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  • From Out of The Fire: Captain Gerald Young

    In the pre-dawn hours on November 8, 1967, two Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giants from the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron were mobilized to rescue the survivors of a US Army reconnaissance team trapped inside Laos. Two helicopters had already been shot down while trying to recover the

  • Search and Rescue in Southeast Asia (SAR in SEA)

    The museum's newest permanent exhibit is now open in the Southeast Asia Gallery. "That Others May Live" tells the story of Search and Rescue operations during the wars in Southeast Asia.Global Peacetime TransitionARS Enters Southeast AsiaA Call for UnificationRescue Specialist Pararescue in

  • PRAIRIE FIRE Mission

    A top-secret joint special operations unit called the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observation Group (SOG) conducted unconventional missions in Southeast Asia.One such operation called for US Army Green Beret SOG teams to be inserted via helicopter into Laos to observe and

  • Uncommon Valor: Major Bernard Fisher

    On March 10, 1966, Major Bernard Fisher took off in an A-1E Skyraider from Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam. Instead of his normal mission, he was diverted to a US Special Forces camp in the A Shau Valley which was under heavy attack by 2,000 North Vietnamese troops.Arriving over the valley, Maj

  • Douglas A-1E Skyraider

    The A-1E on display (serial number 52-132649) is the aircraft flown by Major Bernard Fisher on March 10, 1966, a mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He rescued a fellow pilot shot down over South Vietnam by landing in enemy territory under heavy fire and flying him to safety. This

  • Search and Rescue Legacy

    Today’s search and rescue tactics, techniques, and procedures are rooted in harsh experiences and lessons learned during the war in Southeast Asia.The ability to quickly control the airspace above and below a downed aircrew, while protecting them from enemy threats, contributed to the overall

  • Four Sandys, Two Pedros, and a Crown

    The formation of a SAR Task Force (SARTF) became the basic rescue element for recovering downed aircrew in Southeast Asia.A standard SARTF package included four A-1 Skyraiders, two rescue helicopters, and an HC-130P Combat King.When a rescue mission occurred, four A-1 Skyraiders, using the call sign

  • The Men, The Mission: Rescue Units of the War

    US Air Force rescue units in Southeast Asia belonged to the 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group (ARRG). Comprised of five Aerospace Rescue and Recovery (ARR) squadrons, with occasional augmentation from other rescue units in the Pacific, they were responsible for all US search and recovery

  • Chariots of the Rescue Service

    In the early 1960s the standard USAF rescue helicopter was the light-lift Kaman HH-43B Huskie, used mainly for local base rescue. As hostilities increased in SEA in June 1964, two HH-43Bs deployed to Thailand for rescue support. However, early missions demonstrated that the current helicopters were