An Air Force pilot poses in the cockpit of a Douglas A-1 Skyraider at Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam. Identified as Colonel Gene Deatrick, the photograph is captioned as his final flight testing a newly rebuilt Skyraider. The rugged, propeller-driven A-1 remained a mainstay of Air Commando and Special Operations units throughout the Vietnam War, prized for its heavy ordnance load and long loiter time in close air support and search-and-rescue escort roles. Project: 218886