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Quincy Collins

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After he was shot down over enemy territory, Quincy Collins noticed his leg was broken in three different places upon his parachuted landing. The North Vietnamese soldiers that discovered him dragged him along, and all the while Collins thought he was a goner. They wound up hiking back up the Ho Chi Minh Trail to Hanoi. Fortunately, one generous Vietnamese man was helping him recover in secret little by little. (7:28)

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Collins tells stories of how that one nice North Vietnamese gentleman continued to help him by bringing him small things like snacks, water, and eventually even beer. The guards demanded to know who was the most 'senior' out of the American prisoners captured. Even though Collins wasn't the most senior, he selflessly took the fall for it every day. (5:28)

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On Christmas Eve of 1965, Collins and all of the other POWs in his area, were moved around to their respective cells of one or two people each. He remembers trying to communicate with men in other cells, which proved to be harder than it sounds. Eventually, they were regrouped again in Hanoi, Vietnam into groups of five men per cell. (8:15)

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Upon the request of the NVA running the prisoner of war camp, Collins was asked to form a choir along with other musically inclined prisoners. While they were practicing, they set it up so that there was a hidden message for the American audience watching; spilling information about the POWs. (7:07)

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After the North Vietnamese found out about the secret message hidden in the choir's performance, Quincy Collins was not killed because of it, but he was sent away on an isolated tour afterwards. After five whole years, he got his first letter from back home. It was his mother explaining that his dad had died. Turns out his loved ones had thought he was dead for years. (7:19)

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For the final year and a half that Collins was kept as a prisoner of war, he was actually in the same cell as John McCain. As the war was finally coming to a close, the men were told not to show any emotion during the release process. On the way back home, each man was assigned a job. Collins' job was to be in charge of the wounded. (7:01)

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Collins describes in detail what it was like to finally be allowed to return home, from the final sign out of the prisoner of war camp to the ride back and touching back down on American soil. Sadly, his wife was fairly cold to him when he got back. He gives his final reflections and words of advice to generations forthcoming. (5:19)

Rae Preston

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Rae Preston tried to join the Army Air Corps with his older brother, but was the only one of the two to get in. After he got in as a pilot he went to Cochran Field for flight school. He talks about the types of planes they had him fly there and about the first missions he ever flew, which were to provide air support for other units. (This interview made possible with the support of DONALD G. STEWART.) (4:53)

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Preston describes the living conditions he had for the duration he was in Europe, and flying a P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. His first mission ever was to help escort B-17 Bombers. He also remembers helping out on D-Day, and what a typical mission routine was like for him. (This interview made possible with the support of DONALD G. STEWART.) (7:51)

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While up in the air, Preston would sometimes be instructed to fire on enemy trains and tanks. Throughout his time in Europe, he flew 95 different missions. For one of these, he was recognized with a Distinguished Flying Cross. He remembers where he was at the end of the war, as well as returning home and joining the National Guard. After a fateful injury falling from a tree, he was ultimately forced to give up flying. (This interview made possible with the support of DONALD G. STEWART.) (7:49)