by Staff Sgt. Curtis J. Lenz
157th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
10/5/2015 - PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. -- Former
U.S. Army Air Corps Tech. Sgt. Herman Streitburger recently spoke to
members of the 157th Air Refueling Wing about his experience as a
prisoner of war during World War II.
During his presentation, Streitburger discussed being shot down, surviving a prisoner of war camp and his eventual escape.
He credits his ability to survive captivity with his discipline and training.
"People owned your body but at least they didn't own your mind," said Streitburger.
The former POW enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on Valentine's Day 1941 at the age of 21.
Initially he took the Army Air Corps exam to be a pilot but washed out
of that program and eventually found his way on a B-24 Liberator bomber
crew as a gunner and radio operator in the 343rd Bombardments Squadron,
98th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force.
On June 26, 1944 their 50th mission targeted Vienna, Austria.
Streitburger's bomber got as far as Hungry when they came under attack
during their initial point by German Luftwaffe fighters.
Streitburger spent time in several POW camps and later ended up at Camp
Stalag Luft IV in Pomerania (now Poland). He and two other prisoners
escaped and were eventually repatriated by allied British forces.
During a return trip to Europe years later, he came upon an excavation
in the ground called a Fire Pond which collected rain water, ice, and
snow.
"I'm standing here looking at it and it hit me like a ton of bricks,"
said Streitburger. "I had been standing in the exact same spot 61 years
before."
The experience is still very emotional for him.
"I'm not ashamed to stay that I got very emotional," he said. "I started
to cry and some of the women in my group had to comfort me."
According to Capt. Ryan Tannian, a pharmacist assigned to the 157th
Medical Group, and who was responsible for bringing Streitburger to
Pease, his story is about perseverance and resilience.
After the war, Streitburger worked in marketing for the beer industry in
New York City for many years. Eventually he and his family moved to
New England. They currently reside in Bedford, N.H.
The veteran was greeted by a standing ovation from Airmen attending the event.
"It's a privilege to be here and to be born here," said Streitburger. "I'm grateful for every day of my life."
He said the group that he is, "...96 years young and proud of it!"
He has been featured in an episode of the "Veterans History Project"
that is part of the National Library of Congress. Since 2011, he's been
speaking to eighth graders at a Manchester, N.H. middle school.
by Dave Smith
21st Space Wing Public Affairs staff writer
9/22/2015 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- July
1, 1972 then Maj. Paul Robinson fired up his F4E "Phantom" jet and
prepared for what he thought would be a MIG sweep mission, rooting out
enemy aircraft. However, he said it turned into a SAM (surface-to-air
missile) day and changed his life.
Retired Col. Robinson spoke at the POW/MIA Remembrance ceremony held at
the Peterson AFB Chapel Sept. 18 as part of POW/MIA week events on the
base.
On that fateful day he said the first SAM hit the jet, occupied by
Robinson and his navigator, and turned it into a ball of flame. The men
immediately ejected just in time to see a second missile strike the
now-burning craft, annihilating it.
Fortunately neither man was seriously injured, unfortunately they had to
eject north of Hanoi in North Vietnam, land in the midst of the enemy
and were captured immediately. He was stripped down to his "yellow
Jockey shorts" and beat up a bit before being transported to the
infamous Hanoi Hilton prison.
Robinson spent the first few days of his 270 days of captivity under
interrogation, or "quizzing" as it was known. He succeeded in getting to
the second level of interrogation without revealing any military
information and finally faced camp commander, "The Weasel" in a quiz.
The Weasel demanded he sign documents stating anti-U.S. sentiments,
which he refused. The Weasel was not happy and told Robinson, through an
interpreter, that he would be dead by morning. Obviously that didn't
happen. Instead he was placed in a cell with 20 other prisoners.
Communication was a key to encouraging each other Robinson said. Tap and
hand codes were the main ways prisoners communicated with each other.
The food was not great - mostly pumpkin and some kind of spinach he
called "weeds," temperatures were very hot or very cold and the
propaganda was endless. Yet, they found ways to entertain themselves.
"We had a ball up there," he deadpanned. "We figured out ways to stay entertained."
Prisoners would "tell" movies, explaining them verbally to cellmates,
for example. They even devised a makeshift Newlywed Game where front and
back-seaters had to demonstrate how well they knew each other. Robinson
even taught a French class.
Torture is one of the most common topics when Vietnam POWs come to mind,
but Robinson said he was not tortured, much to his surprise. He
attributed the lack of torture to the spouses of POWs and their activism
back home. Initially spouses were told not to talk to the media about
captured family members, but after word got out about torture being used
on prisoners, the wives got organized.
They started the National League of Families of American Prisoners and
Missing in Southeast Asia in 1970 to get better treatment and release
for military prisoners. That group, along with public outrage led to
torture being stopped in 1969 he said.
"Spouses are the unsung heroes," Robinson said.
He was released in March, 1973 as part of Operation Homecoming. Robinson
recalled the overwhelmingly positive reception he received upon
returning to American soil and then again when he was reunited with his
family.
"It was that and ceremonies like today that softened the experience," he said.
Robinson said that the more than 80,000 MIAs from U.S. wars are not
forgotten. A friend who went missing in action still weighs heavily upon
his heart.
"Our hearts go out to the families who will never know the fates of their warriors," Robinson said.
In closing Robinson quoted former POW and then-Capt. Jeremiah Denton's
words when stepping off the plane on U.S. soil as the most amazing thing
he heard said.
"We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under
difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our
Commander-in-Chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."
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