One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

1966
March 10: To rescue Maj. Dafford W. Myers, a downed A–1E pilot, Maj.
Bernard F. Fisher, USAF, a 1st Air Commando Squadron A–1E pilot,
landed on the A Shau airstrip after it had been overrun by North Vietnamese
regulars. Major Fisher was later awarded the Medal of Honor
for this heroic act.
March 16: Astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott blasted into space
atop a Titan II missile on the Gemini 8 mission. The two astronauts
later performed the first docking maneuver in space, linking their capsule
with an Agena target vehicle that had been launched by an Atlas
booster. At the conclusion of the mission, 20 minutes after splashdown
in the Pacific Ocean 500 miles east of Okinawa, USAF pararescuemen
attached flotation gear to the Gemini 8 space capsule, marking the first
time USAF rescue forces had participated in the recovery of a Gemini
capsule.
March 31: Strategic Air Command phased out its last B–47 Stratojet. The
first all-jet strategic bomber, it had entered active service in 1951, 15
years earlier.
April 6: The Army agreed to transfer its CV–2 Caribou and CV–7 Buffalo aircraft
to the Air Force, which would be responsible for all future
intratheater fixed-wing tactical aircraft. The Air Force designated
them the C–7A Caribou and C–8A Buffalo.
April 11: Despite his own mortal wounds, A1C William H. Pitsenbarger,
pararescue jumper with the 3d Aerospace Rescue and Recovery
98
In 1966 Maj. Bernard F. Fisher
became the first USAF Medal of
Honor winner in Vietnam.