12:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Since this is on-line, we cannot estimate the numbers reached. The January issue of Airman Magazine, the official magazine of the USAF, will feature profiles of Vietnam Veterans. Besides honoring their service and that of their families, the issue will also raise awareness of the contributions of Airmen.
This issue of Airman Magazine, located at http://airman.dodlive.mil/2016/01/, successfully fulfilled the objectives of the Commemoration. Three separate articles featured profiles of three Air Force Vietnam Veterans who had also been prisoners of war. In fact, one was the only Vietnam POW who subsequently became a four-star general.
A separate article, entitled "Forward From Vietnam," corrected the frequently accepted myth that the Vietnam War was a failure for the United States and the U.S. Air Force. It discussed how the USAF experiences in Southeast Asia transformed the service from a nuclear focus to a more flexible force with "increasingly sophisticated conventional weapons." Important technological advances, such as guided bombs, emerged from this experience. The capabilities provided by guided bombs enabled each bomb to count much more, and significantly increased accuracy enabled smaller forces to disable targets more rapidly, accurately, and effectively. Effective air power victories, such as during Desert Storm in 1991, were possible because of lessons learned and technologies developed during the latter period of the Vietnam War.
Another article, entitled "Digging for Answers," focused on the current efforts to account for U.S. personnel listed as missing during the Vietnam War. It features two families (three family members) who eventually learned the fate of their loved one due to the committed search for missing personnel. It also featured a Vietnam Veteran who is now committed to the recovery efforts.