Tag Archives: vietnam

AF Fighter Pilot Col Bud Day Dies at 88

US Air Force Colonel (Retired) George “Bud” Day passed away this weekend at the age of 88.  Col Day received the Medal of Honor following his 5 and a half year stint as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, where he bunked with now-Senator John McCain much of the time.

Prior to that, Col Day was enlisted as a US Marine in World War II and an Air Force Pilot during the Korean War.  He flew the F-84 Thunderjet in Korea and was flying an F-100 Super Sabre when he was shot down in Vietnam.  After he was Read more

Vietnam War POW Shares Need for Faith of the American Airman

Retired Air Force Capt Guy Gruters, who was a POW in Vietnam for 5 years, recently told his story to the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Wisconsin.

For a time, Gruters’ cell mate was Air Force Capt Lance P. Sijan.

Gruters told the audience, which also included…Janine Sijan Rozina, Sijan’s sister, that he and Sijan were in the same squadron at the U.S. Air Force Academy for three years. Sijan, a Milwaukee native, was solid as a rock at 210 pounds and had played football for the Academy.

“To see him hurt so bad was really difficult,” Gruters said. “They would torture him, and we would scream in our cells to get them to lay off him and they’d come beat us.”

Capt Gruters clearly conveys the faith that Read more

Christian Fighter Pilot Speaks at US Air Force Academy

Retired Col Lee Ellis, whose outstanding book Leading with Honor made the Recommended list here as well as General Mark Welsh’s professional reading list, recently addressed cadets at the US Air Force Academy as part of the 2013 National Character and Leadership Symposium.

A prisoner of war held in the “Hanoi Hilton” for five and a half years shared his compelling story of imprisonment and success with cadets…
 
Retired Col. Lee Ellis was held captive along with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others after his plane was shot down Nov. 7, 1967.

Col Ellis shared his perspective on purpose, passion, Read more

Helo Pilot Cites God for Surviving Shootdown

A local paper (repeated at the Stars and Stripes) carries the story of Vietnam veteran and former Marine Capt Boyd “Bo” Barclay, a helicopter pilot brought down by small arms fire on 8 June 1967:

“The next burst came through the cockpit and hit me in the hand, blew my hand up and I didn’t see any hand there,” he recalled. “And I said, ‘I’m hit!’”

He reached over to grab a pressure point and the next thing he heard the pilot say is, “I’m dead. I’m dead.” He turned and looked at the pilot who was hanging in his straps…

Barclay and two of his crewmembers survived, and Barclay credits God Read more

Book Review: Leading with Honor

Lee Ellis
FreedomStar Media

Leading with Honor, Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton, is a unique and outstanding book by former prisoner of war Lee Ellis, an F-4 pilot who spent nearly six years in POW camps in Vietnam. Its stated intent is to pass on “leadership” lessons from the “crucible of captivity.” In truth, it is much more than that: It teaches lessons that are applicable to all of life.

Ellis, who was a 1st Lt at the time, was on his 53rd mission over North Vietnam Read more

Chaplains Serving on the Front

Chaplains have been serving the troops for almost as long as the US military has existed, providing spiritual support and protecting free exercise wherever US servicemembers are deployed.

Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, February, 1971: Helmets are removed but placed nearby for quick retrieval as Chaplain (Capt.) Albert Hartlage Read more

US Troops Feel More Pity than Respect from the Public

Recent events have made a Washington Post article from November even more interesting, as it tries to put meat on the bones of the relationship between the American public and the American military.

While the relationship has avoided the animosity of the Vietnam era, some said a feeling of social “guilt” may be responsible for the change, rather than an actual respect or support of the troops and their mission:

“We, as a nation, no longer value military heroism in ways that were entirely common in World War II,” said retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Instead, praise from politicians and the public focuses largely on the depth of a service member’s suffering. Troops are recognized for the number of tours they have endured, the number of friends they have lost or Read more

Air Force Tanker Pilot Awarded 19th Air Medal

A US Air Force article highlights the story of Major Josh Brown, a KC-135 pilot who has earned his 19th Air Medal:

Brown flew his final combat sortie for this deployment July 30, qualifying him to receive the 18th oak leaf cluster for his Air Medal.

The Air Medal is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievements while participating in aerial flight in support of operations…

In layman’s terms, Air Medals are handed out for one of two things:  unique, heroic events…or for flying a certain Read more

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