Fifty-three years after the end of the Vietnam War, veterans and supporters gathered aboard the USS Midway Museum to honor those who served, especially the 591 Americans who came home from enemy prison camps.
The ceremony Monday coincided with Governor Gavin Newsom’s proclamation of “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day,” a recognition many say is long overdue for veterans who returned to a divided country.
As a missing man formation flew overhead, retired Navy Capt. Jack Ensch stood among the crowd. He was one of those 591 prisoners of war.
“You’re flying along on your mission and suddenly your world turns to chaos,” Ensch said.
Ensch flew more than 280 combat missions off the Midway’s deck with Fighter Squadron 161 before being shot down over North Vietnam in August 1972. He spent 217 days at the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison before being released March 29, 1973.
“My POW experience was part of my life. It wasn’t the end of my life. I’m not a professional POW. I was a professional naval officer,” Ensch said.
His wife Kathy, married to Ensch for 63 years, also spoke at the ceremony, reflecting on the families who waited at home.
“I had to take care of the kids. I did what I thought Jack would have wanted me to do. We kept on keeping on,” she said.
Also in the crowd was Medal of Honor recipient retired Capt. Royce Williams, a decorated naval aviator who served in the Korean War.
“My heart goes out to them. I hope people here today take it aboard and feel the appreciation of those leaders on the line,” Williams said.
As part of the tribute, Ensch helped dedicate a new exhibit aboard the USS Midway called “Captive Warriors: The Midway 11,” honoring the 11 naval aviators from this ship who were held in North Vietnamese prison camps. Ensch was one of them.
“It’s a somber exhibit because it tells the story of torture and all the families who supported them while they were gone,” said RADM Terry Kraft, (Ret.) US Navy, CEO and President of the USS Midway Museum.
Inside the exhibit, visitors can step into a re-creation of the actual prison cells from the Hanoi Hilton.
More than 1,500 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Monday’s ceremony was a reminder they are not forgotten.
“The trauma that those who served suffered, they shouldn’t be forgotten,” Ensch said. “I thank you. God bless America.”