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POW Reunion, 40 years later
- Thread starter Catmando
- Start date
Amen to that Catmando, I also had two Squadronmates return after 6+ years each in the Hilton. President Nixon had his political ups & downs, but is still a hero to the ex-POWs for having the cajones to order the Christmas pounding of the NVN heartland (LINEBACKER II), which drove them back to the peace talks. About a month later, our POWs began the release process.
Our own Cat, and his Airwing (USS Midway/CVW-5), played a major role in the Christmas "THUMPs", along with the USAF B-52s. He has some great eyewitness tales!
BzB
Not of your era gentlemen, but I did have the unique opportunity to sail under the command of CAPT Rod Knutson, while he was COMPHIBRON One aboard the USS Peleliu (LHA 5) during our '88 WestPac. As a Marine CH-53E driver with the composite squadron embarked, we were in the early days of training to the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP) mission. During a pre-cruise briefing at NAB Coronado from some former Son Tay raid veterans, he piped up from his seat "we heard you guys going in there, but we knew there weren't any prisoners in that compound." Needless to say that caught a majority of us 'younger' bucks by surprise. He later gave the squadron a very detailed recollection of his experiences in a 5 hour session in the ready room. Shot down in Oct of '65 as a jg RIO with VF-84 off the Indy, released in Feb '73 as a Lt Cdr. Returned to flight training and qualified as an F-4 pilot in '77. A truly remarkable and dedicated man, I'll always consider it an honor to have sailed with and met him.
Posted the attached pic very recently over on the "Remembering API - Back In The Day" thread. Al Agnew stands third from the left in the photo ...appears in the above video at time ~3:20 .
Al was shot down in an A-5 Viggie during a BDA run over a target up north very late in the war ...was taken down by a MIG 21 ...lost his backseater.
Al was shot down in an A-5 Viggie during a BDA run over a target up north very late in the war ...was taken down by a MIG 21 ...lost his backseater.
Attachments
Not a tailhooker myself but those who attented Tailhook 2013 apparantly had a chance to meet some of the legends from those times at the Hanoi Hilton Panel. Great opportunity for the young folks to meet and learn from them. Puts your own career into perspective. There's a good summary in the fall issue of "The Hook". VADM Moran also wrote up a good memorial to one of them, VADM Lawrence, in the summer issue.
45 years ago, February 12th, 1973, Operation Homecoming begins.
I was there that day at Clark AFB in the Philippines watching as our guys returned from captivity in Hanoi. It is a memory that will stay with me forever.
Thanks for posting.
707guy
"You can't make this shit up..."
A couple of pics from inside the "Hanoi Taxi" that I took last year. The plaque commemorates the folks on the first flight out of Hanoi. The aircraft is in the new wing that just opened.
GroundPounder
Well-Known Member
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Charles_Plumb_Jr.
I have had the great fortune to have seen Capt. Plumb speak several times, and he made some points that have stuck with me over 30 years. If you ever think you're having a bad day, putting ( or trying ) to put yourself in their shoes cures that real quickly.
I have had the great fortune to have seen Capt. Plumb speak several times, and he made some points that have stuck with me over 30 years. If you ever think you're having a bad day, putting ( or trying ) to put yourself in their shoes cures that real quickly.
One of the most personally gratifying experiences I had in my military career was the 3 years ('94-'96) I was involved in the annual POW Reunion at the 560th FTS at Randolph AFB. The AF POW pilots were taken there in '73. Those that could were given a proper "Champagne Flight" in the T-38. Even if they were in bad medical shape, most people looked the other way and got them a flight. Many others requalified and continued their flying career. The syllabus was "fly until you feel you're ready to leave".
Getting to meet and know these guys was nothing short of historic for me. What great attitudes. There's so much I could write about the experiences, especially the last 2 reunions I co-chaired. To sit down on the San Antonio Riverwalk with 3 of these guys, eat Mexican food and drink Margaritas was write up there... and maybe better than... sitting across from Bob Hoover at a private dinner at the 2015 Reno Air Races for 2 hours.
The event still goes on each year at Randolph. It's scaled down quite a bit. But in the 90's these guys could push it up. Either way, it's quite an event.
http://www.jbsa.mil/News/News/Article/462676/560th-flying-training-squadron-reunites-freedom-flyers/
Getting to meet and know these guys was nothing short of historic for me. What great attitudes. There's so much I could write about the experiences, especially the last 2 reunions I co-chaired. To sit down on the San Antonio Riverwalk with 3 of these guys, eat Mexican food and drink Margaritas was write up there... and maybe better than... sitting across from Bob Hoover at a private dinner at the 2015 Reno Air Races for 2 hours.
The event still goes on each year at Randolph. It's scaled down quite a bit. But in the 90's these guys could push it up. Either way, it's quite an event.
http://www.jbsa.mil/News/News/Article/462676/560th-flying-training-squadron-reunites-freedom-flyers/