An Akron, Pennsylvania, man who had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam returned home in 1969.Sister station WGAL’s film preservation project with Millersville University rediscovered the footage of that homecoming. While digitizing film that once aired, WGAL’s Adam Omar learned the story of Donald Glen Smith. Smith was declared missing in action, then killed in action before he’d finally been found as a prisoner of war. He was held in a Vietnam jungle for eight months.When he returned to Akron, the entire town greeted him and even named a day after him.Fifty-two years later, WGAL caught up with Smith. “I have PTSD, so I think of that every day,” he said.We showed him some of the newly digitized film from his homecoming, which included an interview with his parents after they found out their son was coming home.It was his wife’s first time seeing the video and Smith’s first time seeing his parents in a long time. His parents have since died, but his mother gave him a book full of newspaper articles the Christmas before she died.”I think, you know, you have to remember, even the bad things, you have to remember them. It’s part of our life,” Smith’s wife, Jennifer, said.”When you got people locking you up and sticking guns in your face and smacking you around, it’s just stuff you never forget,” Smith said.Smith was a military police officer serving in Vietnam in May 1968 when he was attacked in his bunker and woke up in a cave. Two other men he’d been with were killed, and his life was threatened many times. “He lost toenails. All that, that people don’t really know – all the little details, the suffering,” his wife said.In January 1969, after turning 21 years old in confinement, Smith and two other Americans who were also prisoners of war were freed.”We just got in that helicopter and when it took off it was like, ‘Whew!’ It was like, I couldn’t believe that really, couldn’t believe it,” Smith said.He could have done without the homecoming celebration.”I was dreading that the whole way up the Turnpike,” he said.But he does want people to see the preserved video. “People aren’t learning about this stuff now. They just kind of swept a lot of this stuff under, and you talk to some of these young kids, you tell them where you were, they don’t even know what it was,” he said.
An Akron, Pennsylvania, man who had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam returned home in 1969.
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Sister station WGAL’s film preservation project with Millersville University rediscovered the footage of that homecoming. While digitizing film that once aired, WGAL’s Adam Omar learned the story of Donald Glen Smith.
Smith was declared missing in action, then killed in action before he’d finally been found as a prisoner of war. He was held in a Vietnam jungle for eight months.
When he returned to Akron, the entire town greeted him and even named a day after him.
Fifty-two years later, WGAL caught up with Smith.
“I have PTSD, so I think of that every day,” he said.
We showed him some of the newly digitized film from his homecoming, which included an interview with his parents after they found out their son was coming home.
It was his wife’s first time seeing the video and Smith’s first time seeing his parents in a long time.
His parents have since died, but his mother gave him a book full of newspaper articles the Christmas before she died.
“I think, you know, you have to remember, even the bad things, you have to remember them. It’s part of our life,” Smith’s wife, Jennifer, said.
“When you got people locking you up and sticking guns in your face and smacking you around, it’s just stuff you never forget,” Smith said.
Smith was a military police officer serving in Vietnam in May 1968 when he was attacked in his bunker and woke up in a cave. Two other men he’d been with were killed, and his life was threatened many times.
“He lost toenails. All that, that people don’t really know – all the little details, the suffering,” his wife said.
In January 1969, after turning 21 years old in confinement, Smith and two other Americans who were also prisoners of war were freed.
“We just got in that helicopter and when it took off it was like, ‘Whew!’ It was like, I couldn’t believe that really, couldn’t believe it,” Smith said.
He could have done without the homecoming celebration.
“I was dreading that the whole way up the Turnpike,” he said.
But he does want people to see the preserved video.
“People aren’t learning about this stuff now. They just kind of swept a lot of this stuff under, and you talk to some of these young kids, you tell them where you were, they don’t even know what it was,” he said.
