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.

Former POW recalls captivity in Vietnam on New Year’s Eve 1972, months before his release (Robert Certain)
Retired Air Force Col. Robert Certain was a navigator on the first B-52 shot down during Operation Linebacker II.

