Piloting a USAF HH-3 Jolly Green Giant helicopter, Capt. John J. Walters and his crew rescue 61 passengers and crewmen from the burning Dutch luxury liner Prinsendam in the Pacific Ocean, hoisting and airlifting them from lifeboats to a supertanker. Walters receives the Mackay Trophy.
A record investment in research and development by the Department of the Air Force will help the United States win the long-term technology race with China, even while shrinking the fleet size before a possible mid-decade Taiwan contingency, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 17. “With the Air Force,…