Free Republic

Operation Nickel GrassExcerpt: The Arab states had trained well and Moscow had supplied equipment on a colossal scale, including 600 advanced surface-to-air missiles, 300 MiG-21 fighters, 1,200 tanks, and hundreds of thousands of tons of consumable war materiel. By Monday, the Israelis were reeling as missiles supplied by the Soviet Union took a heavy toll on aircraft and tanks. The IDF was running out of artillery shells and the Israeli Air Force warned that its capability to sustain combat would be exhausted within the week... On 12 October, Nixon decided that no more delays could be allowed, and ordered the...

Columbus (OH) Dispatch July 1, 2004 A Pilot's Turbulent Journey44-year veteran is the last former Vietnam POW to retire By Mike Harden, The Columbus Dispatch FAIRBORN, Ohio -- When Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier attempted to raise his arms to still the cascade of applause saluting his 44 years in the military, many in the audience may not have noticed that he couldn't lift his elbows to shoulder level. Having spent hours with his hands bound behind him and suspended by his arms above the floor of the "Hanoi Hilton,'' his shoulders had been dislocated so frequently that they afforded him...