Ronald J. Webb was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Air Force on January 22, 1960, through the Air Force ROTC program while he attended Indiana University. He would serve five years in the Air Force as a navigator, before an opportunity allowed him to earn his pilot wings in June 1966. Webb served as an F-4 pilot with the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron at DaNang AB, South Vietnam beginning in March 1967. On his 44th mission over Vietnam, Webb was involved in a freak mid-air collision and was forced to eject over North Vietnam. On June 11, 1967 Webb was taken as a Prisoner of war and would spend the next 2,094 days in captivity. For nearly six years he would survive interrogations, physical abuse, and malnutrition at Hỏa Lò Prison, known to American POWs as the “Hanoi Hilton”. Major Webb would finally be released during Operation Homecoming on March 4, 1973.
Resilience, Fortitude and Faith: Vietnam War POWs Reflect 50 Years Later
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
