U.S. Air Force General John P. McConnell at Takhli Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand during the Vietnam War. A sign reads ' Briefing for General McConnell '. A Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Airmen's Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal on a pillow. General John P. McConnell pins the medals on four officers. (The second officer is Captain Mike Gilroy. The third in line is Lieutenant Ed McCaffery.) A Chief Master Sergeant in the 355th TFR Wing headquarters briefing room. Commander of 7th Air Force, Lieutenant General William W. Momyer; Commander of 13th Air Force, Lieutenant General James W. Wilson; and Commander of 13th Air Force, Major General Charles R. Bond, Jr. are present. (The officer handing the medals to General McConnell is Colonel Robert Scott, who assumed command of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing , on August 4, 1966.)
Opening scene shows two U.S. Air Force F-105 Thunderchief aircraft taking off in pre-dawn from Vietnam on a bombing mission, in 1966, during the Vietnam War. Next, the F-105s are seen diving and dropping bombs that explode into fire and smoke on the ground. Closeup of a Strategic Air Command (SAC) KC-135 aircraft in flight. It has been modified to serve as as a "Combat Lightning" aircraft that serves as a communication link between the Tactical Air Reporting Center at Monkey Mountain, near Danang, Vietnam and ground radar, airborne radar and any U.S. aircraft operating over North Vietnam. KC-135 "Combat Lightning" crew members are seated in a briefing room at the U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, in Thailand. A briefing officer explains their mission, using charts and a map labeled SECRET Noforn (no foreign access) showing Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin. The briefer points to an area in the Gulf, and sketches a figure eight, showing where and how the KC-135 should maneuver in a holding pattern during its mission. Crew members rise and leave at the end of the briefing. View of a Strategic Air Command EC-135L that arrived on May 29, 1967, along with another, to support 24 hour "Combat Lightning" operations. Ground crewman directs the EC-135L as it taxis out and then takes off, past a C-130 aircraft holding short of the active runway. (Narrator notes that by the end of July, 1967, there were four "Combat Lightning" C-135 aircraft operating at U-Tapao airfield.) View from above of EC-135L aircraft in flight above clouds, en route to its assigned location over the Gulf of Tonkin. View of radio operator inside the aircraft, who is in radio contact with U-Tapao and the aircraft they are going to relieve. View of map showing their destination figure-eight holding pattern. Radio operator establishes the same contacts used by the aircraft they are relieving, to assure continuity of communications. Remainder of the film contains extended views of the radio operator at his station and of the EC-135 aircraft in flight. Near the end, the crew's Armaments and Electronics Technician is seen pulling a piece of malfunctioning electronic gear from a rack and replacing it with a spare, stored nearby.
A boat sails at sunset in Bang Saeng Beach (Chonburi), near Bangkok Thailand. Aerial view of Thailand. President and Mrs. Johnson greeted by Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit at Bangkok. Military band playing music. Royal Thai Air Force performs aerobatics over the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall (Royal Plaza Dusit, U-Thong Nai Road, Bangkok 10300, Thailand) to welcome President Johnson. Queen Sirikit and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson getting in a car followed by President Johnson and King Bhumibol. Procession of cars passing on road. Large paintings of President Johnson and Mrs. Johnson are seen along the roadside. Views of the complex of the Grand Palace Bangkok (Na Phra Lan Road, Grand Palace, Phranakorn, Bangkok 10200) are shown. President and Mrs. Johnson with King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit arriving for State Dinner. President and others in Chakri Throne Hall of Grand Palace. View of Thai classical dancers dancing at National Theatre (Thai National Theatre Rachinee Rd., (Prapinklao Bridge), Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200). President and wife sailing in royal motorboat along the Bang Luang canal, known as the “Venice of the East”. A Thai man paddles a boat in the canal. People giving gifts to Mrs. Johnson. President Johnson shaking hands with students from car window. Crowd of students holding American and Thai flags as the procession of cars passes by. President in a factory and receiving an honorary doctorate in political science at Chulalongkorn University. View of Thai ladies bowing President Johnson. View of Thai ladies bowing President Johnson.
Construction activity of Prime Beef teams in Thailand. Men work on pipes in a ditch at Korat Royal Thai Air Base as they lay out pipes for water supply. Pipes being placed one over the other. A man ties wire around a pipe. A man attaches the mouth of one pipe to another. Thai female workers carry spade onto their shoulders.
Construction activity under the auspices of the Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force 'Prime Beef' unit in Thailand. Workers at Korat Royal Thai Air Base mix cement in a cement mixer. The cement is poured into wheelbarrels. Cement is poured around pipes in a ditch. A worker floats and levels the cement surface with the back of a hoe. Another worker hammers an iron tie into the ground. Women wearing scarfs fill baskets with gravel. Baskets filled with gravel are piled up.
Construction of C and E administration building at Ban-U-Tapao Air Base as a part of Sattahip Complex in Thailand. Aerial views of a runway, a flight line and the area under construction. Lush green area and hills in the background. The wing of a United States aircraft in the foreground.