Operation Arc Light

This included strikes at enemy bases, supply routes, and behind the lines troop concentrations, as well as occasionally providing close air support directly to ground combat operations in Vietnam.

[citation needed] Previously dedicated to carrying nuclear weapons, the U.S. Air Force began to train strategic bomber crews in 1964 to deliver conventional munitions flying the B-52F.

The B-52Fs were deployed to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in Thailand, southeast of Bangkok.

[2] During this mission two B-52Fs were lost in a mid-air collision on June 19, 1965,[3] while circling over the South Pacific Ocean, approximately 250 miles (400 km) offshore at the point of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), unable to conduct mid-air refueling in awaiting arrival of KC-135A tankers for pre-strike air refueling.

Arc Light was re-activated at Andersen on February 8, 1972, when President Richard Nixon resumed bombing of North Vietnam in an effort to move peace talks along.

According to Stephen Budiansky, "Despite NSA's occasional success in tightening up particularly leaky communication practices, the problems continued throughout the war.

[5] On September 21, 2010, President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to the sons of Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger for his actions in the battle of Lima Site 85.