NJ Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation to Host A POWs Story

From AsburyParkPress: NJ Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation to Host A POWs Story
The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation will host former prisoner of war David I. Drummonds A POWs Story on Saturday, July 23 at 1 p.m. at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center. Drummond, a New Jersey resident, will share his personal account of capture and survival as a POW during the Vietnam War. Several items from his time imprisoned are on display in the museums lobby.

Drummond was born in Preston, England, and moved to the United States with his parents at the age of four. He lived in Jersey City, North Bergen, and Westwood, and became a naturalized US citizen in 1961. In 1969 he graduated from Newark College of Engineering, where he participated in U.S Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force. On December 22, 1972, during the Linebacker II raids, the final bombing operation of the Vietnam War, the B-52 bomber that Capt. Drummond co-piloted was shot down over North Vietnam. Drummond and his fellow crewmen were taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese and held until the end of the war and Operation Homecoming in March 1973. Drummonds crew was the only captured B-52 crew to have all its crewmembers return alive to the USA.

After his repatriation, Drummond left the Air Force and began a flying career with American Airlines. He worked for Bell Helicopter Company as a flight test engineer testing experimental helicopters, and later returned to American Airlines. He currently flies as captain of an American Airlines Boeing 777. David and his wife Jill live in Manalapan and have one son, Ian.

Attendees are asked to RSVP to (732) 335-0033. Teachers who attend this program will receive professional development credit hours. Admission is free for veterans and active-duty military personnel. Adult admission is $5.00; student and senior citizen admission is $3.00. Children under 10 are admitted free. The Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial off the Garden State Parkway at exit 116. The Museum & Educational Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Please visit our website at www.njvvmf.org for more information.