Jack Pitchford, Fighter pilot survived POW camp in Vietnam (1928-2010)
Mike
By Associated Press
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Retired Air Force Col. Jack Pitchford, 82, a fighter pilot from
Mississippi who survived seven years in the Vietnamese prison camp
known as the "Hanoi Hilton," died of a brain tumor Dec. 2 at his home
in Natchez, Miss.
Col. Pitchford was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965 and taken to
the Hoa Lo prison, where many Americans -- including future U.S. Sen.
John McCain (R-Ariz.) and future Medal of Honor recipient George "Bud"
Day -- endured brutal torture.
Col. Pitchford was released in 1973, the same year as McCain, who was
imprisoned at Hoa Lo in 1967 after his plane was shot down.
Col. Pitchford, a Natchez native, attended Louisiana State University
after World War II and then entered the Air Force's officer training
program. He volunteered for a perilous assignment in Vietnam with the
Wild Weasels, pilots who flew low-altitude missions hunting down and
destroying surface-to-air missiles.
Col. Pitchford, the first Weasel pilot taken prisoner, bailed out of
his F-100 Super Sabre on Dec. 20, 1965, according to Air Force
records.
In a 2005 interview with the Natchez Democrat newspaper, he recalled
his time at war and the torture some of the Americans endured,
including being hung from the ceiling by their feet. "War is hell," he
said in the interview. "It truly is hell. There are no winners and no
losers."
John A. Dramesi, who wrote the book "Code of Honor" in the 1970s about
his experiences in the camp, said Col. Pitchford gave him what little
food he had as Dramesi prepared for what would be an unsuccessful
escape attempt.
After retiring from the military, Col. Pitchford returned to Natchez,
a picturesque town on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. He enjoyed
horse racing and frequented such events as the Kentucky Derby, said
his brother, Jim Pitchford of Baton Rouge.