Add Content
First Name
Donald
Middle Name
R.
Last Name
Burns
Birthdate
Hometown
Mineral Wells, TX
Rank
Colonel
Service Branch
Air Force
Date Captured
Date Repatriated
Pre Capture Image
PreCapture Description
Don Burns enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on March 24, 1951. He completed Gunnery School and F-86 Sabre Combat Crew Training before serving with the 335th Fighter Day Squadron at Chitose AB, Japan. He was as a Flight Commander with the 6029th Support Group at Chitose and an Intercept Controller with the 729th AC&W Squadron at Robins AFB, Georgia. After completing B-66 Destroyer transition training, Captain Burns was an F-84 Thunderstreak pilot with the 389th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Chaumont AB, France, from August 1962 to July 1963. Major Burns then transitioned to the F-100 Super Sabre and then the F-4 Phantom II, when the squadron deployed to Southeast Asia. He flew combat missions with the 389th out of Phan Rang AB, South Vietnam, and then from Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, from October 1966 until he was forced to eject over North Vietnam and was taken as a Prisoner of War on December 2, 1966.
Post Release Image
Post Release Description
Colonel Burns was released during Operation Homecoming on March 4, 1973. He was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at Sheppard AFB, Texas, and then attended Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, from August 1973 to August 1974. His next assignment was on the staff of Headquarters Tactical Air Command, where he served as Chief of the Exercise Plans Division from September 1974 to September 1975, Chief of the Planning Support Division from September 1975 to January 1976, and Director of Contingency/Exercise Plans from January 1976 until his retirement from the Air Force on May 1, 1977. Don Burns died on April 26, 1996, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Honors, Citations, and Commendations
- Silver Star
- Legion of Merit (2)
- Distinguished Flying Cross (2)
- Bronze Star (3)
- Prisoner of War Medal
Passed away before release
Post Release