Posted on 12/04/2009 5:43:41 AM PST by KeyLargo
Miss. Survivor Of Vietnam's Hanoi Hilton Dies At 82 Pitchford Survived 7 Years In Prison Camp
UPDATED: 3:48 pm CST December 3, 2009
JACKSON, Miss. -- Retired Air Force Col. Jack Pitchford, a fighter pilot from Mississippi who survived seven years in the Vietnamese prison camp known as the Hanoi Hilton, has died. He was 82.
The Natchez, Miss., native was shot down in 1965 and taken to the Hoa Lo prison, a hellish place where Americans, including famous veterans like U.S. Sen. John McCain, were tortured.
Pitchford was released in 1973. His brother said Pitchford died Wednesday after battling a brain tumor.
He was born John Joseph Pitchford Jr. on May 29, 1927.
After earning his wings, Pitchford volunteered with the Wild Weasels, responsible for destroying surface-to-air missiles.
Services are 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary Basilica in Natchez. Laird Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
God be with you our friend. Help us if you are allowed.
You wonder why this poor soul had to have such a crappy life. He didn’t have enough bad stuff happen to him at the Hanoi Hilton, he had to get brain cancer too.
Thank God for this man. I hope the Democrats will realize one day the real torture their allies are capable of, as exemplified by the Hanoi Hilton.
I am grateful this man survived and lived many years after his imprisonment. We are truly indebted to him.
Thank God for this man. I hope the Democrats will realize one day the real torture their allies are capable of, as exemplified by the Hanoi Hilton.
I am grateful this man survived and lived many years after his imprisonment. We are truly indebted to him.
Condolences to family and friends of Retired Air Force Col. Jack Pitchford. America’s finest.
RIP, sir.
“He became the first Weasel pilot taken prisoner after bailing out of his F-100 Super Sabre on Dec. 20, 1965, according to his brother and Air Force records.
Pitchford was shot in the arm three times and the man flying with him, Bob Trier, was killed in a gun battle on the ground, Jim Pitchford said.
The pilot recalled his time at war and the torture some of the Americans endured, including being hung from the ceiling by their feet, in a 2005 interview with the Natchez Democrat newspaper.”
May this truly honorable man, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen!
I read something about him recently. Someone had a POW bracelet with his name on it and they searched around and found him and gave him the bracelet. He said that he would get a number of similar calls every year. R.I.P.
20th December 1965
USAF
Aircraft:
F-100F Super Sabre Wild Weasel 58-1231 6,234TFW
Based: Korat
Hit by AAA North Vietnam
Crew:
Captain Robert D. Trier ejected (MIA / RR)
Captain John J. Pitchford Jr. ejected (POW)
http://www.ejection-history.org.
That should be a message to Mccain that he should retire and enjoy the few years he has left with his family....
Rest peacefully sir. Thank you for your service.
Missippy Ping. We have lost another great man.
Thank God for this man and other like him. May he rest in peace.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Good Night Sir and Thank You for Your Service
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