He Became a POW in Vietnam Two Days Before His Baby Was Born
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 16 October 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, Ken Wells always dreamed of flying. When that dream took him to the skies over Vietnam, he knew the risks but never imagined how quickly everything would change. Just two days before his wife, Candy, gave birth to their first child, Ken’s plane was shot down. He spent years in captivity at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, surviving hunger, isolation, and torture. Back home, Candy raised their child alone, clinging to faith and hope that he would return. Together, they tell a story of endurance and of a love that withstood the distance.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:04.0 | What I told people, I was making a podcast about Benghazi. |
| 0:08.5 | Nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked, why? |
| 0:15.1 | Benghazi, the truth became a web of lies. |
| 0:18.5 | From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries, this is Fiasco, Benghazi. |
| 0:23.6 | What difference at this point does it make? |
| 0:26.6 | Listen to Fiasco, Benghazi, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:33.6 | You know, This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. |
| 0:52.1 | And we love to hear from you, our listeners, send your stories to our Americanstories.com. They're some of our favorites. And by the way, they don't have to be your stories. If you've seen or heard a story on your local news or just around town, send us the link. We'll take it from there. Again, your stories are some of our favorites. Up next, you're going to hear from Ken Wells and his wife, Candy. |
| 1:14.7 | Ken served our country in Vietnam and was captured and taken as a POW to the prisoner of war |
| 1:20.5 | camp known as the Hanai Hilton. |
| 1:23.2 | Let's hear from Candy and Ken sharing their remarkable story. |
| 1:30.3 | We were married in November of 69 and then went to one year of pilot training in Big Spring, Texas. |
| 1:41.0 | Ken achieved what he wanted. |
| 1:44.2 | He wanted to get an F44 fighter plane, which I didn't want him to get, because I knew where he would be going. |
| 1:53.6 | But he did, and that's what he wanted. |
| 1:57.8 | I guess I'd wanted to fly ever since I was a little kid watching airplanes fly in and out of the Portland International Airport across the Columbia River from the dairy farm I grew up on. |
| 2:08.0 | But I always wanted to fly a fighter aircraft. And so that was my goal in pilot training and was able to finish high enough in the class to get the F4. |
| 2:17.9 | Like in the movie Top Gun, where the lady tells Maverick |
| 2:22.4 | that you're not happy unless you're going mock tooth, your hair on fire. |
| 2:25.6 | Well, that's kind of... |
| 2:27.0 | Of course, we're up fairly high, 25,000 feet doing that, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.