BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — Retired U.S. Air Force Col. John Clark, a six-year prisoner of war in North Vietnam who lives in Columbia, Missouri, will be recognized during a reception in his honor at 4 p.m. Friday at the Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield.

"The Museum urges all citizens of Sikeston to try to attend this reception to thank Col. Clark for his great service and sacrifice for our nation," said Blair Moran, a Sikeston, Missouri, veteran who is also a life member of Sikeston American Legion Post 114.

April marks the beginning of the 50th year since the last of the American prisoners of war returned home following the North Vietnamese release.

In 1967, while on a combat operation over North Vietnam, Clark's plane was shot down by the North Vietnamese, and for the next 2,172 days, he was held captive in North Vietnam.

"The torture and harassment he had to endure during that period is hard for many Americans to comprehend," Moran said. "This included a great deal of torture and days of isolation being placed in solitary confinement. Existing on food that most Americans would not even feed their pet dog along with having the poorest of medical care and dental hygiene nonexistent."

Clark, who served in the Air Force from 1962 to 1992, is a highly decorated combat aviator of the Vietnam War, being the recipient of the Silver Star for Valor, two Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit and the Air Medal.