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.”
For US Air Force Col. Raymond J. Merritt, his accommodations in North Vietnam between 1965 and 1973 left a lot to be desired. Merritt, a former fighter pilot, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire in September 1965 and held captive at a number of camps, including the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.”
It was nearly 54 years ago, in 1966, when retired Air Force pilot, Col. Michael Lane was shot down in North Vietnam. He spent 2,270 days (nearly six and a half years) living in the Hoa Lo Prison camp, better known as the “Hanoi Hilton.” His first experience was being
Three Navy airmen told yesterday of having given information under torture to the North Vietnamese. But each said he had been able to offer some, resistance and none seemed in any way apologetic. “I would say I did not break,” said Capt. James P. Mehl of Hauppauge, L. I., a
Lawmakers are pushing for swift passage of legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal — the nation’s highest civilian honor — to a Navy veteran who was the first aviator shot down in the Vietnam War and the second-longest held prisoner of war in U.S. history. Retired Cmdr. Everett Alvarez
Mr. James C. Condon, age 79, of Versailles, Ohio passed away on May 30, 2013 at 1:27 a.m. at Miami Valley Hospital. He was born April 8, 1934 in Dayton, Ohio, to the late Russell E. and Clara (Stocker) Condon. He was raised in West Milton, Ohio and moved to
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