CRONIN, MICHAEL PAUL

RIP  17  June 2023

Name: Michael Paul Cronin
Rank/Branch: United States Navy/O2
Unit: VA 23
Date of Birth: 01 March 1941
Home City of Record: Pittsburgh PA
Date of Loss: 13 January 1967
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 191700 North  1054700 East
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A4E
Missions: 175 (125 over North Vietnam)
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno:

2018

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.  2023

REMARKS: 730304 RELEASED BY DRV
 

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Michael Cronin left the Navy in 1976. He remained active with the Naval
Reserve and retired as a Captain in 1996. He and his wife Jackie reside in
Maryland. He has been a pilot with American Airlines since 1976.

Capt. Cronin remains actively involved with historical work on the Geneva
Conventions. He states that the way Vietnam handled prisoners was a gross
criminal violation of the Geneva Conventions which they had signed. Until
1996, the U.S. had no war crimes law, he says. "The War Crimes Act of 1996"
was passed with little notice in the press. Capt. Cronin was very much
involved in the effort to get the legislation passed.

=====================

 

Although he spent six years in the "Hanoi Hilton," an infamous North Vietnam prison after his
plane was shot down during the Vietnam War, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Michael Paul Cronin
of Darnestown does not consider himself a hero.......

 

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04/31/19

CC: from EA....
 

Pray for our fellow NAM POW, Mike Cronin, who was admitted to Walter Reed -
Bethesda Military Hospital on Tuesday, 26 March...

 

Daughter Colleen posted:

 

"As many of you know, my father has been battling Stage IV Glioblastoma Multiforme brain cancer since being diagnosed in March of 2019. He fought, and we all fought, for over fourteen harrowing months of borrowed time. Unfortunately, he began to slip away from us in May, and he peacefully passed this morning (17 June), in wondrous, loving care.

My father was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 22, 2020 when his condition escalated. Once there, he displayed so much relief and comfort resulting from a team of the most gracious oncology staff. On June 1, 2020 he was transferred into hospice at a skilled nursing facility, where he received top-notch care from professionals who brought us to tears for 17 days with their endless compassion.

It has been a heart-wrenching journey, but throughout this time we have evolved incredibly as both individuals and as a family. To everyone who has reached out to any of us, be it at any point or however extensively, please know that you helped us tremendously along the way. It has been very surreal for us all to experience this disastrous beast firsthand, but we are undoubtedly closer to each other because of it. Cheers to you, dad, for building such a resilient, loving family to live and pass on your legacy. We love you now and until forever." ❤️ 

 

J

 


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