Toney Hanson ran away from home and ended up saving pilot’s life in North Vietnam

Ron Colquitt / For The Outlook

Retired Air Force Col. Robert Stone, left, and his friend Toney Hanson are seen during a recent visit at Stone’s home on Lake Martin. Hanson was in the Navy when he rescued Stone, who was shot down in North Vietnam in 1967.

Editor’s note: This is the final story in a three-part series about a reunion between retired U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Stone of Alexander City and the Navy man who rescued him from a jungle in Vietnam after getting shot down.

By RON COLQUITT