It was 1952. Fighter pilot Robinson Risner flew his F-86 over North Korea, his wingman Lt. Joe Logan alongside him. 

Already a jet ace — an elite title meaning he had shot down five enemy aircraft — Risner was escorting fighter-bombers in an attack on a chemical plant when the fuel tank of Logan’s plane was hit. 

Instead of letting Logan crash in enemy territory, Risner attempted a dangerous move. He nosed his plane into the back of Logan’s and pushed him 60 miles, through heavy enemy flak, to an Air Force detachment where he could bail out safely.  

It was a heroic effort. And although they made it all the way, Logan’s plane crashed in the water and Logan drowned after getting tangled in his parachute lines. 

Still, Risner’s courage forever deemed him a hero.  

That’s just one reason the Air Force is honoring retired Brig. Gen. Risner with a statue at the Air Force Academy.  

Unveiled November 16, 2001, the 9-foot bronze statue also pays tribute to Risner’s seven-plus years as a POW in Vietnam. Risner was shot down and captured Sept. 16, 1965 and held until Feb. 12, 1973.  

The statue’s height, taller than any on academy grounds, is based on something Risner once said after being released from solitary confinement. Risner had organized a church service for his fellow POWs — a forbidden act. After the service, his captors led him away for more punishment. As they were escorting him, the 46 POWs remaining in the room began singing “The Star Spangled Banner” to show their support. After his release from captivity, Risner was asked how he felt when the men began singing. 

“I felt like I was 9 feet tall and could go bear hunting with a switch,” he said.  

Retired Col. Bud Day (principal speaker at the dedication) was one of those singing.  

“For us observers of the event ... we knew he was, in fact, 9 feet tall,” Day said at Friday’s ceremony. “This is a life-size statue.”  Risner, now 76, said the statue honors all POWs. About 40 of his fellow prisoners held at the so-called Hanoi Hilton attended the ceremony.  

Risner’s friend and former presidential candidate, Ross Perot, donated the statue.  

“Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not endure,” Perot said, quoting Abraham Lincoln, after the ceremony.  

Perot, a Naval Academy graduate, has a history of honoring American troops, especially POWs. He once tried unsuccessfully to get a plane full of Christmas gifts to those being held in Vietnam. Later when the POWs were released, he hosted numerous parties at his ranch in Texas in their honor.  

Perot said he wants the statue to grab the attention of the 4,000 cadets. “This will be a big reminder to cadets of what an officer is supposed to be,” he said.                  

This note from Wes Schierman (with history from Mike McGrath) elaborates on the significance of the statue’s height: 

Faye & I returned yesterday from a very interesting & enjoyable weekend in Colorado Springs.  We were there to attend the dedication of a statue of B.Gen. Robinson Risner, at the Air Force Academy.  The statue was sponsored by Ross Perot, & as usual, Ross doesn’t do anything in a small way!   The statue of Gen. Risner is 9 ft tall, standing on a 5 ft high base, placed in the AF Academy’s “Air Garden” Central Plaza.  The  9 foot number has some significance.  Think you might enjoy hearing “the rest of the story”!

In early Dec. of 1970 shortly after most of the POWs were moved back to Hanoi & placed in 40-50 man rooms, the POWs advised the Vietnamese several times that we wanted to have a “Church Service” on Sundays. The “V”, as usual said no.  The POWs in room 7 decided it was important enough to them to “push the system”.   They began the service, but before too long, armed guards rushed in to break up the “ominous” unauthorized meeting.  Ringleaders Risner, Coker, & Rutledge were led out of the room for more “Heartbreak Hotel” solitary confinement, and lots of punishment.  Bud Day jumped up on his bed & began to sing “The National Anthem”. Soon the entire room burst into song.  Then room 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, & 1 joined in.  Next came “God Bless America”.  These songs of pride & defiance were loud enough to be heard well outside the 15 ft walls of the “Hanoi Hilton”.  As Robbie marched out of the door, his back straightened with pride.  He held his head high!  Robbie, when later asked his thoughts as his roommates burst out in song, stated “I felt like I was nine feet tall, & could go bear hunting with a switch”!

The guards protested, but the songs continued.  Shortly thereafter, Vietnamese troops, with fixed bayonets, entered the rooms in force, backed the POWs against the wall, & the singing stopped.   The camp, as yet unnamed, from that time on became known as “Camp Unity”!  The V later hauled out some other POWs from the various rooms to be punished, but shortly thereafter they backed off, & we were eventually holding room-size church services, complete with choirs. (and some sounded very good!).

Bud Day, (the principal speaker at the dedication), told the audience that in our eyes, “Robbie Risner” is 9 ft tall, & stated that “this is a life size statue”!  Those members of that room 7 attending the dedication, in memory of the occasion, sang “The Star Spangled Banner. And now you know “the rest of the story”.

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