Today marked 40 years since the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces and the end of the Vietnam War. But, for three men who spent years of their lives as prisoners of war, the memories of that era remain fresh.
The men shared their stories at an event hosted by the North Carolina Museum of History and North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Inc., in Raleigh, April 17, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.
On this date in 1973, the Viet Cong released First Lieutenant Richard Bates of the U.S. Air Force. While flying a mission nearly 6 months before, he was shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner. Bates was from Plaza, ND, and was 24 when he was captured.
General Led POWs During Vietnam War Bv Pai’I. Logan Journal Staff Writer Gen. John P. Flynn played an unsung leadership role for U.S. prisoners of war in Hanoi, Vietnam. Flynn, who had many Air Force friends in New Mexico, died Wednesday in San Antonio, Texas. The retired lieutenant general was
James Yoshikazu Nagahiro was born in 1932 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Mid-Pacific Institute and after two years at the University of Hawaii, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was selected for the Aviation Cadet Program in 1953. Nagahiro served as B-52 pilot and instructor pilot with the
Claude Donald McClure, Sr., 78, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away on March 6, 2019, after a long battle with cancer. Claude was born in Chattanooga, on Nov. 25, 1940, to the late James Donald McClure and Agnes Hartsfield McClure. Claude was baptized at Second Missionary Baptist Church at an early
James F. Bell, a Navy captain and pilot who was held prisoner for seven and a half years during the Vietnam War, died Sept. 30 at an Alexandria care facility. He was 83. The cause was complications from Parkinson’s disease, said his wife, Dora G. Bell. Flying a reconnaissance plane