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.”
U.S. Air Force 1955-1976Cold War 1955-1976Vietnam War 1965-1973 (POW)William Burroughs was born on September 29, 1932, in Indianhead, Maryland. He entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1951 and was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Air Force on June 3, 1955. Lt Burroughs graduated from Undergraduate
Ret. U.S. Air Force Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris, former Vietnam prisoner of war, was honored with the dedication of a lounge room in his name at the American Legion Post #49 in Tupelo, Mississippi on September 18, 2020. He was honored for his exceptional service during the Vietnam War and
Dieter Dengler was an American pilot in the Vietnam War. He was shot down, captured, and then spent several months in a small POW camp in Laos before his daring escape. He is the focus of a documentary, book, and movie about his capture and escape. Click here to learn
It took her 44 years, but Morreen O’Reilly-Mersberger finally tracked down the prisoner of war whose name was on a bracelet that she purchased in college and kept to this day. The 62-year-old Plymouth resident bought the item for $2 in the fall of 1970 from a student group on
“He could play anywhere and do the job well,” Fredette was quoted as saying in a newspaper article highlighting Purrington’s two seasons with the Elks Pony League team. “He was one of those rare players who did everything right.” Purrington also did whatever he was asked to do on whichever