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.
3 Pilots Freed by Hanoi Reported Leaving TodayHANOI, North Vietnam,Aug. 1 (Agence France-Presse) -The three United States pilots freed by North Vietnam July 3 will leave tomorrow for Vientiane, Laos, aboard the regular International Control Commission flight, a reliable source said tonight.The three – Maj. James F. Low, Maj. Fred
There were times I thought the end was coming. That’s how Arthur Neil Black described his captivity after the helicopter he was aboard was shot down over North Vietnam on Sept. 20, 1965, while on a rescue mission for the U.S. Air Force. “It was a very scary situation,” he
On this day in 2005, retired Navy Vice Admiral William “Bill” Lawrence passes away. Decades earlier, Lawrence had been a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton. He was one of the highest-ranking members of our military to be held in that infamous prison. Trouble began in June 1967. Lawrence
Air Force Maj. James R. “Jim” Berger spent over six years as a North Vietnamese prisoner of war after his FC-4 jet was shot down on Dec. 2, 1966. He was released 50 years ago this past February. His release made front-page news in The News-Gazette in the weeks that
LAST was asked FEBRUARY, to make WHEN a few I remarks FIRST TOUCHED on behalf of FOOT the ex-POWs on American who soil, were Iwas asked to make a few remarks on behalf of the ex-POWs who wereembarked in the airplane with me. An ancient verse came to mind that