It was Nov. 7, 1967 and U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Leon Ellis was co-piloting an F-4C Phantom over North Vietnam when his aircraft was suddenly hit by enemy fire. It exploded into pieces and was quickly tumbling to the ground.
He managed to eject safely, but found himself parachuting into the same enemy territory he was attacking – not a good situation. He was almost immediately surrounded by North Vietnamese soldiers and captured.
‘Save Me Some Trout,’ Suring POW Writes By gerry Mcdowell Press-Gazette Staff Writer SURING “I hope you save a few of those trout in the pond for me.” This was a message in the Christmas letter from Capt. Gerald Gerndt, whose parents. Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth Gerndt of Suring, are
In the last few months of his life, as Alzheimer’s gradually crept over his orderly mind, retired Air Force Gen. Kenneth Walter North began to recall vividly his years spent as a prisoner of war, a time that exemplified his devotion and service to his country. It started gradually. A
The Palm Springs Air Museum’s collection of Vietnam-era POW/MIA bracelets has steadily grown since the first bracelet — bearing the name of U.S. Air Force Col. Norman Schmidt — was donated in late February. There are now close to 50 of these bracelets on display at the air museum, thanks
A career Air Force officer who was a North Vietnamese prisoner says the United States butted its “nose into somebody else’s business” and that President Nixon could have settled the war for the same terms four years ago. Maj. Hubert K. Flesher, 40 years old, a fighter pilot who spent
When Lt. Col. Harlan Chapman arrived in Hawaii after his release from seven years in North Vietnamese prisoner of war camps, Marine Lt. Gen. Louis Wilson was there to meet him. “Welcome back to the Marine Corps,” Wilson told Chapman. “Thank you, general,” Chapman replied, “But I never left.” Chapman