"You learn pretty quickly this is a dangerous thing, but you always think it's going to be someone else and not you." (Video Interview, 9:30)
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Edwin Allen Nixon, Jr.
Edwin Nixon [2007]
War: Korean War, 1950-1953 Branch: Navy Unit: Squadron VF 91, Philippines Sea Aircraft Carrier Service Location: United States; Japan; North Korea Rank: Lieutenant POW: Yes Place of Birth: WA
When Edwin Nixon enlisted in the Navy out of college just after the Korean War started, he thought it would be over by the time he finished training. He became a Navy pilot and flew his first mission over Korea in January 1953. On his 25th mission, he took crippling fire intended for another plane. He managed to crash land his craft, breaking his back in the process. For four months, he was interrogated and kept in isolation, then spent time in a camp with other POWs. Meanwhile, he was declared killed in action, with a funeral held for him. (A later arriving POW told Nixon he attended it.) The day he was repatriated, his wife had a baby daughter. Nixon has some harsh words for the way the war was prosecuted, but he knows that his unique experiences made him a more confident person in his professional career.