Larry Chesley awards, approximately 1955-2003

Series — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSS 9060 Series 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Materials contain various awards from universities and government departments given to Larry Chesley, such as Arizona State University and miscellaneous pilot trainings (ROTC, etc). Materials also contain books about Vietnam prisoners of war and Chesley's personal published work, "Seven Years in Hanoi." Dated approximately 1955-2003.

Dates

Creation: approximately 1955-2003

Creator

Chesley, Larry, 1938- (creator, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from the Larry Chesley papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Coordinating Committee.

Biographical History

From the Collection:

Larry Chesley (1938-) was an Air Force pilot in the Vietnam War, and was a POW for seven years.

Larry Chesley was born on September 27, 1938 in Burley, Idaho, to parents Verl Russel Chesley and Susie Baugh Chesley. He graduated from Burley High School in 1956, and directly joined the United States Air Force. During his service, he was deployed in California, Japan, and Germany. He married JoDene Neilson in October 1960, and they later divorced. He graduated with honors from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, and then went back to the Air Force officer training school, graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG). On April 16, 1966, he was shot down over North Vietnam, where he stayed as a prisoner of war for nearly 7 years. He was returned home on February 12, 1973, and went on to marry Alice Annette Huntsman on June 19, 1973, in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple. He went to Arizona State University to receive a master's degree in business, and spent a lot of his time giving religious firesides, talks, and lectures about his POW experience all over the country. In 1981, his wife and young son died in a car accident. He retired from the Air Force in 1982, and then served in public office, being elected as Arizona State Senator from 1992 to 1996. He continued to be active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.