Larry Spencer was born and raised in Earlham, Iowa. He joined the Navy in 1963 and became an F-4 Phantom backseater. He was over the Gulf of Tonkin on February 18, 1966 when his plane was shot down. Larry spent the next 7 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. This story explains how he endured the uncertainty of his situation by keeping a positive attitude and above all, his faith.
The Nixon Library will host three former Vietnam War POWs for a panel discussion celebrating the 50th anniversary of their emotional return home to the United States. These decorated veterans will reflect on their harrowing experiences of survival while imprisoned in North Vietnam and share their perspectives on the past fifty years of freedom. The panelists, all of whom were imprisoned in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison camp, will discuss the challenges they faced during
This extraordinary, declassified U.S. Air Force documentary “Return With Honor” pays tribute to those servicemen who became prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. The film focuses on first hand accounts by POWs who describe their methods of resistance, maintaining mental toughness, and most incredibly the innovative communication techniques they developed and used while held captive. The circa 1973 picture opens with General John P. Flynn (mark 00:20), who spent five years as a POW
American Veterans Center’s 2006 conference panel on Vietnam: The POW Experience, featuring Col. George “Bud” Day, Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier, Capt. Jack Fellowes, and Lt. Col. Anthony Marion Marshall.
Retired Air Force Col. Thomas “Jerry” Curtis was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than seven years, which was longer than well-known POW John McCain’s time in captivity. In a new monthly series “Voices of the Brave,” evening anchor Leslie Draffin shares Curtis’ story of survival and faith.
