News Editor A harrowing story of a soldier’s survival and the enduring hope of a Lexington mother for a safe return played out in dramatic fashion during the Korean War.

In what could be described as a minor miracle, Mr. and Mrs. Creigh Frick of Lexington learned the night of Sept. 5, 1953 that their son, Air Force pilot Lt. Vance Frick, was alive and had been freed by the North Korean-Chinese Communists after being imprisoned for more than a year.

They had had no word from him — no indication that he was alive since his plane was shot down in June of 1952 — except for a thirdhand report that he had been heard on the Red Peking radio.

According to the Sept. 7, 1953 edition of the Lexington Advertiser-News, Vance was one of the last Americans freed following the end of the war in July 1953. Indications were that he may have been among the group of pilots tortured by the Communists in efforts to obtain signatures to the infamous charges of germ warfare.

Most of Vance’s friends and relatives, including his father, had come to the belief that he was dead, probably killed when his Sabrejet was shot down along the Yalu River in what was known as MIG alley.

But Vance’s mother never wavered in her strong belief that he was alive. She took the news calmly and said, “I knew it would come. I couldn’t have gotten along if I hadn’t believed he was alive.”

Family members first learned that Vance had been freed from the POW camp from a radio news broadcast the evening of Saturday, Sept. 5.

In a telegram from the Air Force received by the family the next day, it was noted that Vance had been released by the Communists and returned to military control. The telegram also stated that Vance’s physical condition was “satisfactory” and that the family would be notified of his date of return to the U.S.

Before the evening of Sept. 5, the only indication the Fricks had that Vance might be alive was a report in the fall of 1952 from Lt. Steve Sellers that he talked in Tokyo to some pilots who had trained with Vance. The pilots said some of them had heard Vance broadcast over the Peking, China radio station. Efforts to confirm this report through official channels were unsuccessful.

A WMA graduate

Vance graduated from Lexington High School, Wentworth Junior College and in 1950 from Kansas State College in Manhattan. He was commissioned in the ROTC and transferred to the Air Force. Vance was called to active duty on Oct. 1, 1950 while working on the dredgeboat Mitchell.

After getting his wings as a P-51 pilot and undergoing gunnery training, Vance flew 51’s in Korea for several months and then was returned to Japan for jet training.

He returned to Korea in May of 1952 as the pilot of an F-86 Sabrejet and was shot down June 21. He was a member of the 336th Fighter Interceptor squadron of the 4th Air Wing.

Vance’s plane went down near the Yalu at the western end of the Korean-Man-churian border.

In a letter received from Vance’s commanding officer, Mr. and Mrs. Frick were told that his flight made contact with enemy MIG-15 fighters. Vance made a radio report that his plane was being fired on and it was not seen again. An immediate search of the area did not reveal Vance’s plane.

The commanding officer wrote that Vance “was a very capable pilot and had gained the respect of all.”

Ejected from plane

During the air battle in MIG alley, a shell passed through the canopy of Vance’s plane. The shell broke open Vance’s helmet and creased the top of his head, but did not explode until it hit the nose of the plane. His radio and oxygen supply were knocked out — all of this happening at about 33,000 feet.

The jet started burning and falling, and at about 28,000 feet Vance tripped the seat-ejecting apparatus. This got him out of the plane but he had trouble getting free of the seat. Vance finally got out at about 20,000 feet and the parachute opened.

Vance blacked out a few seconds later. When he came to he was on the ground with a group of Korean civilians around him and a Korean soldier’s rifle in his face. The civilians had taken the chute off Vance but had left him his gun. He believed they did this because they thought he was a Russian pilot.

A short time later he was interrogated by North Koreans, and was later imprisoned in Chinese-run camps where he was under the interrogation by the Chinese Reds.

They tried to get Vance to sign confessions that he engaged in germ warfare, atomic bombings and other “atrocities.”

He wrote several letters home but none arrived. After he returned home to Lexington after his long ordeal, Vance received a much-deserved hero’s welcome, which included being honored by Wentworth Military Academy during a Sunday dress parade.