Thank a soldier

Longest-held enlisted POW speaks to runners in Houston
by Mike George 

Capt. Bill Robinson is one of a few Americans who truly embody why the nation celebrates Veterans Day. On Sept. 20, 1965, Robinson and three of his crewmates were captured as prisoners of war after their helicopter crashed on a rescue mission just 10 miles from the North Vietnam border with Laos.

He spent the next seven and a half years as a prisoner of war inside the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, dubbed the Hanoi Hilton by the American troops held there. Robinson was finally released on Feb. 12, 1973, and is recognized as the longest-held enlisted POW in U.S. history, according to Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973, the 1999 book written by historian Stuart Rochester and Vietnam vet Frederick Kiley.

It’s not only the POWs and MIAs that suffer, he said, but for seven and a half years, my family suffered as well. Robinson was born in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1961. After several assignments at home and a yearlong tour in Korea, Robinson was assigned to an Air Rescue and Recovery Unit in Thailand in the spring of 1965. On a rescue mission months later, Robinson was serving as a flight engineer when his crew’s HH43B Huskie helicopter crashed in the Ha Tinh Province of North Vietnam…

After his return in 1973, he was one of three enlisted men who received a direct commission to lieutenant by President Richard Nixon in recognition of their conduct as POWs. He was the first enlisted airman to receive the Air Force Cross, and has been awarded the Silver Star, The Legion of Merit, The Bronze Star, a POW Medal and two Purple Hearts, along with 17 other decorations. But Robinson was quick to recognize the dozens of runners who were recognized Saturday with trophies donated from Harris & Lynn Trophies, making sure to personally thank and congratulate each recipient.

I was away from home for eight Thanksgivings, Robinson said. I was away for eight Christmases, and eight New Years. He went on to talk about the eight years he never read a decent book, or even took a hot shower.

Robinson and his fellow POWs at the Hanoi Hilton were exposed to what he characterized as torture, starvation, deprivation and public display, though no formal war crimes have been charged against the Vietnamese government and none of the officials involved have ever been extradited to the United States for violating the Geneva Convention. Robinson said meals consisted of nothing more than rice, pumpkin or even grass. Meat was considered a treat among the prisoners, who Robinson said gained strength from each other and from a pure desire to survive. During one interrogation, he was beaten so badly that his roommate wondered if Robinson was going to survive.

You should have seen his fist, Robinson replied. After completing aircraft maintenance training, Robinson was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and joined the 33rd Fighter Wing as an aircraft maintenance officer. He served until his medical retirement in 1984. He now lives in Madisonville, Tenn. Robinson ended his remarks Saturday with a phrase he once read from a bumper sticker.

If you can read this, thank a teacher, he said. If it’s in English, thank a soldier.

Around 150 runners, joggers and walkers braved a three-mile course through the outreaches of Robins for charity at Saturday’s event, raising more than $2,000 for charity before expenses were subtracted.

Many of the runners in Saturday’s 5K event were part of the Robins Pacers Running Club, a Warner Robins group whose popularity has grown steadily since the group formed in 1987. John Hunter, who’s been with the group for ten years, has already begun work organizing the 10th Museum of Aviation Marathon set for Jan. 14. Hunter said the course for the January marathon, which winds through Robins, is certified by USA Track & Field, the governing body for track & field, race running, and race walking in the United States. The January event is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and runners travel from as far as Japan to compete in the race. Hunter said there are now around 50 active runners in the Robins Pacers.

Saturday’s overall winner, Clint Watkins, a former Marine, Gulf War veteran and construction worker from Madison, finished the 5K run with an overall time of 17 minutes and 7 seconds. Watkins said he enjoys the Robins course, and wanted to be a part of something that supports America’s POWs.

You get a bit of the scenery here, he said. It’s a nice course.

Watkins said the flat course was a nice change of pace from the hill-dotted courses he normally runs in and around Atlanta and Athens.

The POW-MIA Memorial Organization was formed in 1996 by a small group of volunteers stationed at Robins. For 10 years, the group has been raising money to build a memorial northeast of the Eagle Building at the Museum of Aviation.

According to statistics from the POW-MIA Organization, 116,708 soldiers are still listed as missing in action from World War I, 30,314 from World War II, 343 from the Cold War, 8,177 from the Korean War, 1,827 from Southeast Asia, 52 from the first Gulf War, and 2 from the U.S. engagement in Somalia.