You’ve probably never heard of Captain Wilson Denver Key, USN, or of his passing a few days ago.   Captain Key was the brother of Bermuda Village resident Ann Key Blevins and the uncle of Bermuda Run West resident Leigh Ann Joyce.  He was a genuine hero of the Vietnam War, and we should all be grateful that our country produces such people.  Denver grew up in Wilkes County and was an academic standout at West Wilkes High School.  His sparkling scholastic achievements won him admission to the Naval ROTC program at UCLA.  From there, he moved on to the US Naval Academy, graduating in 1963 and becoming a pilot shortly thereafter.

Assigned to Attack Squadron 34 aboard the USS Intrepid, Denver was nearing the end of his tour when he volunteered for a mission to attack North Vietnamese surface-to-air (SAM) missile sites.  Having attacked the missile sites with rockets, Denver and his fellow pilots exited the target area but were under fire from other SAM sites.  Six miles south of Hanoi, Denver’s Douglas A4 aircraft took a direct hit from a missile, forcing him to eject from the damaged plane.   

Despite being only 800 feet off the ground, Denver got a “good” parachute and hit the ground running, but was quickly captured.  He spent the next 1,945 days as a POW in and around Hanoi. During this time, he was subjected to terrible physical and mental torture by the North Vietnamese in unsuccessful attempts to get military intelligence from him. So strong was his and the other prisoners’ resistance that the North Vietnamese eventually gave up using those methods.

Released in 1973 with 590 other Americans, Denver stayed in the Navy.  His awards for his service included a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, multiple Air Medals, the Legion of Merit with two stars, and the POW Medal.  He became a professor of physics at the Naval Academy and served as commanding officer of several Navy weapons programs.  He later became the Director of Mathematics and Science at the Naval Academy. He spoke very little about his time as a POW.  He did say that “other than being shot down, the most frightening experience for a fighter pilot is landing on an aircraft carrier at night.”

If you were around Denver, there was never any indication that he was anything other than a “regular guy.” You’d never know that he had flown many combat missions, been a prisoner for 5 ½  years, and wore a uniform covered with medals.  The next time you are in contact with someone new, remember what he or she might have done to serve our nation.  People like Wilson Denver Key – quiet heroes -are the reason we can feel safe when we go to bed tonight.