Col. Kenneth Hughey, 91, walked to the podium and told of his four favorite veterans – four men from his hometown of Chic, Tennessee, one of which was his brother: Jack Hughey, Hollis Reager, John Fronabarger, and “Manboy” Boals.
“Can you imagine what Hollis Reager thought when he ran out of ammunition in the Hurtgen Forest?” Hughey said about one of a two-man team shooting a Browning automatic rifle in Germany. Hollis’ partner, the ammunition loader, was killed in action.
“I may be older, but I’m a fighter pilot,” he said, smiling, as he shared his story of perseverance before a crowd of Kisling NCO Academy students, Sept. 12, 2016. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Melvin Pollack, Vietnam War veteran, was flying his 78th mission when he was shot down
Meet Colonel (Retired) “Mad Dog” Rick McDow, United States Air Force. This southern gentleman and Tuscaloosa grad (ROLL TIDE!) had dreams of becoming a military aviator, having heard stories from his uncle who flew jets during the Korean War. Amidst the backdrop of Vietnam, Rick joined the Air Force
I stood up and made a gesture of surrender, and they were all over me. Funny thing, the first thing to come off was my Seiko watch . . . then they got around to my gun and knife.” When Bill Wilson was captured by the North Vietnamese, one of
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.
A synoptic, personal analysis is made of the situations associated with those Americans lost in Southeast Asia SEA from 1962 to 1979 and considered as Prisoners of War POW or as missing in action MIA. The geographic loss points, prisoner treatment, indigenous population attitudes, and political environment are discussed. Probable