Navy Pilot Chronicles his POW Experiences (Jack Ensch)

Looking back to when Laurel welcomed home first Southeast Asia POW (Lawrence Bailey)

The specially modified, intelligence-gathering C-47 plane lifted off from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, March 23, 1961, and headed north toward Xieng Khouangville, a Communist-held area. The experienced Air Force crew was accompanied by Army Maj. Lawrence R. Bailey, a Laurel resident serving as the assistant Army attache in Vientiane.

Behind Barbed Wire: A POW’s Story (Edward Leonard)

I arrived at Udorn RTAFB in early May, 1967, to fly A-1E and A1-H Skyraider with the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando). I was to fly 247 combat missions during three consecutive tours and participated in the rescue of 18 aircrew members. On May 31, 1968, going for number 19, I

Honoring a Local Veteran: Meet Michael & Ruth Lane

It was nearly 54 years ago, in 1966, when retired Air Force pilot, Col. Michael Lane was shot down in North Vietnam. He spent 2,270 days (nearly six and a half years) living in the Hoa Lo Prison camp, better known as the “Hanoi Hilton.” His first experience was being

Dream House Design Sheltered Navy POW (Danny Glenn)

Dan Glenn sometimes dreams he’s back in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war. Imprisoned for six years, the former Navy pilot had plenty of time to get to know the prison buildings well. The Norman architect can recall the prisons’ layouts, the mortar or bamboo they were made of,

Firsthand Account of Congressman Sam Johnson, Vietnam War POW

Congressman Sam Johnson, first elected in 1991 to represent the Plano area, spent twenty-nine years in the United States Air Force, where he distinguished himself piloting missions in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars before retiring in 1979 as a colonel. His F-4 Phantom was shot down in 1966 while