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March/April 2024 -   -  
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In this issue:

AIR-TO-AIR-TO-AIR:  The story of the history-making first tri-level aerial refueling operation, which took place on May 31, 1967, in the skies over the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. Retired USAF Lt. Col. Hank Zeybel, who served two Vietnam War tours, recounts the unlikely tale of how the risky maneuver came about—and the unexpected consequences for the pilots and their crews.    [On the cover]



POW/MIA Closure: Northern Utah Chapter 1079 member James Dooley, a retired Air Force colonel, has worn POW/MIA bracelets for nearly 20 years in honor of Marine Captains Ralph Chipman and Wayne Forrester. Last year, Chipman and Forrester’s remains were identified, marking a poignant closure for Dooley—and for Chipman and Forrester’s Vietnam War comrades and families.                        


BIG MEETING IN PUERTO RICO:   In January, more than 240 veterans and representatives from VSOs from across Puerto Rico gathered to take part in a day-long event that VVA organized at Ft. Buchanan. The chair of the VA Board of Veterans’ Appeals attended and promised to keep making progress on the backlog of the Board’s appeals cases. Here’s VVA Communications Department Director Mokie Porter’s report.  


PROGRESS REPORT:  We sent Contributing Writer Paul Rogers to Los Angeles to provide an update on what progress has been made — and what hasn’t — at the controversial West LA VA campus. He found widespread new construction and renovations at the vast VA complex, but also that much more needs to be done.  



Departments:

President’s Message | Letters | Government Affairs | Vice President’s Report | Treasurer’s Report | AVVA Report | Committee Reports | Directors’ Reports | Books In Review | Membership Notes | 50 Years Ago | Locator | Reunions | Taps | Speak Out  


New VVA Life Members



Parting ShotParting Shot



Tupelo

 

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Geoffrey Clifford Mark F. Erickson Chuck Forsman