War POW release brings mixed news families recount hope
Parents and relatives of prisoners of war freed by North Vietnam report a range of emotions from joy to sorrow. Among the released fliers is Air Force Maj. James R. Berger who spent years in captivity, while others learn of loved ones who died or remain unreturned. The ceasefire has enabled 163 POWs to go home, with reunions and lasting fears amid the long separations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
North Vietnam
Hanoi
Jesse Berger
Rustsburg
Air Force
James R. Berger
Freedom
Clark Air Base
Philippines
Berger
Loveland
Colo
Cmdr
Frederick R. Purrington
New Bedford
Mass
Elizabeth Purrington
Bedonna Clark
Columbia
John Clark
Bailey
Robert Watson
Kosciusko
Miss
Pws
North
South Vietnam
PWs Enjoy Steaks Shun Spoons At Clark Field
Twenty U S prisoners of war released by Henri arrive at Clark Field Philippines as the second group returning home. Maj. Hubert Flesher and others refuse spoons at the meal, choosing steaks and cake instead. The men, in hospital pajamas, had been prisoners since 1966 or 1967 and are escorted by information officers during the meal.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clark Air Base
Philippines
U.S
Pws
Henri
Clark Field
Hubert K. Flesher
Rancho Cordova
Calif
Jay R. Jensen
Sandy
Utah
Edward J. Mechenbler
Dayton
Ohio
Returnee POW recalls life in Vietnamese camps
James A. Rollins, 36, a former prisoner of war freed by the Communists, told his sister at Travis Air Force Base that he was marched between camps over five years in South Vietnam. He described underground bunkers, blindfolded travel, periodic hard labor, and meals of rice and pork fat with elephant and tiger meat while guards watched over him.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rollins
South Vietnam
Philippines
Laguna Niguel Welcomes Returned POW Lt. Col. Pitchford
Lt. Col. John Pitchford arrived home from Travis Air Force Base in a long awaited reunion. A 200 to 300 person greeting was planned at Banes with his wife Shirley, despite limited details due to military privacy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Air Force
John Pitchford
Laguna Niguel
Banes
Pitchford
Gt. Col
Art Aviles, Jr
March Air Force Base Hospital
Travis Air Force Base
Shirley Pitchford
Aviles
Washington
Travis
Draft evaders blame Nixon for parley ban
Paris reports that American deserters and draft evaders accuse the Nixon administration of pressuring France to bar their planned amnesty conference. Organizer Michael Uhl says the Vietnam war resisters’ meeting was to start today but may shift to Copenhagen. lawyers claim it is not an open conference or demonstration and not against French law.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paris
UPD
France
Michael Uhl
Copenhagen
Uhl
Returnee reads up on family after North Vietnam captivity
Major Joseph Abbot Jr. of Salem New Jersey, released after six years as a POW, holds his Time magazine features showing his wife Joan and seven children at home in Allentown New Jersey. An escort officer noted Abbot read the issue, learning details he hadn’t known, before disembarking.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Rollings
Saigon
Keith Hyland
Hyland
Lisa
Cunningham
Clark
Philippines
Air Force
Joseph 8. Abbot Jr
Salem
N.J
North Vietnam
Time
Joan
Alloway
U.S
Emil J. Wengel
Nasmyth family hears long-awaited POW return
In 1986 Air Force Maj. John Nesmyth Jr. was shot down over North Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war. On a Sunday he finally sent a call to his parents in South San Gabriel, who for 60 years kept a roadside sign announcing his fate and now plan to retire it when he comes home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John
Virinka Nesmyth
Air Force
Spike" Nesmyth Jr
North Vietnam
South San Gabriel
Nasmyth
Ginger
Spike
Hanoi
John Nasmyth
Also Mentioned on This Page
United Press International
Navy
Robert E. Wideman
James W. Bailey
Carthage
Checago
UPI
Michael IL Krome
Jesus
Shirley
Richard
Ant
Richard’s International Coiffures
E. South ST
M. Long Beach
John J. Nasmyth
San Gabriel
Right
Maj. Tubert
E. Flesher
Clarksburg
W. Va
Darrene Cunningham
2 King
David Grant Medical Center
Air Force Base
Yas
Hear
Fetc
Nixon
SUN
LA Habra
Imperial Hway
Downey
Paramount
Long Beach
Garden Grove
Long Beath Blvd
Garden Grove Blvd
Naia
Treasury Day
Granada Hills
Chatsworth St
Flourance
Sepulveda
Hawthorne Woodland
Victory
Lamewood Carson St
Riverside
Tyler St
Buena Park Beach
Ranpethorpe
Santa Awa
Histal St
Forange
Manchester
Dr Rowan
Southern
WITS
Ave
COIT
America
10Th St
Western - Southern Life
United States
FHA & WA
Western Southern Life Insurance Company
Cinginnatl Chid
Amutlial Company
William C. Safford
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