FORD, DAVID E.

Name: David E. Ford
Rank/Branch: United States Air Force
Unit: 432 TRW
Date of Birth: 25 July 1935
Home City of Record: Wilson, CT
Date of Loss: 19 November 67
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 211000N  1054000E
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: RF4C

Other Personnel in Incident: Vernon P. Ligon, returnee (deceased)

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK 29 December 1996 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: RELEASED BY DRV 03/14/73

David Ford was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission.

Christmas 1970

In November, 1970, there was an unsuccessful attempt by the United States to
rescue some POWs from a camp at Son Tay. Within the next few days all of the
POWs were moved to downtown Hanoi to a large complex of jails named Hoalo
Prison. We called it the Hanoi Hilton. Finally, after so many years, we were
all in the same camp, with 25 to 56 men per cell. We became better organized
militarily, academically, and religiously.

That Christmas season was a fairly good one for us. Many men had received
packages from home and were allowed to keep the items in their cells.
However, a few days before Christmas, the guards removed everything from the
cells except for what they had given us. In October I had received my first
letter from home, after more than four years as a prisoner. Included in the
letter was a picture of Ruth and Kevin. I prized that picture more than
anything in the world and I cannot describe my feelings when the guard took
it away.

We began again to scrounge materials for academic purposes, etc. We drew
names for gifts. Jim Sehorn gave me a wand and a pendulum to use with my
course in hypnotism. I gave him the use of my services for a whole week to
hold his legs while he did sit-ups and other exercises.

Christmas Eve the men put on an outstanding play. It was the POW version of
Charles Dickens' "Christmas Carol." Scrooge was played by Dave Ford with
Jerry Venanzi directing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas carols sung by a 15-man choir. The
singing was disrupted once when a Vietnamese attempted to take pictures
through the barred windows.

David Ford retired from the United States Air Force after 31 years as a Lt.
Colonel. He and his wife, Janiece reside in Missouri.