Retired Air Force Col. Robert Certain, a B-52 navigator and former prisoner of war, worked with MOAA to organize a trip back to Vietnam to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Operation Homecoming and the return of more than 600 POWs from North Vietnam. Seven former POWs as well as family and friends joined Certain to see southern Vietnam and Cambodia and return to Hanoi to see what remains of the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison.
Commander George Coker was one of the “Alcatraz 11,” a group considered by the North Vietnamese to be the resistance leadership, even though he was a junior officer. The Alcatraz 11 were moved from Hao Lo to a separate facility “Alcatraz” in 1967. Among them were Jim Stockdale and Bob Shumaker. Like Shumaker, Coker was a key communications link in the command structure at Hao Lo and the other Hanoi prisons. He also has the
Interviewee: Colonel William Austin, Airforce Commissioned: September 1960. Honorable Discharge: October 1988 Served: Vietnam 1967 – March 1973 Special Duties: RB47 Navigator, F4 Test Pilot, F4D “Phantom II” Navigator, Wild Weasel Hunter Prisoner of War
Inspiring stories of heroism and gripping tales of captivity of four Vietnam Medal of Honor recipients and four former Vietnam Prisoners of War. Each recalled their experiences and answered questions at the National Infantry Foundation’s “Vietnam: Valor and Sacrifice” symposium. The symposium was part of the dedication of the new Vietnam Memorial Plaza, featuring the Dignity Memorial® Vietnam Wall at the National Infantry Museum.
On November 17, 2013 Robert Wideman sat down and told of his experiences in the Vietnam War. Robert, born in Montreal, Canada and raised in upstate New York and Cleveland, OH, served in the Navy. A pilot, he flew 120+ missions into Vietnam off the carriers Enterprise and Hancock. On May 6, 1967, his plane was shot down over North Vietnam and Robert became a POW for the next six years. In this clip, he
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