The DedicationWe were from eighteen to fifty-one years old and called forty-one states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico our home. Our Pilots, Navigators and Flight Engineers had the added privelege of stopping along the way as such resort areas as Fairchild, Hurlburt, England, and Clark for a series of fun and games which taught them, among other things, that all black boxes are not designed by electrical engineers and that all one needs to know to fly in Viet Nam is how to make assault landings. Our flying experience varied considerably. One of the "Old Guys" flew with the RAF in the early days of World War II and most of us earned our wings between 1942 and 1966. As the year went by and the old timers, who flew the birds over from the States, began to really believe their DEROS, others came to take thier places. In August our first brand new Lieutenant Navigators, six in number, arrived fresh from flying school. In December out first Lieutenant Pilot type arrived. By the end of March the number of Lieutenants had grown to twenty-seven -- eighteen Pilots and nine Navigators all of whom finished flight training between June and December 1967. And then there were all those Captains, Majors and especially the excess Lt. Colonels!! Who was it who stated that there are no men over forty-five flying combat missions in Viet Nam? Perhaps is was said before our group of twenty some oldsters left home. Here we were! The men of the 361st. All ages, with a mryiad of background experience and a wealth of talent in each man from the youngest to the oldest. We shared many new experiences -- some amusing anothers not so funny. We gripped about a lot of things, but we also found satisfaction and pride in a job well done. However, the most important part of the 361st wasn't at Nha Trang. It was spread throughout forty-two states and two foreign countries where our families waited. Wives, children, mothers and girl friends who sent us thousands of letters and tapes plus lots of other things to make our lives more pleasant. They were always in out thoughts. We didn't like being away but we knew that perhaps it was an even longer year for them. To show our love and our appreciation we ... dedicate this book to THE LADIES OF THE 361st.
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