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.”
Penny Grossman served 21 years of active duty as an Air Force nurse. In 1973, She was stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines during Operation Homecoming, when nearly 600 American Prisoners of War were freed. The first leg of their journey home took them from Hanoi to Clark
A prisoner of war gave riveting details of his experience in Vietnam Thursday night to members of Purdue’s Tri-Service ROTC. Retired Air Force Col. Kevin Cheney always wanted to fly planes. On July 1, 1972, the jet Cheney, then Capt. Cheney, was flying was shot down.
Since last Veteran’s Day, Ken Burns’ in-depth documentary on the Vietnam War has aired. It is a powerful reminder of an unpopular war in which many “baby boomers” fought and died. It also prompts memories of the brutal treatment of American POWs and 1,350 who were listed as missing in
There is little about Phillip Butler’s appearance to suggest a man who has lived by what he calls the “warrior spirit.” Dressed in a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers, Butler wears his snowy white hair closely cut and sometimes walks with a cane. He speaks softly and enjoys a mostly quiet
Almost 50 years after escaping his Viet Cong captors, a lifelong Akron resident has passed away. Bruce Graening was born on July 30, 1946, and lived his 67 years in Kenmore. After graduating from Kenmore High School, he was drafted to serve in the United States Army or, as he