24 September 1965 – Major Martin W. Barbena is on a mission over SVN when his aircraft, F-100 #562923 is hit by gunfire. Barbena ejects and his parachute gets tangled in a group of 20′ trees. He is rescued uninjured by an HH-43F Helicopter nicknamed “Pedro” piloted by A1C Bill Pitsenbarger. The Helo hovered over the trees and pulled Martin into the chopper.
Today in History – April 23, 1966 – Discrepancy in reports of MiG fighters in Vietnam
23 April 1966 – The Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF) sent its first MiG-21 to intercept two B-66 Destroyers being escorted to their mission by a flight of F-4 Phantoms. (2) Neither side scored a kill in the engagement. However, also on April 23, 1966, large numbers of MiG encounters in the area had been