By Sheila Harris Retired Navy Captain Edward Estes, a former resident of Purdy, had a story he liked to share about the time ...
Mayor Thomas Koch was 12 when he first met Navy Capt. Richard Stratton, a Vietnam War hero and former prisoner of war, one of ...
Called Operation Homecoming, the Air Force shuttled the former POWs first to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, then to military hospitals before finally returning home to American soil.
He was released during Operation Homecoming on March 4, 1973, and later awarded the Silver Star for Valor, Purple Heart, and P.O.W. medal among many other military decorations and awards.