A USAF aviator, helmeted and masked for high-altitude flight, is captured in close detail during a Vietnam-era combat or training sortie. The hard-shell flight helmet, oxygen mask, and coiled communications hose seen here were standard aircrew equipment for Air Force pilots flying fixed-wing missions over Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. Photographs like this one, taken from Don Engebretsen's personal collection, offer an intimate look at the human element behind Air Commando and combat air operations. Project: 218965