157th Air Refueling Wing - History - Airlift Mission - Vietnam War

Vietnam War

By March 1966, the 157th began regular logistical support for the burgeoning American forces in South Vietnam. During the next five years, 157th aircrews averaged two flights a month to Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Cam Ranh Air Base, and Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam, as well as to other USAF-controlled bases in Southeast Asia, transporting air freight and military personnel on globe-circling trips which took Guardsmen away from their homes and jobs for 10- to 20- day periods. Each mission from New Hampshire to South Vietnam could become an air marathon of sorts. During one flight, the trip lasted almost 11 days, as the 133d flew from Pease AFB to Dover AFB, Delaware, where cargo was loaded. Next it was on to the West Coast, then Hawaii, Wake Island, Guam, the Philippines, and finally, South Vietnam. To help exhausted combat troops get their R&R, the Air National Guard, including the 157th, flew more than 110,000 military personnel throughout the U.S. and overseas. In the 1,352 "Combat Leave" missions logged, approximately 38,300 military personnel were transported from Southeast Asia to the states and back again.

In December 1967, the 157th again changed aircraft, exchanging its C-97 Stratofreighters for the larger and slower C-124C Globemaster II. The C-124 had been the cargo workhorse of the Air Force since the Korean War. The first of the C-124s arrived on 9 February 1968. By late fall, the ninth and last Globemaster touched down and crew transitioning was well underway. By September 1969 the Group had retrained its pilots to the new aircraft and completed its first Operational Readiness Inspection as a C-124 unit, qualifying to resume global airlift support.

The 157th hauled much large "out-size" cargo such as trucks, military vehicles, and missile components. It also carried troops and cargo that didn't require the speedy capability of MAC's all-jet C-141 Starlifter and C-5A Galaxy airlift fleet. Although two and three-day flights within the U.S. were common, the 157th's overseas commitment was growing. In 1969 the unit transported more than 1,000 tons of cargo and 2,000 passengers, its aircrews logging 5,236 hours on 44 overseas missions to Vietnam, England, France, West Germany, Greece, Japan, Portugal, Newfoundland, Puerto Rico, and Taiwan.