Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue (WSO), flying with Capt. Richard S. Ritchie (pilot), in a McDonnell Douglas F-4D, records his first aerial victory. DeBellevue, who would go on to be the leading American ace of the Vietnam War, recorded four of his victories with Ritchie. Both airmen flew with the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
