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Laughlin plays host to POW, several Vietnam vets

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Blake Mize
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Laughlin hosted one former POW and three other men who were shot down in action during the National POW/MIA Recognition Day Sept. 17 at Laughlin AFB, Texas.

The Vietnam veterans' visit included a luncheon at the club, a roundtable panel discussion and a special retreat ceremony in Heritage Park.

Also as part of the days events, Laughlin Airmen continuously guarded a POW/MIA remembrance wreath Sept. 17 until the start of the National POW/MIA Recognition Day retreat ceremony. 

At the roundtable panel discussion, the men shared their respective stories with members of Team Laughlin.

Lt. Col. (ret.) John Blevins was imprisoned by the North Vietnamese Sept. 9, 1966 after having to bail out of the F-105D aircraft he was flying. He said he parachuted onto enemy soil and as he landed, he heard a sound similar to that of a tree limb breaking. Unfortunately, the sound was his leg breaking.

"When the rescue capture party arrived, they took my boots, my watch and my flight suit," Colonel Blevins recalled. "Soon I was unable to walk so they began carrying me like a wounded animal." 

Colonel Blevins said he spent six-and-a-half years in the Vietnamese prison in a 12 by 12 cell with two other prisoners.

"War is hell. They can imprison your body but they can't imprison your mind," he said.

Col. (Retired) Kevin "Mike" Gilroy, a decorated electronic warfare officer, and Lt. Col. (Retired) Ed Larson, the fighter pilot Col. Gilroy flew with, told their story of being shot down by enemy fire while performing one of their many missions together and escaping capture.

Colonel Gilroy said someone later told him while he was the mayor of a California town that he handled pressure well. He dismissed the notion of politics being pressure-packed.

"I said no, being in a badly damaged jet fighter at 5,000 feet, doing 350 knots while everybody is trying to kill you, that is pressure," he said.

Colonel Larson, who was enlisted in the Air Force for nine years before commissioning and becoming a pilot, spoke fondly of his time as an Airman.

"I spent 28-and-a-half years in the military and if you see something running down my cheek here, it is envy looking at you young people," Lt. Col. Larson told the crowd of mostly young officers and enlisted members.

Col. (Retired) Joe Lee Burns, who was shot down in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1972, told a similar story as Colonel Gilroy and Colonel Larson but with a humorous twist. Several times during his story, the audience was overcome with laughter. The overall sentiment shared by Colonel Burns was that extensive training is vital to surviving during war and is what sets military members apart from the rest of the world.

Following the roundtable discussion, was a special retreat ceremony. Four T-38 Talon aircraft performed a flyover, and Col. Michael Frankel, 47th Flying Training Wing commander, addressed the crowd and Laughlin's honor guard retired the American and POW/MIA flags.

"This is a time to remember the faces of the prisoners of war, remember the names of those missing in action and remember and reaffirm the pledge our nation's leaders have made to account for every service man who did not come home," Colonel Frankel said. "There is no greater legacy for our future aviators to mirror than these great men."