Wilkes County native Wilson Denver “Denny” Key was a prisoner of war in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” in North Vietnam during essentially the same 5½-year period Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday, was held there.
McCain, being remembered this week for his bravery and resolve as a POW, was captured by the North Vietnamese in October 1967, and Key was captured a month later. Both were released from captivity on March 14, 1973, along with 589 other Americans.
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
Ever-vigilant, our archivist pursued the lead and discovered that Everett was a 1965 graduate of St. Albans. Wilkerson found his phone number and gave him a call, and they had a long conversation. Soon Upper School history teachers Ben Labaree and Robert Shurmer were exchanging emails with Everett, leading to
Amy Shively Hawk knew she had to write about her stepfather’s experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam when she heard the recordings he had made about that time. On the Department of Defense’s Prisoner of War/Missing in Action website, James Richard Shively’s name is one of 1,756 names
Two men with local connections will be among the next inductees at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust’s Joseph A. Dugan Hall of Valor induction ceremony Sunday. U.S. Air Force Col. Robert R. Sawhill of Carnegie and U.S. Army Tech Sgt. Angelo Speggen of Masontown will be
Charles Frederic Klusmann was a Naval Aviator born on September 7, 1933, in San Diego, California. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve on February 23, 1952, and began active service on March 18, 1953. Lieutenant Chuck is known for his extraordinary heroism and achievement for his role in the aerial