It was a long time coming — too late for some of their comrades in arms — but Vietnam War veterans from Northeast Florida were recognized Saturday for their service to the country during the conflict.
Ronald Michael of Jacksonville, a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant who served in Vietnam in 1971 and 1972, was among about 175 veterans honored during the Vietnam War Veterans Commemoration Pinning Ceremony held at Beaches Veterans Memorial Park.
Operation Homecoming, which freed now-retired Col. Tom McNish and more than 600 prisoners of war from Vietnam 50 years ago this spring, was the best military operation of McNish’s 34-year career.
“He could play anywhere and do the job well,” Fredette was quoted as saying in a newspaper article highlighting Purrington’s two seasons with the Elks Pony League team. “He was one of those rare players who did everything right.” Purrington also did whatever he was asked to do on whichever
In the last few months of his life, as Alzheimer’s gradually crept over his orderly mind, retired Air Force Gen. Kenneth Walter North began to recall vividly his years spent as a prisoner of war, a time that exemplified his devotion and service to his country. It started gradually. A
Joe Milligan knew he had a problem when his North Vietnamese prison guards began wearing handkerchiefs over their faces when they entered his cell. The odor of rotting, infected flesh came from his arms, badly burned after Milligan ejected from his crippled F-4C Phantom and into a fireball. His burns
After an almost imperceptible hesitation, Mike Lenker stood. About 500 people politely applauded when Lenker, 60, was introduced as a prisoner of the Vietnam War. It was a fleeting formality between the Harlem High School Choraleers’ “Song for the Unsung Hero” and the keynote speech, part of the hourlong Tribute