From 3/3/1959 to 6/19/1968 is: 3396 days
From 6/12/1981 to 9/29/1990 is: 3396 days
From 6/12/1981 to 9/7/1997 is: 5931 days
593-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-22_Raptor
Maiden flight YF-22: 29 September 1990
Maiden flight F-22: 7 September 1997
The F-22 Raptor is a fifth generation fighter aircraft which utilizes fourth generation Stealth technology.[3] It was originally envisioned as an air superiority fighter for use against the Soviet Air Force, but is equipped for ground attack, electronic warfare and signals intelligence roles as well. Faced with a protracted development period, the prototype aircraft was designated YF-22 and, as F/A-22 during the three years before formally entering United States Air Force service in December 2005 as the F-22A. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems and final assembly of the F-22. Along with Lockheed Martin, partner Boeing Integrated Defense Systems provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and all of the pilot and maintenance training systems.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=43941&st=&st1=
Remarks on Signing a Resolution and a Proclamation Declaring National P.O.W.-M.I.A. Recognition Day, 1981
June 12th, 1981
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to what I think is a very important and worthwhile little signing ceremony here in the Rose Garden. I am pleased that I'm going to sign a joint resolution and a proclamation designating July 17th, 1981 National P.O.W.-M.I.A. Recognition Day.
The brave men and women who fought for our country should all know that America does remember and is grateful and will always be proud of their courage and honor on the battlefield. And it's fitting that we pay this special tribute to those who so heroically endured the hardships and torture of enemy captivity—unusual in any war in our history, because it was the longest period that American fighting men have ever been held in captivity. Just the thought of the terrible pain that they suffered and endured should be seared in our memories forever. And let us remember, too, that 6 years after American involvement in Vietnam, in the war, we still don't have a full accounting of our missing servicemen from that conflict, an accounting that was guaranteed in the Paris peace accords that brought the fighting there to an end, an agreement which has been violated.
Recently there have been reports that Americans are still being held captive in Indochina. None of these reports, I'm sorry to say, has been verified, but the world should know that this administration continues to attach the highest priority to the problem of those missing in action. We intend to seek the fullest possible account from the governments involved.
I'm grateful that we have with us here today one of America's outstanding heroes from the Vietnam war, one of the former prisoners of war, and now the Senator from Alabama, Jeremiah Denton, accompanied by his lovely wife Jane. July 17th, it is just 16 years—or that will be—to the day that he was shot down over Southeast Asia. Now, lest someone think that there's a little confusion there, he was shot down on July 18th, 1965, but when it was the 18th there, on this side of the dateline it was the 17th. Jeremiah Denton. Who will ever forget on that first night in that first plane that arrived at Clark Field in the Philippines, and he was the first man we saw come down the ramp from the plane, salute our flag, ask God's blessing on America, and then thank us for bringing them home.
They're joined here by leaders of the House and Senate, many of their colleagues, Cap Hollenbeck and Bob Dornan, John LeBoutillier and Bill Hendon and John Paul Hammerschmidt and Tom Lantos from the House, and Senators Dennis DeConcini and Bob Dole, along with Senator Jeremiah Denton.
And now, I'm going to have the happy task of signing the proclamation and the bill.
Note: The President spoke at 3:02 p.m. at the signing ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House.
As enacted, S.J. Res. 50 is Public Law 9713, approved June 12.
From 7/15/1924 to 3/3/1959 is: 34 years, 33 weeks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Denton
Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. (born July 15, 1924 in Mobile, Alabama) is a retired U.S. Navy admiral and a former U.S. senator of the Republican party. He spent almost eight years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and later wrote a book about his experiences.
Military career
Denton attended McGill Institute and Spring Hill College and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. His 34-year naval career included service on a variety of ships, in many types of aircraft, including airships (blimps). His principal field of endeavor was naval operations. He also served as a test pilot, flight instructor, and squadron commander. In 1957, he was credited with revolutionizing naval strategy and tactics for nuclear war as architect of the "Haystack Concept," while serving on the staff of Commander, South Fleet, as Fleet Air Defense Officer. Denton graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College and the Naval War College, where his thesis on international affairs received top honors by earning the prestigious President's Award. In 1964, he received the degree of Master of Arts in International Affairs from George Washington University.
While serving as Naval aviator during the Vietnam War, Denton was shot down and captured on July 18, 1965. He was held as a prisoner of war for almost eight years, four of which were spent in solitary confinement. Denton is best known for the 1966 North Vietnamese television interview he gave, as a prisoner, in Hanoi. During the interview he blinked his eyes in morse code to spell out the word "torture" to communicate that his captors were torturing him. He was also questioned about his support for the U.S. war in Vietnam, to which he replied: "I don't know what is happening now in Vietnam, because the only news sources I have are Vietnamese. But whatever the position of my government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live." For his continuous resistance and leadership, even in the face of torture and inhumane conditions, he would be awarded the Navy Cross.
Finally in 1973, he was released from prison and on stepping off the plane, as a free man back in his home country, he said: "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America."
"The Navy Cross is presented to Jeremiah A. Denton, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism while serving as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from February 1966 to February 1973. Under constant pressure from North Vietnamese interrogators and guards, Rear Admiral Denton (then Commander) experienced harassment, intimidation and ruthless treatment in their attempt to gain military information and cooperative participation for propaganda purposes. During this prolonged period of physical and mental agony, he heroically resisted cruelties and continued to promulgate resistance policy and detailed instructions. Forced to attend a press conference with a Japanese correspondent, he blinked out a distress message in Morse Code at the television camera and was understood by United States Naval Intelligence. Displaying extraordinary skill, fearless dedication to duty, and resourcefulness, he reflected great credit upon himself, and upheld the highest traditions of the Naval Service and the United States Armed Forces."
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0219839/
Jeremiah Denton
Date of Birth: 15 July 1924
Writer: When Hell Was in Session (1979) (TV) (book)
Miscellaneous Crew: When Hell Was in Session (1979) (TV) (technical advisor)
From 7/4/1976 to 10/8/1979 is: 3 years, 3 months, 4 days
3-3-4
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080127/
When Hell Was in Session (1979) (TV)
Release Date: 8 October 1979 (USA)
Plot Summary: This film describes Navy Commander Jeremiah Denton's 7 and a half years as a prisoner of war.
Hal Holbrook ... Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton
Eva Marie Saint ... Jane Denton
From 3/3/1959 to 2/12/1973 is: 727 weeks, 6 days
7-2-7-6
From 2/12/1973 to 1/21/1976 is: 35 months, 9 days
3-59
http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter23/in021203free.html
Re: Finally Free
From: POW-MIA InterNetwork
Date: February 12, 2003
"February 12, 2003
POWs will get another homecoming, 30 years later
By Brian Kelly
Herald Writer
OAK HARBOR -- Two words. A snippet of a sentence, a phrase that lifted them higher than the lumbering Air Force C-141 could ever soar.
"Feet wet!" came the call. And in plane after plane, shouts of joy erupted as each "Hanoi Taxi" crossed the coastline of Vietnam.
Thirty years ago today, the first wave of prisoners of war came home from Vietnam. Dubbed "Operation Homecoming," it saw the release of almost 600 of the 801 Americans captured during the war.
Today at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, the freedom flights will be marked by a symposium and panel discussion hosted by a half-dozen or so Vietnam POWs. It's a hot ticket for people in uniform: Roughly 400 or more sailors and Marines are expected to attend.
Richard "Skip" Brunhaver, the pilot of a Navy A-4 Skyhawk, recalled being on the second flight out of Hanoi on Feb. 12, 1973. He spent 2,729 days, more than seven years, as a prisoner of war, most of them in Hoa Lo prison, better known as the "Hanoi Hilton."
He was 25 when he was captured -- his fighter-bomber went down because of mechanical trouble in August 1965 -- and 33 when he went home as part of Operation Homecoming.
No cheers came from on board when his plane took off from Vietnam, bound for Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.
"We had developed so much cynicism over such a long period of time, you never knew," Brunhaver recalled. "You thought there might be some trick going on."
Brunhaver, now 62, said the mood changed once the plane crossed the coast.
"When we hit 'feet wet,' we knew it was for real. About that time, your brain clicked over and said it's time to start living again."
http://gallery.phoebe-cates.com/v/movies/fast_times/fast_times027.JPG.html
From 6/7/1976 to 11/1/1982 is: 334 weeks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_%28song%29
Released November 1, 1982
"Rio" is a hit single from the album Rio by Duran Duran, and one of their most recognisable songs and music videos. "Rio" was released worldwide in November, 1982, then was reissued in the United States in March of 1983, and was a Top 20 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/duranduran/rio.html
DURAN DURAN LYRICS
"Rio"
Moving on the floor now babe you're a bird of paradise
Cherry ice cream smile I suppose it's very nice
With a step to your left and a flick to the right you catch that mirror way out west
You know you're something special and you look like you're the best
Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river twisting through a dusty land
And when she shines she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grande
I've seen you on the beach and I've seen you on TV
Two of a billion stars it means so much to me
Like a birthday or a pretty view
But then I'm sure that you know it's just for you
Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river twisting through a dusty land
And when she shines she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grande
Hey now woo look at that did she nearly run you down
At the end of the drive the lawmen arrive
You make me feel alive, alive alive
I'll take my chance cause luck is on my side or something
I know what you're thinking I tell you something I know what you're thinking
Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river twists across a dusty land
And when she shines she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grand
Her name is Rio she don't need to understand
And I might find her if I'm looking like I can
Oh Rio, Rio hear them shout across the land
From mountains in the north down to the Rio Grande
