Back When (Willis Forby)

Air Force Capt. Willis E. Forby was forced to eject from his F105D Thunderchief after being hit by anti-aircraft fire on a bombing mission near Ha Tinh, North Vietnam. Forby’s wingman called for help and the 38th Air Rescue Squadron in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand responded. Helicopter pilot Capt. Thomas Curtis, co-pilot Duane Martin, para-rescue man Neil Black, and crew chief Bill Robinson boarded their Kaman HH-43B helicopter to rescue Forby.

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War Story: A Shau Meatgrinder (Isaako Malo)

If you’re a six-man reconnaissance team deep in enemy territory, everything has to go right. When it doesn’t, brave men die. This is a story about things going terribly wrong for a recon team of the 101st Airborne Division’s famed Lima Company Rangers. The mission began on 23rd April 1971,

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The Heroism of Charles G. Boyd

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Richard Bates, POW

On this date in 1973, the Viet Cong released First Lieutenant Richard Bates of the U.S. Air Force. While flying a mission nearly 6 months before, he was shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner. Bates was from Plaza, ND, and was 24 when he was captured.

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