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.
Mishawaka native Richard “Dog” Brenneman jokes about the deprived quarters where he spent 1,953 days as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. “You had a bucket to go potty, and if you were lucky, you had a lid,” recalls the 75-year-old retired Air Force officer, chuckling. “You usually had a
The word hero gets thrown around a lot. A Fairdale family has no doubt it fits Colonel Dewey Lee Smith. The former prisoner of war died this week at age 85. His death comes after a life spent with the memories of five tortuous years in North Vietnam and the
AMONG thousands of names etched on the cold black-marble wall of the Vietnam War Memorial is that of Air Force Maj. Robert Harry Irwin. To find him, go to Panel 2-West, Line 107, near the center and close to the bottom of the wall. Next to his name, where there
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
Washington, D. C.: National Defense University Press, 1995.