This was a follow-up story on Maj. Joseph Small III, a Gulf War POW who went on to a career flying commercial airliners.

"'It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid,” Small said, recalling his days in 1975 when he flew a single-engine Piper Cherokee at Sylvania Airport in Yorkville, Wis.

At 47, the retired major’s fit looks betray his age. Wearing a tweed jacket and sport shirt during his campus visit, Small now wears a mustache with just a hint of grey. The only clue to his past are the “Former POW” plates on his minivan. He speaks comfortably of his days as a POW and his transformation to a civilian employee.

“It was an overwhelming experience at the time and for a couple years after,” Small said of the Gulf War. “I’ve gotten on with my life.”

– View the magazine issue