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Col. Fred Vann Cherry was an Air Force fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam; next month will mark the 55th anniversary of him getting shot down, the beginning of his powerful POW story...
Cherry was born to poor farmers in Virginia at the height of Jim Crow segregation in the 1920s, and experienced a lot of discrimination and racism in his life but managed to get a college degree in 1951
He joined the Air Force and soon was flying F-84 Thunderjets on combat missions in Korea with the 310th FBS. He served in a few places post-Korea, including as an F-100 Super Sabre pilot
He was flying with the 35th TFS, one of the first units to deploy to the Vietnam War, flying F-105s out of Korat.
On Oct 22, 1965 he was on a mission to take out a NV missile site, flying low enough he could see the ground fire coming at him.
On Oct 22, 1965 he was on a mission to take out a NV missile site, flying low enough he could see the ground fire coming at him.
His F-105 exploded, forcing him to eject. The ground gunners kept firing at him, missed, and his parachute opened only 200 feet up.
He was captured and would end up being held as a POW for over 7 years, enduring a variety of brutal torture practices.
He was captured and would end up being held as a POW for over 7 years, enduring a variety of brutal torture practices.
Cherry was the first African American to be captured, and as a major, remained the highest ranking black POW.
The North Vietnamese tried to use Cherry for propagandistic purposes by getting him to speak out about the racial injustice in the US, much of which he'd experienced.
The North Vietnamese tried to use Cherry for propagandistic purposes by getting him to speak out about the racial injustice in the US, much of which he'd experienced.
That didn't work, Cherry, didn't budge. So then they made him a cell mate with Navy Ensign (later Cmdr) Porter Halyburton, a proud "southern white boy" from North Carolina, hoping racial animosity would break them both.
It didn't.
It didn't.
"It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me," Halyburton said. "He said I saved his life, and he saved my life. . . . Taking care of my friend gave my life some meaning that it had not had before."
"I was so inspired by Fred’s toughness,” Halyburton said. “He had grown up in the racial South [and] undergone a lot of discrimination and hardship. But he was such an ardent patriot. He loved this country. It inspired me, and it inspired a lot of others."
!["I was so inspired by Fred’s toughness,” Halyburton said. “He had grown up in the racial South [and] undergone a lot of discrimination and hardship. But he was such an ardent patriot. He loved this country. It inspired me, and it inspired a lot of others."](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjAtHK7VkAIkCcd.jpg "\"I was so inspired by Fred’s toughness,” Halyburton said. “He had grown up in the racial South [and] undergone a lot of discrimination and hardship. But he was such an ardent patriot. He loved this country. It inspired me, and it inspired a lot of others.\"")
Cherry was released along with many other POWs in 1973, earning the Air Force Cross for his experience. As he reflected on his experience, he said:
"I was always taught to love and respect others and forgive those who mistreat, scorn or persecute me. . . ."
[This] allowed me overcome the damages of discrimination, Jim Crow, and the social and economic barriers associated with growing up a poor dirt farmer. . . . My standard for making decisions is based on doing what is right."
![[This] allowed me overcome the damages of discrimination, Jim Crow, and the social and economic barriers associated with growing up a poor dirt farmer. . . . My standard for making decisions is based on doing what is right."](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjAtkWaVoAA-ODZ.jpg "[This] allowed me overcome the damages of discrimination, Jim Crow, and the social and economic barriers associated with growing up a poor dirt farmer. . . . My standard for making decisions is based on doing what is right.\"")
