Thomas Collins III would like to clarify one point about his bombing missions in Vietnam, and the more than seven years he spent as a prisoner of war:
It was not a mistake, not a waste, not a failure.
“We needed to stop communism,” says Collins, 74, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel. “It was a good mission. We needed to nip that in the bud, and we did. Actually, Vietnam was successful. We stopped communism.”
Capt. Myron L. Donald looks smilingly at this wife on March 17, 1973 at March Air Force base in California, after he placed a lei around her neck as he deplaned following flight from Clark Air Force base. The former POW from Tucson, Arizona, was held by the North Vietnamese
Ever-vigilant, our archivist pursued the lead and discovered that Everett was a 1965 graduate of St. Albans. Wilkerson found his phone number and gave him a call, and they had a long conversation. Soon Upper School history teachers Ben Labaree and Robert Shurmer were exchanging emails with Everett, leading to
After 14 years of gathering war stories, Tim Breitbach created a documentary depicting his cousin’s life, Daniel Hefel, a Vietnam War veteran. The film was shown for free March 30 during a public gathering at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, which was attended by a diverse audience of college students,
After more than five months in which he had no control over his life, Keith Lewis found a world of virtually unlimited possibilities when he emerged from captivity in early 1973. He chose religion. Lewis’ F-4 fighter-bomber had been shot down over Vietnam in October 1972. Saturday will mark the
The North Vietnamese captors of American servicemen were adamant. No writing on the pri son walls. No noise. No dis courtesy to the guards. Regulations issued by the North Vietnamese in 1969 pro mised a reward for prisoners who informed about violations and punishment for those who tried to oppose