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.

P.O.W. Is Freed by U.S. In Return for G.I. Release
A North Vietnamese lieutenant was released today as part of a one‐for‐one prisoner exchange initiated by the enemy, United States officials said. These sources said that when the Vietcong released S. Sgt. John C. Sexton Jr. of the Army three days ago they told him that they expected the United