Retired Lt. Col. Bill Buice Watches His Aircraft’s Legacy Take Flight

On April 3, the United States Air Force brought retired Lt. Col. Bill Buice out to Florida’s Hurlburt Field for a touching visit with the aircraft he piloted in the Vietnam War and the man who saved his life. Buice flew the A-1 Skyraider in 1967 and 1968 until he was shot down.

The former Skyraider pilot, callsign “Firefly 16,” jumped into the Vietnam War effort in June 1967. Just over a year later, on July 9, 1968, he was flying alongside his wingman and providing cover for several US helicopters over northern Laos. The formation was nearing the Vietnam border when Buice looked outside and noticed a fire on his aircraft’s left wing.

He immediately extinguished the fire by dumping the hydraulic system pressure, but damage had already been done. The wing had a massive hole that only continued to grow. With no way to continue flying, Buice entered a climbing turn and began looking for a place to land. He then decided it was time to pull the ejection handle. Though he made it to the ground alive, his right arm was badly injured, and he had no support.

That’s when an Air America helicopter, operated by the CIA, arrived and sent down a pilot to get Lt. Col. Buice. However, the weight of them together proved to be too much. The rescuer volunteered to stay on the ground and wait for another chopper. In the meantime, Buice was airlifted to Udorn Royal Thai AFB to get treated for an injury that ultimately ended his USAF career.

Now, as a 98-year-old, retired Lt. Col. Bill Buice got to see the Skyraider’s legacy in action with the USAF’s new OA-1K Skyraider II. This is a modern, single-engine turboprop aircraft developed by L3Harris and Air Tractor for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and light attack.

Next to him at the ceremony was Phillip Jennings, the man who had saved Buice after he was shot down. The pair have only reunited a few times in the nearly 60 years since they first met.

“I knew from the moment I watched him get shot down that we would have to go get him,” Jennings recalled. “I’m elated to be able to be here to see him be recognized and honored. He was the real hero that day, saving the Air America helicopters from landing in the deadly gunfire that shot his A-1 down."

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