Honoring Heroes

Honoring Heroes. That Others May Live. Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, who is memorialized with a statue in the Air Warrior Combat Memorial next to this display, holds a special place in the memories of some Vietnam War-era rescue crews. According to Jolly Green crew legend, when crews landed their helicopters at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base where then-Col. Olds was wing commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, they were greeted with an actual red carpet. Col. Olds personally greeted the crews as they exited the aircraft and challenged his pilots to make sure the rescue crews did not buy their own drinks at the club., Many stories of gratitude come from those who were rescued after being shot down. Fighter pilot Leonard "Lucky" Ekman, a 1963 graduate of the Air Force Academy, flew another 150 missions in Vietnam after being rescued, and he continued into a lifetime of public and private service., He has stated that all of the years and milestones after his rescue, "including my bride and four great kids, have all been due to braver men than I who dared to go way north to fish me out of the jungle. I'll forever honor their service.", During the Vietnam War, Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service crews saved 4,120 people, 2,780 of them in combat situations.