Vet has no regrets about Vietnam (Thomas Collins)

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.”

Other Publications You Might Be Interested In

When Major Berger Came Home

Air Force Maj. James R. “Jim” Berger spent over six years as a North Vietnamese prisoner of war after his FC-4 jet was shot down on Dec. 2, 1966. He was released 50 years ago this past February. His release made front-page news in The News-Gazette in the weeks that

Read More »

Bliss On Life For former POW Ronald Bliss, every moment matters

For lawyers accustomed to billing their time by the quarter-hour, 2,374 around-the-clock days would seem like a fair amount of time. But for Houston attorney Ronald G. Bliss, 60, a partner in Fulbright & Jaworski’s Intellectual Property & Technology department, the time he spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, from September 4, 1966,

Read More »