The Air Force in the Vietnam War - Air Force Association

Airmen in southeast asia
A
large portion of the force—airmen
on the ground as well as aircrews—rotated
through Southeast Asia
during the Vietnam War years. A small
presence of assistance and advisory personnel
grew sharply after the Air Force
moved into Southeast Asia in force in
1964. The numbers peaked in 1968,
with 58,434 Air Force people in South
Vietnam and 35,791 in Thailand.
The standard tour was one year, except
for aircrews in the Rolling Thunder
phase of the war, who rotated back to
the states after 100 missions over North
Vietnam. Many of them volunteered for
another tour in Southeast Asia.
There were 12 principal US air bases in
South Vietnam, seven in Thailand. The
larger ones housed the same functions
as a base back home, plus a few that
were unique to the war zone. The support
force included security policemen
patrolling the perimeter with sentry
dogs, bomb loaders, RED HORSE engineers,
intelligence analysts, aerial port
managers, mechanics, communications
specialists, supply troops, and administrative
and personnel people. Medical
care ranged from a 200-bed military
hospital at Cam Ranh Bay to small dispensaries
in remote locations, operating
out of prefabricated structures
There were a few civil servants and
contractor tech reps in theater, as well as
numerous Air Force Reservists and Air
National Guardsmen. The Air National
Guard, for example, flew 30,000 sorties
in Vietnam, amassing 50,000 combat
hours. The Southeast Asia team also
drew on people and assets based in such
locations as Guam, Taiwan, Okinawa,
and the Philippines.
Total Air Force casualties in the Vietnam
War included 2,589 killed and 568
missing in action and prisoners of war.
Of the missing and POWs, 368 were
eventually returned.
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