William “Bill” Talley was eating lunch in the cafeteria at his senior living center one day in June when a man walked up to him.
This was the man’s greeting: “Hey, I’m Jim Null. I remember when you got shot down.”
U.S. Air Force pilots Talley, 88, and Null, 77, were both in the air above Vietnam on May 11, 1972, as part of a bombing mission.
Their days started when their planes took off. Null’s day ended when he landed his plane. Talley’s day ended when his was shot down.
When Pvt. Ferdinand Rodriguez of Brooklyn arrived at Valley Forge General Hospital on a stretcher 22 days ago after nearly five years as a prisoner of war, his infirmities were listed as malaria, exhaustion and apprehension. The apprehension eased considerably Wednesday when Defense Department aides told him that he would
August 25, 1972 dawned hot and muggy in Vietnam. Pilots of Fighter Squadron 161, stationed aboard USS Midway (CV 41), readied their aircraft and went over the day’s flight plan. Their mission was an early evening MiG combat air patrol over North Vietnam. Lt. John “Jack” Ensch would serve as
Jacksonville will remember missing military members Friday and Saturday at events marking National POW/MIA Recognition Day. An open house is scheduled Friday at Jacksonville’s National POW/MIA Memorial at Cecil Airport on the city’s Westside. Speakers on Saturday will include Meghan Wagner, daughter of Navy Capt. Scott Speicher, a Cecil-based aviator who became the
It was suppertime when they came to break the news. There were seven in the delegation, including her husband’s commanding officer, a Catholic priest and a flight surgeon supplied with tranquilizers. She met them at the door of the two-story house on the Wright Patterson Air Force base in Ohio,
WGAL’s film preservation project with Millersville University rediscovered the footage of that homecoming. While digitizing film that once aired on WGAL, Adam Omar learned the story of Donald Glen Smith. Smith was declared missing in action, then killed in action before he’d finally been found as a prisoner of war.