On September 9, 1965, Navy Cmdr. James Bond Stockdale was flying his A-4 Skyhawk on a mission over North Vietnam, just days after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, when his plane took fire and hurtled down. Forced to eject with seconds to spare, he landed with severe injuries: his left leg bent sideways by 60 degrees and his kneecap smashed; his left shoulder dislocated, rendering his arm useless; his back, he thought, likely was broken.
Vietnam PoW for more than seven years (John Reynolds)
Jon A. Reynolds, a retired U.S. air force brigadier-general who spent more than seven years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965, died April 16 at his home in Bethesda, Md. He was 84. The cause was lung cancer. Reynolds was
