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.
High above the clouds, Hector Acosta is getting a unique view that most of us don’t get to experience. “It’s a shame,” Acosta said. “If more Americans could experience this, it would be awesome. Although it’s unique, it’s not the first time Acosta has been inside an Air Force jet
Prior to his POW experience, Robert Shumaker had other memorable moments in the service. During one mission in the Mediterranean, multiple mechanical malfunctions forced him to freefall 2,000 feet before he could open his parachute. He was also one of the top 32 candidates for NASA’s Apollo program during the
“On Earth as it is heaven.” It engulfed his mind as he stood there dirty, hungry and in pain. He struggled to hold his hands up against the wall. His knees shook as he spread his feet wide and tried with everything inside of him not to move a muscle,
On this date in 1973, the Viet Cong released First Lieutenant Richard Bates of the U.S. Air Force. While flying a mission nearly 6 months before, he was shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner. Bates was from Plaza, ND, and was 24 when he was captured.
Ben Pollard got a lot of mail his last week in prison, as many letters as he’d received in the preceding six years combined: four. – No matter that they dated to 1968, .and this was 1973. ; That sort of conduct “made (the iNorth Vietnamese) wonderful enemies,” said Pollard,