Rank/Branch: United States Air Force/O2
Unit: 435 TFS Ubon Thailand
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Orlando FL
Date of Loss: 30 July 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210300 North  1055500 East
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno:

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or 

more of the following: raw data from U.S. 

Government agency sources, correspondence with 

POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: 730329 RELEASED BY DRV

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME  copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), 

Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor P.O.W. Publications,

10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602 Text is 

reproduced as found in the original publication 

(including date and spelling errors).

LARRY D. PRICE
1st Lieutenant - United States Air Force
Shot Down: July 30, 1972
Released: March 29, 1973

I was one of the guys shot down in the midst of 

some pretty hot debate over the Southeast Asian 

War. In July of 1972, many loyal, concerned 

Americans were wondering if it would ever end. 

Suddenly that debate and combat sorties were 

something from before. The system the North 

Vietnamese were fighting for was right before my 

eyes, and I couldn't believe it.

Several years earlier, General  Curtis Lemay made

the statement that we could bomb them back into 

the Stone-Age. There was a very loud uproar over

that statement - my  feelings after a very short 

time in Hanoi were that an effort of that kind 

would only set the North  Vietnamese back a week 

or two.

A recurring theme in the 435th Tactical Fighter 

Squadron, Ubon, Thailand, where I was based, was 

"as long as there are POW's ..." Now a POW myself,

knowing that spirit in my own squadron and 

squadrons everywhere would eventually get me home,

proved to be a great source of strength  No matter

what I was told, I knew my fellow fliers, backed 

by the United States Government and the American 

people, would never let us down.

December 1972-The Bombing of Hanoi ... It took 

less than three days to feel completely sure the 

Vietnamese had seen the light. The following eight

or nine days were simply reinforcement, and I 

mentally started packing for home.