Ronald E. Storz
Born(1933-10-21)October 21, 1933
New York City, New York
DiedApril 23, 1970(1970-04-23) (aged 36)
Hanoi, North Vietnam
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1952–1970
RankLieutenant Colonel
Battles/warsVietnam War
AwardsAir Force Cross
Legion of Merit
Prisoner of War Medal

Ronald E. Storz (October 21, 1933 – April 23, 1970) was a United States Air Force pilot and recipient of the Air Force Cross who died in captivity as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.

Biography

Ron Storz was born on October 21, 1933, in New York City, New York. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on June 12, 1952, entering the Aviation Cadet Program for Navigator/Aviation Observer training on March 27, 1954. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force on August 9, 1955.[1]

Vietnam War

In 1965, then-Captain Storz was serving as a Forward Air Controller flying a O-1 Bird Dog aircraft with the 33rd Air Base Squadron at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam.[2] On April 28, 1965, he was shot down near the demilitarized zone separating North Vietnam and South Vietnam and captured.[3] During his captivity, Storz was one of 52 Americans forced to participate in the Hanoi March, a propaganda event held in July 1966 in which U.S. prisoners of war were marched through the streets of Hanoi and brutally beaten by North Vietnamese civilians.

Storz was a member of the Alcatraz Gang, a group of eleven American prisoners held separately from other POWs because of their particular resistance to their captors.[4] These prisoners were held in solitary confinement from October 1967 to December 1969 at a special facility (dubbed “Alcatraz” by ranking POW James Stockdale) in a courtyard behind the North Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, about a mile away from Hỏa Lò Prison (nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton” by U.S. POWs).[5]

Debilitated from sickness and untreated injuries, Storz lapsed into a coma and died In April 1970. His remains were repatriated to the United States on March 6, 1974.[6] For his conduct as a prisoner of war, Storz received the Air Force Cross, the United States Air Force's second-highest decoration for extraordinary heroism. Additional awards included the Legion of Merit and the Prisoner of War Medal.

Air Force Cross citation

Ronald Edward Storz
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force
Date of Action: August 1967 to April 1970

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pride in presenting the Air Force Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Edward Storz (AFSN: 0-3057474/12404348), United States Air Force (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force while a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from August 1967 to April 1970. Through his extraordinary heroism and willpower, in the face of the enemy, Lieutenant Colonel Storz reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Ronald E. Storz". Veteran Tributes. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ Stewart M. Powell. (August 1, 1999). "Honor Bound". Air & Space Forces Magazine.
  3. ↑ John G. Hubbell. (1976). P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-Of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964–1973. New York: Reader's Digest Press, pp. 43.
  4. ↑ Carlyle S. Harris and Sara W. Berry. (2019). Tap Code: The Epic Survival Tale of a Vietnam POW and the Secret Code That Changed Everything. Zondervan, pp. 149.
  5. ↑ John G. Hubbell. (1976). P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-Of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964–1973. New York: Reader's Digest Press, pp. 361.
  6. ↑ Stuart I. Rochester and Frederick Kiley, Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia 1961–1973 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1998), pp. 339.
  7. ↑ "Ronald Edward Storz". Hall of Valor Project. Retrieved 3 July 2023.


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