April 16, 1966. It was on this day 50 years ago, during my second tour in North Vietnam, that I took off on my 25^th mission with the United States Air Force. And it was on this fateful mission that my co-pilot, Chesley, and I were shot down over enemy territory, captured, and imprisoned as POWs in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.”

Nearly seven years of my life were ripped from me — time away from my wife, Shirley, our three children, and the country I love. Perhaps, had circumstances been different that day, Chesley and I would have safely returned the next morning. I’ll never know. But I do know this: Faulty equipment and a lack of cohesive military strategy from our commander in chief certainly didn’t help us in the air that night.