October 22, 1957
1957: FIRST CASUALTIES FROM VIETNAM. Eight US servicemen injured in an explosion in Saigon are evacuated to Clark Air Base for treatment at the 6208th USAF Hospital.
October 21, 1965
1965: Gen Curtis E. LeMay, former CSAF, receives the 1965 Collier Trophy, American aviation’s highest honor.
October 20, 1944
1944: RETURN TO THE PHILIPPINES. Southwest Pacific Area forces land unopposed at two points. Gen Douglas MacArthur, accompanied by President Sergio Osmena, lands in the 24th Infantry Division area and delivers his “I have returned”
October 19, 2020
1968: Maj William J. Knight receives the Harmon International Aviator’s Trophy for 1968 as the world’s outstanding pilot for flying X-15 No. 2 to 4,520 MPH (Mach 6.72).
October 16, 1972
1972: The USAF flies its A-7D Corsair II in combat for the first time. A-7s assigned to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing deployed from Myrtle Beach AFB to Korat AB, Thailand, six days
October 15, 2000
2000: MACKAY TROPHY/ATTACK ON THE USS COLE. Crews from the 75th Airlift Squadron and 86th Aeromedical Squadron receive the trophy for evacuating 28 survivors of a 12 October terrorist attack on the USS Cole in
October 14, 1981
1981: Tinker AFB deploys two E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft to Egypt to help preserve calm after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat.
October 13, 1972
1972: MACKAY TROPHY. F-4 weapon system officer Capt Jeffrey S. Feinstein shoots down his fifth MiG-21 to become the third and final USAF ace of the Vietnam War.
October 12, 1998
1998: The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, 403rd Wing (AFRC), at Keesler AFB receives the USAF’s first WC-130J Hercules aircraft.
October 9, 2001
2001: Operation EAGLE ASSIST. NATO deploys AWACS aircraft to the US to help patrol American airspace, a first deployment of NATO forces to the US in a real contingency.