12 March 1973 A bit of history few know

Platapus · 03-16-12, 06:37 PM

On 12 March 1973, we marked the 39th anniversary of John T. Downey being released after spending 20 years. 3 months, 14 days in prison.

Why should we care?

Because Mr. Downey was a CIA officer and he was released from a Chinese prison after being shot down over China during the Korean Conflict.

With him was fellow CIA officer Richard G. Fecteau who was released after serving 19 years 14 days in the same Chinese Prison.

Though out all this, both men remained faithful to the US and never lost faith.

Please take some time to read this article that describes the incident. It is a good read.

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-f...952201373.html

If someone made a movie about this, people would not believe it. It is to the credit of these two men that neither of them ever profited from this story despite lucrative offers.

I will gladly give these two men a big

krashkart · 03-16-12, 06:45 PM

Thanks for the share, Platapus. The Korean War is at the core of my bookshelf right now. Giving this article a read.

Quote:

Because of resource constraints, the training of Chinese agents at CIA facilities in Asia was delayed, and the first Third Force team to be airdropped did not deploy until April 1952. This fourman team parachuted into southern China and was never heard from again.

So it wasn't just the military that was suffering from post-war cutbacks. The whole enchilada took a hit.

03-16-12, 06:37 PM	#1
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,361 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	12 March 1973 A bit of history few know On 12 March 1973, we marked the 39th anniversary of John T. Downey being released after spending 20 years. 3 months, 14 days in prison. Why should we care? Because Mr. Downey was a CIA officer and he was released from a Chinese prison after being shot down over China during the Korean Conflict. With him was fellow CIA officer Richard G. Fecteau who was released after serving 19 years 14 days in the same Chinese Prison. Though out all this, both men remained faithful to the US and never lost faith. Please take some time to read this article that describes the incident. It is a good read. https://www.cia.gov/library/center-f...952201373.html If someone made a movie about this, people would not believe it. It is to the credit of these two men that neither of them ever profited from this story despite lucrative offers. I will gladly give these two men a big __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.