"United States Air Force Heroes is the most comprehensive compilation of Army Air Service, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force heroes ever published. It contains the citations for all Medals of Honor awarded to Army/Air Force Airmen, a complete listing of Army Air Forces recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross and citations for all members of the U.S. Air Force awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross. It includes hundreds of citations for Distinguished Service Medals, and history of the Awards Systems. Appendixes include comprehensive listings of award recipients by home town, a Complete List of all USAAS/USAAF/USAF Air ACEs with their awards, a complete listing of USAF Prisoners of War. The Table of Generals and Leadership includes detailed tables identifying members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all Air Force Chiefs and Vice Chiefs of Staff, as wells as Enlisted Leadership. It also includes a detailed and comprehensive table of more than 4,000 members of the USAAS/USAAF/USAF who achieved flag rank including a comprehensive listing of their awards of the Purple Heart and higher.

Every man and woman who steps forward to fight for the freedom and lives of others can be called a hero. Many members of the air force have exceeded even that high calling and have performed such courageous deeds that their stories live on. This book, supported by historical photographs, relates some of the amazing feats of the air force's most famous airmen, including Chuck Yeager and the Tuskegee Airmen.

"The stories of the 12 Air Force heroes who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam. The author, Major Schneider, has chosen a most unusual and effective way of presenting his material, for he is greatly concerned with the contextual aspects of what he describes; that is, he devotes considerable attention to the history of the Medal itself, particularly insofar as airmen of earlier wars are concerned, to the aircraft which these latest recipients flew, and to the missions with which both the men and their machines were entrusted."These factors, then, are put in the context of the battle arena - Vietnam, with all of its special conditions and limitations. There 12 airmen of the United States Air Force acted with such courage, devotion, and utter selflessness that they were subsequently awarded the highest recognition that their country could bestow, the Medal of Honor. Three of the men died in the actions for which they were cited. But in one sense at least they and the others will never die, for their actions have insured that their names will live as long as determination, fidelity, bravery, and nobility of spirit are traits that human beings admire."David L. GrayMajor General, United States Air ForceCommandant, Air War College

This ninth essay of the Southeast Asia Monograph Series tells the stories of the 12 Air Force heroes who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam. The author, Major Schneider, has chosen a most unusual and effective way of presenting his material, for he is greatly concerned with the contextual aspects of what he describes; that is, he devotes considerable attention to the history of the Medal itself, particularly insofar as airmen of earlier wars are concerned, to the aircraft in which these latest recipients flew, and to the missions with which both the men and their machines were entrusted. These factors, then, are put in the context of the battle arena Vietnam, with all of its special conditions and limitations. There 12 airmen of the United States Air Force acted with such courage, devotion, and utter selflessness that they were subsequently awarded the highest recognition that their country could bestow, the Medal of Honor. Three of the men died in the actions for which they were cited. But in one sense at least they and the others will never die, for their actions have insured that their names will live as long as determination, fidelity, bravery, and nobility of spirit are traits that human beings admire.

This winner of the Navy's Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Writing covers heroes and heroism in American flight missions since 1916 and includes 29 black and white photographs.