Col. Kenneth Cordier, who served as a Vietnam fighter pilot and endured more than six years as a POW, died June 18 at age 87.
The 555th “Triple Nickel” Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base scored 39 MiG kills during the Vietnam War—and six of those kills were credited to one pilot. Retired Col. Charles “Chuck” DeBellevue flew nearly 100 combat missions in 1972, becoming ...
st Lt. Lee Ellis’ F-4C Phantom was shot down on his 53rd bombing mission over North Vietnam. Captured immediately on Nov. 7, 1967, he was take to the notorious Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi, where he stayed for the next five and a half years. ...
The AFA Warfare Symposium kicked off March 6 with three storied heroes of the Vietnam War. This is the first in a three-part series on their talks. Lt. Col. Gene Smith (Ret.). Smith joined the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at...
Col. John Gallemore, Director SECAF-CSAF Strategic Execution Group, moderated a session on “Lessons from Vietnam: 50 Years Later” to kick off the AFA Warfare Symposium on March 6, 2023. The panel featured three heroes from the Vietnam War: Col. Charles B. DeBellevue,...
It took two years, but Maj. Matthew J. “Eraser” Riley, an F-35 pilot, finally received the Anthony C. Shine Award recognizing his combat prowess as a member of the 34th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Delayed as a result of ...
The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2022 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference from Sept. 19 to 21 in National Harbor, Md. Air & Space Forces Magazine has highlighted one each weekday through today, when we ...
Howard C. “Scrappy” Johnson, a Collier Trophy winner and founder of the Red River Valley Pilots Association—also known as the “River Rats”—died Dec. 9, 2020, at age 100. Johnson flew hundreds of combat missions in Korea and Vietnam. He also served in World War II.
Gen. Thomas S. Moorman Jr., who developed and led a sizable portion of the Air Force's space organizations and capabilities, died June 17 at age 79. Moorman played a “pivotal role” in Air Force and defense space, laying the foundation for Space Force, said the ...
Although the Air Force is slated to send a cohort of 60 recruits to Keesler AFB, Miss., for Basic Military Training as early as April 7, the new coronavirus pandemic wasn't the first outbreak to prompt USAF to hold BMT outside of Lackland Air Force ...
F. Clifton Berry Jr., former editor-in-chief of Air Force Magazine, as well as several other prominent defense journals, died March 13 at the age of 88. Berry, who received a bronze star for actions under fire in Vietnam, wrote or co-authored 11 books about U.S. ...
President Donald Trump honored Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee during his State of the Union address on Feb. 4, hours after pinning stars on McGee's shoulders in the Oval Office. Throughout his career, McGee flew a record 409 combat missions, more than any other pilot in ...