson, nor his story, but like millions of his fellow citizens, Johnson served his country as a member of the U.S. armed forces. His service as an Air Force pilot, though, was exemplary, and for it, he received numerous commendations. Among

Vietnam POW and Michigan native Donald ‘Digger’ Odell

Donald E. “Digger” Odell, an Air Force fighter pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years after being shot down in 1967, died Thursday in Michigan. He was 86. “Lt. Col. Odell was an American hero and inspiration to several generation of Airmen,” said Brig. Gen. Rolf

From Hanoi Hilton to Broadway Pier: An American POW’s Lessons in Survival (Henry James Bedinger)

Between November 1969, when he was shot down over Laos during a reconnaissance mission, and March 1973, when he was freed as part of Operation Homecoming, Navy Lt. j.g. Henry James Bedinger was a prisoner of war at Hỏa Lò Prison — the infamous Hanoi Hilton.

Pieces of history: POWs return to Oceana (Robert Randall, Brady, McDaniel, McCuistion)

Homecomings at NAS Oceana, such as the return of Carrier Air Wing 7 on July 2, have always been a very special occasion. But perhaps the most emotional homecoming on the Oceana flightline took place on March 7, 1973 when a C-9 Nightingale touched down at about 10 minutes after