1972–73 December 18: President Richard M. Nixon directed the resumption <strong>of</strong> fullscale bombing and mining in North Vietnam—an operation known as LINEBACKER II. SSgt. Samuel O. Turner, <strong>USAF</strong>, became the first B–52 tail gunner to shoot down an enemy airplane. 1973 January 8: Capt. Paul D. Howman, <strong>USAF</strong>, and 1st Lt. Lawrence W. Kullman, <strong>USAF</strong>, flying an F–4D Phantom, scored the last aerial victory <strong>of</strong> the Vietnam War when they shot down a MiG southwest <strong>of</strong> Hanoi, North Vietnam, with a radar-guided AIM–7 missile. January 27: In Paris, North Vietnam and the United States signed an “Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace to Vietnam.” <strong>The</strong> ceasefire was set to begin on January 29. January 28: A B–52 Strat<strong>of</strong>ortress crew performed the last Operation ARC LIGHT sortie, bombing enemy targets in South Vietnam at 0628 hours local time. This operation had continued since 1965. February 12: Military <strong>Air</strong>lift Command pilots initiated Operation HOME- COMING, flying the first <strong>of</strong> 590 released American prisoners <strong>of</strong> war from Hanoi, North Vietnam, to Clark <strong>Air</strong> Base in the Philippines. <strong>The</strong> operation concluded on April 9. March 28: <strong>The</strong> last <strong>USAF</strong> aircraft departed South Vietnam. May 15: Operation AUTHENTIC ASSISTANCE began. In six months, <strong>USAF</strong> airplanes airlifted 9,250 tons <strong>of</strong> food, seed grain, medical supplies, and vehicles to and within the African countries <strong>of</strong> Mali, Chad, and Mauritania to relieve the victims <strong>of</strong> drought and famine. May 25–June 22: In a space mission, three U.S. astronauts repaired the Skylab space station, which had been damaged during its launch, so that it could conduct orbital research. July 1: Military conscription (the draft) in the United States ended, but the Selective Service continued to register young men <strong>of</strong> military age. July 15: An A–7D Corsair II <strong>of</strong> the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, based in Thailand, flew the last combat mission <strong>of</strong> the Southeast Asian War. All told, since February 2, 1962, the <strong>Air</strong> Force had flown 5.25 million sorties over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, losing 2,251 aircraft—1,737 to hostile action and 514 for other operational reasons. August 20: <strong>The</strong> United States began an airlift <strong>of</strong> 2,400 tons <strong>of</strong> relief equipment and supplies to Pakistan for the victims <strong>of</strong> flooding. <strong>The</strong> airlift 112
Skylab, a science and engineering laboratory, launched into Earth orbit on May 14, 1973. It fell from orbit on July 11, 1979. 1973 Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, the first <strong>USAF</strong> woman general, received her second star on June 1, 1973. Richard I. Borda, assistant secretary <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Air</strong> Force, and Gen. Horace Wade, <strong>USAF</strong> vice chief <strong>of</strong> staff, participated in the promotion ceremony. 113