Ed Mechenbier served in our United States Air Force for forty years, retiring at the rank of Major General. Nearly six of those forty years were spent as a POW in North Vietnam. His father told Ed he had better get a good scholarship or he wasn’t going to college. But he also bet him five dollars that if he applied to a service academy, he could probably get in. Ed had to borrow five dollars from his mother to [...]
Doug Hegdahl said he “probably had the most embarrassing capture of the Vietnam War”. Despite the odd circumstances that led him to become a Prisoner of War, he would turn out to be a rather unusual hero. Author Marc Leepson shares Hegdahl’s amazing story in his latest book “The Unlikely War Hero; A Vietnam War POW’s Story of Courage and Resistance in the Hanoi Hilton.” Hegdahl grew up in a small South Dakota town and was described as very bright [...]
Bob Breault was one of the first Air Force Pilots tasked with undertaking the very dangerous “Wild Weasel” missions in Vietnam. The way he describes it, they would go up and do a “dance in the sky” daring the enemy to shoot at them, thus allowing other pilots to attack the SAM missile sites. Breault flew 9 combat missions over North Vietnam and 280 over South Vietnam, earning the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and multiple Air Medals. He was [...]
Robert S. McNamara was one of the more brilliant minds of his generation, serving as the President of Ford Motor Company and the World Bank. However, he will be best remembered as one of the most controversial figures of the Vietnam War while serving as the Secretary of Defense to both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. William Taubman and his brother Phil have written a book that brings significant new insights into the life and mind of Robert McNamara. It is [...]
Jesse Brewer enlisted in Navy in 1966 and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He is authorized to wear the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with four battle stars, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. He also received the Sergeant Audie Murphy Award for demonstrating dedicated leadership and exemplary professionalism as an NCO. Jesse Brewer (R) in Vietnam After leaving the Navy in 1970, he would enter the Army, complete his [...]
Leonard “Lucky” Ekman wanted to serve our nation but the Dean at his military school discouraged him from applying to Air Force Academy because “It will take 50 years before that place amounts to anything.” Lucky graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1963 and in 2021 was named an AF Academy Distinguished Graduate. Bob Lodge and Roger Locher in their F4 Phantom He was Top Gun in his F-105 class at Nellis Air Force Base and was [...]
“Surviving Vietnam” is a collaboration between Vietnam Veteran Dennis Nickell and his wife Diana. After surviving fourteen months in the jungles of Vietnam, Dennis came home to face a second struggle for survival against the demons of drugs, alcohol and violence. Diana was with him almost the entire time. The American Psychiatric Association did not formally acknowledge PTSD as a diagnosable condition until 1980. Many Vietnam Veterans struggled to get answers and treatment. Dennis was briefly committed to the psyche [...]
National Vietnam Veterans Day is observed on March 29. March 29, 1973 was the day the US Military Assistance Command – Vietnam stood down. This year has a bit of added significance; it is the 50th anniversary of the war. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs estimates there are still 7 million Americans who served on active duty during the Vietnam war still living. Commander Brian Wierzbiki, Chief of Public Engagement for the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration [...]
River Rats was the nickname given to aircrews that flew missions over the Red River Valley that runs southeast from Hanoi to the Gulf of Tonkin. At the time, it was the most heavily defended airspace in the history of aerial combat. One of every 40 persons who flew these missions never returned. The Red River Valley Association was created to commemorate the inter-service teamwork, strong spirit de corps and the sacrifices made by the air crews flying those dangerous [...]
Air Cavalry was a new tactic employed during the Vietnam War. Jack List participated in those early days of air assault, including seeing action in the Ia Drang Valley, made famous in the movie “We Were Soldiers”. Jack served 30 years, 11 months and 25 days in the Army, retiring at the rank of Command Sergeant Major. Jack was born in Germany and his father served in the German Army during World War II. During his first tour in Vietnam [...]