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.”
For the past few weeks, the Pekin Public Library has displayed a gallery of photographs taken in Japan in 1945 by World War II veteran A. Dean Riedlinger of Pekin, who served in the Occupation Forces in Japan immediately after the war’s end. His photos of Japan will remain on
Colonel Benjamin Purcell was executive commander of the 80th General Support Group in Vietnam when his helicopter was shot down on February 8, 1968. He and five other passengers were captured by the Viet Cong. Colonel Purcell was the highest ranking Army officer captured during the Vietnam War. He spent more
Today I shook the hand of my alma mater’s most decorated alum. Was it Bill Nye ’77? Bill Maher ’78? Maybe Keith Olbermann ’79? Well it couldn’t have been any of these celebrities, because they’ve never filled a room with less than 10 people delivering a keynote address. So it
GSW 2012 POW/MIA Convocation featuring Bill Arcuri, Ret USAF, former POW, Vietnam. September 19, 2012