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JB MDL honors Vietnam POWs

  • Published
  • By Pascual Flores
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst commanders and community members gathered to honor 14 former Vietnam-era prisoners of war, marking their 40 years of freedom at a Vietnam War memorial ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Sept. 12, 2013, in Hangar One at Lakehurst.

It was 40 years ago in February and March 1973, when a C-141 Starlifter transport jet, later dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, lifted off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, with the first flight of 40 U.S. POWs to begin the journey home of Operation Homecoming.

"They answered the call and served admirably," said Col. James Hodges, JB MDL and 87th Air Base Wing commander. "They embody all we stand for."

Retired Rear Adm. Robert Shumaker, was a lieutenant commander aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Coral Sea, when his F-8 Crusader aircraft was shot down over Dong Hoi, North Vietnam and he became the second Navy aviator to be captured. Shumaker created the name "Hanoi Hilton" for the prison. He would later spend three years in solitary confinement, much of the time clamped in leg irons.

"Always maintain faith in your country, your nation and your fellow military members," said Shumaker. "Never give up; you can never afford to throw in your hat."

Shumaker was imprisoned for a total of eight years and one day and was among the first group of POWs to be released.

"Things have a way of working out," said Shumaker, who currently resides in Washington. "I stayed in the Navy and advanced through the ranks. We came back with our honor intact."
Among the POWs present, were two pilots who escaped from their prison compound in a desperate break for freedom: retired Air Force Col. George McKnight and retired Navy Commander George Coker.

McKnight, a captain at the time, was taken as a POW in November 1965. He was an A-1 Skyraider pilot, assigned to the 602nd Fighter Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam. Coker, a lieutenant junior grade, a A-6 Intruder Bombardier/Navigator at the time of his capture in August 1966, was assigned to Attack Squadron 65 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation. Together, they escaped and evaded capture for about 12 hours before being recaptured.

"The majority of the POWs in the compound were Navy and Air Force pilots," said Coker.
For their extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as a POW, McKnight was awarded the Air Force Cross and Coker the Navy Cross.

"When I first came back, nobody wanted to talk to me about anything. We were embarrassed that the war took so long," said McKnight. "I try to forget."

Retired Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier, Air Force Academy class of 64, an F-4 Phantom fighter pilot with the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Da Nang, Vietnam, was shot down and captured in June 1967, 40 miles northeast of Hanoi.

"Through the next six years, I was imprisoned in about eight different camps in or around Hanoi except for one year up near the chinese border," said Mechenbier. "Some of our days were long and tedious."

Mechenbier, a resident of Beavercreek, Ohio, a first lieutenant at the time of capture, served more than 40 years in the Air Force before retiring in 2004.

"People look at us and use the word 'hero' or say 'I can never do that,'" said Mechenbier. "Never sell yourself short, you don't know what you can do until you're tested."

Shumaker performed the ribbon-cutting at the new Vietnam War memorial.

"They truly exemplified the core values of service before self," said Hodges. Turning to the POWs Hodges said, "Behind me are displays that tell of your story. You served as a beacon of light."

Of the 660 American military POWs who survived the war, approximately 80 percent continued their military careers. Most of the 500 returning aviators retrained and resumed their aviation careers.

The Navy Lakehurst Historical Society sponsored a meet and greet luncheon honoring the POWs at Tommy B's Community Activities Center. More than 100 JB MDL community members attended the luncheon which invited junior service members to learn more about the POWs.