A Project of the Coast Guard Aviation Association

Coast Guard Aviation in Vietnam

Combat Rescue and Recovery

This is the story of those Coast Guard aviators who flew as part of the U.S. Air Force Combat Rescue Forces during the Vietnamese Conflict. The men who wrote this virtually unknown chapter of Coast Guard aviation history exemplified the highest traditions of Coast Guard Aviation and the United States Coast Guard.

Rittichier Mixon

General Howell M. Estes, Jr., USAF, Commander, Military Airlift Command made the following statement about them. “I am personally aware of the distinguished record achieved by the pilots flying in combat with our Jolly Greens. They have flown many difficult and challenging missions and have consistently demonstrated their unreserved adherence to both our mottoes, — Always Ready and That Others May Live -They are indelibly inscribed in the permanent records of the stirring and moving drama of combat air crew recovery in Southeast Asia.”

Historical Narratives