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.
In an AAFES parking lot at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, rests a plaque dedicated to former POWs from the Vietnam war, including some from the 388th Fighter Wing. It’s easy to walk past plaques, but this one is worth stopping to consider. For nearly a decade before it moved to Hill
On this day in 2005, retired Navy Vice Admiral William “Bill” Lawrence passes away. Decades earlier, Lawrence had been a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton. He was one of the highest-ranking members of our military to be held in that infamous prison. Trouble began in June 1967. Lawrence
Operation Homecoming, which freed now-retired Col. Tom McNish and more than 600 prisoners of war from Vietnam 50 years ago this spring, was the best military operation of McNish’s 34-year career. “Due to Operation Homecoming and the totally nourishing environment that it put us in immediately after getting out of
U.S. Air Force (Retired) Chaplain Thomas Azar delivered the opening prayer Thursday evening at a ceremony in Shalimar, Fla. to honor American troops captured in the Vietnam War and brought back home 50 years ago. “The Elks, VFW groups, are sponsoring the 50–year anniversary when the U.S. government and the
Former POW and U.S. Air Force MAJ Richard Eugene Bolstad (Captured 6 Nov 65) at the microphone salutes the people who came to greet his return. GEN Paul Carlton, Commander, Military Airlift Command stands to the left and the Honor Guard to the right. MAJ Bolstad and LCOL Doughty were