San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
S.A. house a reminder of military hero’s sacrifice
One thousand, nine hundred sixtysix days, that’s how long Lt. Gen. John P. Flynn spent as a prisoner of war in the “Hanoi Hilton” in Vietnam. Flynn was taken prisoner Oct. 27, 1967, after his
F-105 Thurderchief was shot down, forcing himto eject over Hanoi. Flynn, who also served in World War II and Korea, was the highest-ranking POW held by the North Vietnamese. He was imprisoned until
March 14, 1973, and was among the more than 500 American POWs released during Operation Homecoming. The repatriation, which took place from February through March of 1973, was a condition of the
Paris Peace Accords that ended the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. According to a Stars and Stripes article published on March 16, 1973, Air Force Col. John P. Flynn and Lt. Cmdr. John S. McCain III, were on the second plane of POWs to arrive at Clark
Air Base in the Philippines that day from Gia Lam Airport outside Hanoi. Flynn, who got off first and spoke for the others, thanked his president, his country and the American people for “the efforts and lives that were expended in our behalf.”
In 1974, Flynn became Commander of the Air Force Military Training Center at Lackland Air Force Base. He retired from the Air Force in 1978.
”Welcome to the House that Jack Built”
The house at 2627 Country Hollow St. in San Antonio’s Northwood subdivision has a special plaque mounted next to the front door. At the top, it reads: “THISWAS THEWAY I PRESERVED MY SANITY.” While he was held captive in Vietnam, Flynn envisioned the design for what became this two-story, 3,078 square-foot house. The house was built in 1981. Flynn and his wife, Mary Margaret, spent many years there before they moved to a local retirement residence. Over the years, the house has had several owners; it is now vacant. The current owner, Dr. Kathleen Glash Sawyer recently moved out. When she and her late husband, retired Colonel James Robert Sawyer, bought the house in 2012, she knew about the plaque and learned about Flynn from neighbors. Her husband, who died in 2018, served two tours in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot. Sawyer said her husband saw a lot of the files of the POWs, and a lot of themshowed everyone had a different way of dealing with the trauma. “General Flynn’s way of dealing with the trauma in the moment was to go off mentally in his head and design his dream house,” she said. Sawyer said the house was very thoughtfully designed with multiple skylights and floorto-ceiling windows throughout that make you feel like you’re outdoors even when inside. “It’s very safe, but it’s very open,” she said. “I found it was just a very healing place to be.” Sawyer, who moved out of the house in September, found another plaque dedicated to Flynn in the attic. She hopes to return it to his family. She put the house on the market for a couple of months but decided to rent it out instead.
Chad and Sherry Muller owned the house before Sawyer. They learned its history when they purchased it in 2000. The couple said when they sold it in 2012, they left Flynn’s original plans. “The interesting thing about the house is that there’s no room that doesn’t have an exit to the outside,” said SherryMuller. She was fond of the home’s horseshoe-shaped layout and said it was like living outdoors. “You kind of got a sense of his wanting to have access to the outside,” she said. “It was really sort of like living in a treehouse.”
Ann and Charles Smith lived across the street from the Flynns for several years and would visit them from time to time. “He was a nice person; he was a hero in our eyes,” said Charles Smith. The Smiths, who lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, recently sold their house. They watched several families come and go from the house designed by General Flynn. “They all were proud of the house and its heritage,” he said.
For those interested in touring the house, REALTOR® Sue Rodarte with Phyllis Browning Company will open the home from 3 to 5 p.m. on Veterans Day. Visitors are asked to wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines.