Laird Guttersen, 80; Ex-POW Aided Families of Military Prisoners
Retired Air Force Col. Laird Guttersen, 80, who spent five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp and later became an advocate for families of missing military personnel, died June 13 in Tucson of complications of a stroke, according to family members.
His F-4 Phantom was shot down over North Vietnam in 1968. After his release in 1973, he began calling on the U.S. government to give the public a complete accounting of Americans missing in action or still captive overseas.
The veteran pilot also criticized the White House for not doing more to help the families of POWs.
He launched what became a lifelong effort to focus attention on the plight of POWs and MIAs when promised counseling and aid for families failed to materialize.
A native of Minnesota, Guttersen made Tucson his home after serving at an Air Force base there.
Guttersen served 33 years of active duty, earning a Silver Star and two Distinguished Flying Crosses before retiring in 1974.
He ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Tucson in 1976 but lost to Democrat Morris K. Udall.
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