On This Day in History / November 17, 2023 1967 Operation EAGLE THRUST. Through 29 December, MAC used 413 C-141 and C-130 sorties to complete the longest distance airlift of combat troops from the US to a war zone to date. The planes moved 10,356 men of the 101st Airborne Division and nearly 5,118 tons of equipment, including 32 helicopters, between Fort Campbell and Bien Hoa, Vietnam.