T he picture on the Time magazine cover for April 23, 1965, was Air Force Lt. Col. Robinson Risner. The cover story, “The Fighting American,” featured 10 US military members in Vietnam, with fighter pilot Risner—a rising star in the Air Force—foremost among them.
“At the time it was a great honor,”
Vietnam P.O.W. remembered as devoted grandfather, hunter (Thomas Van Putten)
To his children, Thomas Van Putten talked little about his service in the Vietnam War and his 13 months as a prisoner. But they knew he was a hero. “We all knew it was a big deal,” said Linda Milley, his daughter. Mr. Van Putten, whose escape from a Viet