Vietnamese POW Capt. Myron L. Donald looks smilingly at this wife after returning into her arms

Vietnam POW speaks to 15th Wing senior leaders (Thomas Norris)

The 15th Wing opened Readiness Day, where senior leaders discussed maintaining optimal mission readiness, Aug. 24 here, at Hollister Auditorium, with a speech on individual readiness and resiliency from a former prisoner of war. Retired Air Force Col. Thomas Norris, then a captain, was shot down Aug. 12, 1967, after dropping bombs

High Desert Hangar Stories: A Tale of Two Davids, and a mission for the books (David Rehmann)

I heard a Special Forces soldier say recently that his greatest hero is the Vietnam veteran. In his words, he said the reason that today’s soldiers are treated so well is directly related to the disrespectful way the Vietnam veterans were treated upon returning home. I agree that today’s warriors have

‘Yankee air pirate!’ — Air Force pilot shot down over Vietnam lived to tell the tale (George Rose)

It’s an indelible image of the Vietnam era: George Alan Rose, then 30, stands on a rain-slicked tarmac. The Air Force fighter pilot has just been released from captivity in North Vietnam. His wife, Becky, wraps her arms around him. Their son, Glen, gazes up at his father and reaches for

POW’s get new honor aboard USS Turner Joy (William J. Metzger)

Tayden and Crixus Dengler never met their legendary grandfather, a Navy pilot captured as a prisoner of war in Laos who escaped his captors. But at a ceremony aboard the USS Turner Joy on Monday, the children witnessed firsthand Dieter Dengler’s lasting legacy. Dengler’s name was added, along with four

Colonel Benjamin Purcell: 5 Years in Hell

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