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

POW Ben Pollard

Ben Pollard got a lot of mail his last week in prison, as many letters as he’d received in the preceding six years combined: four. – No matter that they dated to 1968, .and this was 1973. ; That sort of conduct “made (the iNorth Vietnamese) wonderful enemies,” said Pollard,

Read More »

Potomac: MPT Salutes Local Hero (Michael Cronin)

Retired Navy Captain Michael Cronin graduated in 1963 from the Naval Academy from pilot training in Cecil Field, Fla. in 1965. He immediately deployed for Vietnam, proud to be serving in the U.S. Navy and protecting his country. He flew the A4 Skyhawk on 175 solo combat missions in which

Read More »