Jack became a fixture in my youth. His mother, Mary, was my sixth grade teacher [1950s]. Several times a year we would gather personal care supplies in shoe boxes, write letters; and his mom would send them through the Red Cross.
Jack's mom kept his plight in the fore. Jack was held for 20 years by the Chinese, during the cold war. Details about his capture were very hush-hush; no one ever revealed what really happened. As far as I knew, Downey never talked about it. CIA written account: " Two CIA Prisoners in China, 1952–73"
When he finally came home, he went to law school and became a judge in Connecticut; what amazed me, he carried on with life without skipping a beat.
Thanks for that link - I had never read about Jack Downey and Richard Fecteau before.
#16 for later read