The Don Englebreston Collection
Aircrew in Custom Party Suits at Officers' Club, Bob Karre/Doc Blanchard Collection, Vietnam War Era
Off-duty aircrew gather at the officers' club wearing custom-tailored 'party suits' emblazoned with squadron nicknames and patches — a longstanding tradition among fighter, attack, and rescue pilots. The Jolly Green Giant patch worn at right identifies a combat search-and-rescue helicopter crewman, whose units flew perilous missions retrieving downed airmen across Vietnam and Laos. Project: 218943