USAF Lt. Col.(Ret.) Tim Ayres was born in 1945 in Los Angeles, California. He received his commission through the U.S. Air Force Academy on Jun 5, 1968, and completed pilot training in June 1969. Lt Ayres was then trained as an O-2A Milirole Forward Air Controller and was assigned to Quang Ngai, South Vietnam the same year. After a one-year tour as a Forward Air Controller, he trained in the F-4 Phantom II and was
Shot down on a secret mission during the Vietnam War, Major George “Bud” Day was captured and resisted severe torture as a POW in the “Hanoi Hilton” from 1967 to 1973. Three years after his release, on March 6, 1976, Day was presented with the Medal of Honor along with fellow POW Admiral James Stockdale.
U.S. Air Force captain Gary Sigler recounted the story of his near-death and survival through captivity in the Hanoi Hilton.
Captured and held in a prisoner of war camp for five years, Dr. Kushner’s tale of torture, abuse, survival, humanity, and perseverance was both sobering and moving. As our closing keynote speaker for VMI’s Vietnam symposium ‘The Vietnam War at 50,’ our audience leaves on a powerful note among the several personal stories they heard today.
Profile of retired Col. Carlyle Harris, a former POW in Vietnam who is credited with introducing the tap code, which the prisoners used to communicate
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