Leading a missile suppression mission over North Vietnam, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Estocin destroys two SA-2 sites. His A-4 Skyhawk is hit by a SA-2 but he destroys a third SAM site. Streaming fuel, he finds a Douglas KA-3 tanker and stays connected all the way back to the USS Ticonderoga where he manages to land. Six days later, his aircraft is severely damaged and goes down near Haiphong. Estocin is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, but it is not awarded until 1978.
The Air Force plans to conduct more intensive training—and Congress is set to help by boosting funding for exercises and so-called “campaigning” by hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in the Pacific.
