I arrived at Udorn RTAFB in early May, 1967, to fly A-1E and A1-H Skyraider with the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando). I was to fly 247 combat missions during three consecutive tours and participated in the rescue of 18 aircrew members. On May 31, 1968, going for number 19, I was shot down on a Search and Rescue effort for a Navy A-7 (Streetcar 304) flown by Kenny Fields. I ejected and, once safely on the ground, I got in a gun fight with three NVA soldiers. I shot one for sure3 AKs vs. one 357 seemed like a fair fight to me. I had them outnumbered! I got away and, after running most of the night, I climbed up a tree and hid there.
Former POW Wallace Newcomb recounts his Vietnam War experience
Wallace (Moe) Newcomb, a former U.S. Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War, was 27-years-old when he was deployed from his base in Thailand to strike a North Vietnemese railroad yard during the height of the conflict in 1967. While over the skies of North Vietnam, Newcomb’s F-105 fighter-bomber was heavily
