Image of the Air Force wings with the museum name underneath

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Lt. Col. Jerald Ransom: First 100 North Vietnam A-1 Missions

In November 1966, Lt. Col. Jerald Ransom became the first A-1E Skyraider pilot to complete 100 missions over North Vietnam. Ransom was a veteran of World War II, flying 35 missions over Europe as a B-17 navigator. In 1966, as commander of the 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando), Ransom flew 366 hours over North Vietnam, and his A-1E was hit by enemy fire seven times. With his later tour as deputy commander of the 56th Special Operations Wing, Ransom flew a total of 326 combat missions in Southeast Asia.

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