November 7 - 20, 2017
www.santaynezvalleystar.com
Every Issue Complimentary Every Time
VETERAN’S DAY Veteran’s Day program begins at 11 a.m. Nov. 10 The service of U.S. veterans will be honored with a Veteran’s Day program, organized by the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, that begins at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, at the Solvang Veterans Memorial Building. A reception will follow the free program with music and food available. The Vets Hall is at 1745 Mission Drive in Solvang.
Photo by Raiza Giorgi Charlie Plumb, seen in his hangar at Santa Ynez Airport, was held for 2,103 days at the Hanoi Hilton as a POW during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam POW wants other vets to find their next mission
In a hangar at the Santa Ynez Airport, pilot recalls his time at Hanoi Hilton By Raiza Giorgi
news@santaynezvalleystar.com
C
apt. Charlie Plumb survived nearly six years as a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton by recalling every memory and moment in his life that he could, then playing
them over and over again, thinking of his wife and family back in the United States. Recently, as he sat in his hangar at the Santa Ynez Airport, the former Vietnam War POW recounted his time growing up and the way he went from farm Photo contributed fields in Kansas to the Plumb spent nearly Naval Academy and then six years as a prisoner of war. through his harrowing
ordeal in Vietnam. “It’s hard for people to understand what we went through, no communication with the outside world, shoes on our feet, barely any clothing on our backs. So I relate it to the current time and ask students if they’ve ever left their cell phone, and most of them say they can’t imagine not having their phone near them and would be lost without it,” Plumb said. Plumb is featured in the PBS documentary, “The Vietnam War,” which is available for streaming and broadcast on the station PLUMB CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
o
Participants sought for Vet’s Day half-marathon Plans are under way for the annual Santa Barbara Veterans Day Half Marathon on Nov. 11. Business sponsors are being sought for the event, which celebrates U.S. service members and gives athletes a chance to run along the American Riviera. June Parks of Santa Barbara has been getting the popular South Coast tradition back on its feet after it fell on hard times during the 2008 recession.
o VET’S EVENTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14