Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

Rick Hilton | 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing - Air Force

2:44   |   With hundreds of missions over two tours in Vietnam, fighter pilot Rick Hilton was awarded a nice collection of medals and commendations. It may have been even shinier except the new smart bomb technology he was deploying on his second tour caused some to think it was now too easy.

More From Rick Hilton

Keywords   :     Rick Hilton    fighter pilot    Vietnam    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)    surface-to-air missile (SAM)    Haiphong    Doumer Bridge    Thanh Hoa    Silver Star    Hoa Loc    Air Medal

Videos ( 11 )
Vietnam
Cold War
  • Rick Hilton  |  Cold War  |  Multiple Units  |  5:43

    He was only four years old when Rick Hilton's uncle let him "fly" his airplane. The kid couldn't reach all the controls but he did get a deep desire to fly. He got his chance in college with the Air Force cadet program and was soon piloting jet fighters.

  • Rick Hilton  |  Cold War  |  Multiple Units  |  4:21

    When an alert was sounded, the procedure for fighter pilot Rick Hilton was to get his aircraft fueled and wait at the end of the runway with a live nuclear weapon on board. Someone thought this was a little too much power for a fighter jock so the procedure was changed to include blocking the taxiway with a fuel truck. Then a real alert came in.

  • Rick Hilton  |  Cold War  |  Multiple Units  |  3:38

    Fighter pilot Rick Hilton was scrambled and sent aloft from his base in New Mexico for possible strikes in Cuba during the missile crisis. He was amazed when he contacted the FAA for flight clearance. No low priority this time.

  • Rick Hilton  |  Cold War  |  Multiple Units  |  4:00

    The second homecoming from Vietnam wasn't as bad as the first for Rick Hilton. The war was basically over and he settled into an Air Force career. Eventually retiring out of the Pentagon, he had another career waiting at Hughes Aircraft.

Showing : Vietnam Videos
 1 2 3 >  Last › | Showing 30 / 2,780

Our Sponsors

SpendHQInsight Sourcing  Group

Our Partners