Badly injured after ejecting when his North American F-100F is shot down over North Vietnam, Major George E. Day is captured and severely tortured. He later managed to escape and eventually made it to the DMZ. After several attempts to signal U.S. aircraft, he was ambushed and recaptured, and was later moved to prison in Hanoi, where he continued to strongly resist to his captors. Finally released in 1973, Major Day was awarded the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry while a POW.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- First televised Major League baseball game, 1939
- American Revolution
- Washington urges Hessians to desert, 1776
- Automotive
- Mini makes its debut, 1959
- Civil War
- Second Bull Run campaign begins, 1862
- Cold War
- Russia tests an intercontinental ballistic missile, 1957
- Crime
- "Preppy Murder" stuns New York, 1986
- Disaster
- NYC and Philly sizzle in heat wave, 1948
- General Interest
- Battle of Crecy, 1346
- 19th Amendment adopted, 1920
- Democratic convention besieged by protesters, 1968
- Charles Lindbergh dies, 1974
- Hollywood
- Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin born, 1980
- Literary
- Ralph Waldo Emerson meets Thomas Carlyle, 1838
- Music
- Grease movie soundtrack earns its second #1 hit, 1978
- Old West
- Lewis and Clark promote Patrick Gass to sergeant, 1804
- Presidential
- George Washington writes to Henry Lee, 1794
- Sports
- Lights, cameras, baseball, 1939
- Vietnam War
- Johnson receives Democratic nomination for president, 1964
- Major George E. Day shot down over North Vietnam, 1967
- Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago, 1968
- World War I
- Battle of Tannenberg begins, 1914
- World War II
- DeGaulle enters a free Paris, 1944
Aug 26, 1967:
Major George E. Day shot down over North Vietnam
Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
This Week in History, Aug 26 - Sep 1
- Aug 26, 1964
- Johnson receives Democratic nomination for president
- Aug 26, 1967
- Major George E. Day shot down over North Vietnam
- Aug 26, 1968
- Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago
- Aug 27, 1970
- Agnew meets with President Thieu in Saigon
- Aug 27, 1972
- U.S. aircraft conduct heavy raids on Hanoi and Haiphong
- Aug 28, 1966
- North Vietnamese pilots being trained in Soviet Union
- Aug 28, 1967
- More voices raised against the war
- Aug 28, 1968
- DNC endorses Johnson administration platform on the war in Vietnam
- Aug 28, 1972
- U.S. Air Force gets its first ace since Korean War
- Aug 29, 1964
- Khanh steps down
- Aug 29, 1971
- President Nguyen Van Thieu retains control of National Assembly
- Aug 29, 1972
- Nixon announces another troop reduction
- Aug 30, 1966
- China agrees to provide aid to North Vietnam
- Aug 30, 1969
- Ho Chi Minh responds to Nixon letter
- Aug 30, 1970
- Elections held in South Vietnam
- Aug 31, 1955
- Dulles supports Diem's decision not to hold national election
- Aug 31, 1965
- Ky refuses to negotiate with the Communists
- Aug 31, 1967
- Senate Committee calls for stepped-up bombing
- Aug 31, 1970
- Thieu government maintains control of Senate
- Aug 31, 1972
- U.S. weekly casualty figures hit new low
- Sep 01, 1966
- De Gaulle urges the United States to get out of Vietnam
- Sep 01, 1968
- Fighter pilot nominated for Medal of Honor
- Sep 01, 1970
- McGovern-Hatfield amendment defeated in the Senate
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