Scope and Contents

'My Vietnam Experience as a Forward Air Controller' and 'Spin in an 0-1E Bird Dog in Combat' by James M. Kraft, official orders, newspaper clippings, photographs from Kraft's tour of duty in Vietnam and an aerial map of Can Tho and Phong Dinh Province document James M. Kraft's tour of duty in Vietnam as a Forward Air Controller.

Biographical / Historical

James Malcolm Kraft was born in Berea, Ohio on 01 February 1935. In 1957, Kraft graduated Ohio University with a BS Degree and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. In April 1968, he departed for Vietnam and was assigned as a Forward Air Controller, stationed at Phang Rang Air Base in the central coastal plains. Kraft was then stationed at Ben Thuy, Air Base in the Mekong Delta on the Bassac River, about 70 miles south of Saigon. He was assigned to the 22nd Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) as the Air Liaison Officer (ALO) and moved to Can Tho, Army Air Field, about five miles southeast of Ben Thuy, where he served in support of the Vietnamese 21st ARVN Division. Kraft ended his tour in Vietnam in May 1969 and was then assigned to the Boeing Minuteman Missile Assembly Plant and the Air Force Plant Representative Office (AFPRO). From November 1970 through April 1975, Kraft was assigned to Headquarters Air Force Systems Command, at which point he was assigned to the Military Advisory Assistance Group (MAAG) in Teheran, Iran for two years. He finally retired from the Air Force on 30 April 1978. For his service, Kraft was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and the Air Medal with 13 o/c. After his retirement from the military, Kraft worked for a year for Pan American Technical Services, a year for Computer Science Corp, Kenney Space Center, Florida and spent 14 years as a Contracts Manager with the Harris Corporation in Melbourne Florida.