NEW VIDEOS

Dennis Smith

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The brass were trying out some new things in Vietnam. Dennis Smith describes how they attempted to create instant landing zones with huge bombs. That didn't work so well but there was one area that new technology was making an important mark. That was in night vision. (3:47)

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Someone in Dennis Smith's squadron found a Vietnamese orphanage that was run by Buddhist nuns. Conditions were not good there and the men took it on themselves to supply it with baby formula. The money was becoming a drain on their paychecks but one day they captured a nine foot python. They didn't know it yet but that python would become the kids' meal ticket. (3:30)

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After his tour in Vietnam, Dennis Smith continued his Air Force career in Space Track. He served in Germany where an over-the-horizon system covered the entire Soviet Union. He was there during the Yom Kippur War which was nowhere near but which caused the highest level of alert. (4:08)

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It was 1990 and Dennis Smith had put in his retirement papers. That was when he learned about Stop-Loss. The general had one more job for him. (4:54)

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Dennis Smith recalls the return from Vietnam as being worse for the guys who were getting out of the service than it was for him. Nobody was getting a good reception but they were getting rudely treated by the military on their way out the door. (5:45)

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It took years but Dennis Smith finally became involved with veterans groups and causes. He noticed that veterans seemed to stick with those from the same war. He remembered something his dad told him that explained this. (7:48)

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Dennis Smith feels sure that the South Vietnamese service members he worked with during the war were executed after it was over. He feels badly about that but he did make a return trip there as a tourist and that had the effect of settling his mind. (5:28)

Jim Harding

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Hailing from rural Pennsylvania, Jim Harding was recruited to play football for Penn State. He signed up for ROTC and took his first ride on an airplane. He was hooked. After he graduated, he took an Air Force commission and entered flight school (5:11)

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As he made his way up the chain of aircraft in his training, Jim Harding was most satisfied flying a fighter, alone and in control. His talent at football allowed him to pick assignments because every Air Force Base wanted him for their team. He flew his first real missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and then he was tasked with developing Forward Air Control tactics for Vietnam. (4:29)

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In the early years of the Vietnam war, all air strikes were controlled from the ground. When Jim Harding came in as an Air Force Liaison Officer he realized right away this was a poor method. Determined to get the Forward Air Controllers up in the air, he began to explore options for aircraft, starting with the O-1. (6:15)