Vietnam War pilot USN Commander Al Carpenter of Cobbs Creek will be the
subject of a Harry Smith segment on NBC’s Today Show on Friday, Feb. 7.
The show airs from 7-11 a.m., with the segment featuring Carpenter
airing shortly after 8. The interview was previously scheduled to air on
Jan. 23, but was delayed.
Carpenter said his interview with Smith came about when one of the
show’s producers, Caroline Gottlieb, was visiting the Price of Freedom
exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution and saw a prison uniform
Carpenter wore while incarcerated for seven years in Vietnam.
Carpenter was firing rockets at targets near Haiphong Harbor in
November 1966 when he was hit by a missile. He managed to continue
fighting and leading the attack before having to eject from his burning
aircraft. He landed in Haiphong Harbor.
With both arms broken and dislocated and a broken leg, Carpenter was
captured by Vietnamese villagers and eventually turned over to the
Vietnamese military. From there, he was sent ...