NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen, The Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Sun reporter | March 16, 2011
George W. Holdefer, a retired civil engineer who during World War II flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, became a prisoner of war after his plane was damaged over Germany and recorded his experiences in a diary, died March 10 of multiple organ failure at the Edenwald retirement community. The former Campus Hills and Mays Chapel resident was 87. Mr. Holdefer, the son of an American Can Co. engineer and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised near Patterson Park. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute in 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and was trained as a B-17 pilot at an airbase in Bradenton, Fla. He joined the 8th Air Force 486th Heavy Bomb Group based at Sudbury, England, northeast of London.
NEWS
By Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun | June 20, 2010
John H. "Jack" Meyers Sr., a retired Domino Sugar supervisor and decorated World War II veteran who was commander of a state ex-prisoner of war group, died of cancer Thursday at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center. The Glen Burnie resident was 86. Born in Baltimore and raised in Ferndale, he was a 1942 graduate of Glen Burnie High School and played football for the Linthicum Heights Athletic Association. He joined the Army during World War II and trained with an infantry unit in Africa.
NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen and Frederick N. Rasmussen,fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com | August 6, 2009
Milton O. Price Sr., a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. statistician who had been a prisoner of war during World War II, died of a heart attack Saturday at Perry Point Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He was 89. Mr. Price was born in Baltimore and raised on Garrett Avenue. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute in 1937, he served for four years in the Naval Reserve before he began working at BGE. Drafted into the Army on April 23, 1941, Mr. Price was to have served one year of active duty.
NEWS
By Rona Marech and Rona Marech,rona.marech@baltsun.com | November 6, 2008
Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale, a pilot who died in 2005 at age 81, is perhaps best known for his heroic turn as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Shot down while on a mission Sept. 9, 1965, he landed in a small coastal village, where he was beaten by a mob. He spent the next 7 1/2 years in the Hoa Lo Prison, where he was kept in solitary confinement for four years, tortured and denied medical care. Yet Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking naval officer at the prison, managed to organize a system of communication and help buoy the spirits of his fellow prisoners.
NEWS
By David Nitkin and David Nitkin,david.nitkin@baltsun.com | September 3, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain's years in a Vietnamese prison camp forged connections with soldiers that are paying dividends as he enters the final stage of his campaign for president. Fellow prisoners, including some who now live in Maryland, have become outspoken advocates of the Arizona senator, sharing McCain's life story at a convention designed in part to impress undecided voters who may not be well-versed in the candidate's background. "We drew our strength from each other," Everett Alvarez Jr., a resident of Potomac who was held in captivity longer than all but one serviceman, said yesterday.
NEWS
By Charles Derber and Yale Magrass | April 21, 2008
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - "624787." In his first national campaign ad for president, Sen. John McCain is shown reciting his rank and serial number as he lies in a Vietnamese hospital bed as a prisoner of war. The ad describes him as "a real hero." Let's be clear: Senator McCain is running for president as a war hero who plans to win the campaign based on character and honor. On the surface, it seems churlish to critique the idea of a war hero. And criticizing a tribute to courageous and self-sacrificing soldiers would be disrespectful.