One of the things I regret not doing with my Dad's before he passed away last year was sitting down and going through his images with him. So, I'm now having to go through a large number of his slides and trying to figure out the "who, what, when, where and why" of each one. Some are fairly simple as they're labeled or I recognize the scene. Some aren't so simple, for instance the two images you see in this post. Here's what I do know. My Dad was in the US Air Force and served in the photo lab as a Precision Photo Processing Specialist (DAFSC 23450) and making the trek to SE Asia for an assignment to U Tapao Royal Thai Air Base in 1966-67. I know he travelled throughout the region and was at numerous airfields. Here's what else I know. The aicraft pictured below is a Douglas A-1E Skyraider. The tailcode is 132649. I couldn't tell from the two slides what exactly had happened to it other than it had seen better days.
So, I peered into my crystal ball (it's shaped like a computer monitor) and was able to find out something remarkable: Aircraft 52-132649 was procured at the cost of $414,000 and was a modified AD-5, configured for multiple passengers. It was flown by one Maj. Bernard Fisher on 10 March 1966 as he helped in the rescue of a fellow pilot and, as a result of his actions, was awarded the Medal of Honor. His citation of quoted below:
"FISHER, BERNARD FRANCIS Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Air Force, 1st Air Commandos. Place and date: Bien Hoa and Pleiku, Vietnam, 10 March 1966. Entered service at: Kuna, Idaho. Born: 11 January 1927, San Bernardino, Calif. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On that date, the special forces camp at A Shau was under attack by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army regulars. Hostile troops had positioned themselves between the airstrip and the camp. Other hostile troops had surrounded the camp and were continuously raking it with automatic weapons fire from the surrounding hills. The tops of the 1,500-foot hills were obscured by an 800 foot ceiling, limiting aircraft maneuverability and forcing pilots to operate within range of hostile gun positions, which often were able to fire down on the attacking aircraft. During the battle, Maj. Fisher observed a fellow airman crash land on the battle-torn airstrip. In the belief that the downed pilot was seriously injured and in imminent danger of capture, Maj. Fisher announced his intention to land on the airstrip to effect a rescue. Although aware of the extreme danger and likely failure of such an attempt, he elected to continue. Directing his own air cover, he landed his aircraft and taxied almost the full length of the runway, which was littered with battle debris and parts of an exploded aircraft. While effecting a successful rescue of the downed pilot, heavy ground fire was observed, with 19 bullets striking his aircraft. In the face of the withering ground fire, he applied power and gained enough speed to lift-off at the overrun of the airstrip. Maj. Fisher's profound concern for his fellow airman, and at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country."
Wow. Who needs made-up movies when you could spend hours reading about ordinary people doing things like this? Now I don't know how long after this event that the Skyraider ended up in the condition recorded in my Dad's slides, but I did find out one more thing. This aircraft is on display, fully restored, at the US Air Force's Museum of Flight at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. I also happened to take a photo of it on a recent visit to the States and today, well these little pieces of history came together in my home office in rural England.
Thank you, my square crystal ball, thank you.
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