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.”
“On Earth as it is heaven.” It engulfed his mind as he stood there dirty, hungry and in pain. He struggled to hold his hands up against the wall. His knees shook as he spread his feet wide and tried with everything inside of him not to move a muscle,
The 42nd Air Base Wing renamed its courtroom in honor of a former prisoner of war, retired staff judge advocate and frequent speaker at Air University schools at a dedication ceremony held Oct. 25, 2017. Retired Col. Henry “Hank” Fowler was on hand to formally dedicate The Fowler Courtroom, located on
Roque Matagulay born 3 Oct 1931 in Guam. He was an E-8, USA. He was captured 7/23/62 while on a mission for SVN forces in the south. He was exchanged for politcal prisoners 12/24/62. He and his wife had 6 children, 2 daughters and 4 sons. He was held by
Staff Sgt. Ken Wallingford had only days left to serve in the US Army when he found himself trapped – and seconds away from being burned alive. He’d spent the previous night hiding in a bunker with another soldier at a base that had been overrun by the North Vietnamese
For weeks the returned P.O.W.s had been stepping from “freedom birds” onto the television screens—most of them saluting crisply, walking smartly, looking physically fit and acting mentally alert. As the nation’s early apprehensions faded, a new idea set in: perhaps the P.O.W.s had been humanely treated after all. That illusion