DALLAS — Last year, at an event held to honor him and other local veterans, Col. Kenneth Cordier put into words just how he looked back at his time in service.
"All of us who served in Vietnam were vulnerable," Cordier said that day. "I was just one of the unlucky few that got caught."
Unlucky, indeed. Unlucky for more than six years of his life. That's how long he spent, resilient, as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Resiliency colored the rest of his life, too, as a North Texas transplant who wholly devoted himself to military and community service.
That's the man who was honored Friday morning at DFW National Cemetery.
Cordier passed away last month at his Plano home at the age of 87. On Friday, in a tribute that included a fly-over and missing man formation by F-35's that came all the way from Luke Air Force Base in Maricopa County, Arizona, Cordier's friends and family honored his remarkable life.
"He lived a most exceptional life," said Lt. Col. Jerry Singleton, an Air Force Chaplain and also a Vietnam War POW, who delivered the eulogy Friday morning next to Cordier's flag-draped casket that fellow veterans would later cover in white carnations.
Cordier, who originally trained as a Missile Launch Officer in 1961, was awarded his pilot wings in 1964 and was soon flying F-4 Phantom II's. His 176th mission in Vietnam ended with a direct hit from a surface-to-air missile. He was captured and spent 2,284 days as a Prisoner of War. Or, as he told us in that interview last year, "six years, three months, and two days."
"It was fast, and he was a fighter pilot, and he loved it," said Singleton of Cordier's love of flying in the service.
After his release from captivity in March of 1973, Cordier went on to serve as air attaché to the United Kingdom, based at the U.S. Embassy in London from 1982 until his retirement from the Air Force on January 31, 1985. After his retirement, he represented British Aerospace in Washington, D.C., as its Director of Military Aircraft. Cordier also served as President of NAM-POWs and the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association. He was a past Commander of the Dallas Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars. He was a Charter Member of the Dallas Veterans Day Parade, serving as Grand Marshall twice.
"They didn't hang their heads low and complain about the bitter fate that they endured for seven, eight or up to nine years," said Air Force Col. Bruce Cox of Cordier and other POWs. "They got on with life and continued to serve their country."
Air Force veteran John Yuill, who also spent three years as a Vietnam War POW, said his life was directly inspired by Cordier's post-war drive.
"Ken is a good example, [he] set a good example for the rest of us," Yuill said. "[He was] a special man."
Retired Navy Capt. John Michael McGrath knew exactly what Cordier experienced in Vietnam. For most of those six years Cordier spent imprisoned during the war, McGrath was his cellmate.
"We didn't see an egg or an ice cube for six years," McGrath said, recalling how the two were only children at the time, and how they considered each other as brothers over the course of the lifelong friendship they shared after their release. "God bless you, Ken. Goodnight. Some day we'll be together again."
Presiding over a farewell with full military honors including Taps and a 21-gun salute, Singleton offered one more final tribute for his friend and fellow POW before the ceremony concluded. He began tapping on the side of Cordier's coffin in the same secret code they used to use while imprisoned in Vietnam.
"That was our shorthand for 'Goodnight, God Bless You,'" Singleton said, tapping the code for the letters G-N-G-B-U. "And they meant it."
Those in attendance Friday hope a grateful nation continues to deliver every hero like Cordier a deserved and heartfelt goodnight, God bless you and goodbye.
A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. In lieu of flowers, the Cordier family asks that donations be made to Roaring Lambs Ministries, 17110 Dallas Parkway, Suite 260 Dallas, TX 75248 or online at this link.