Special Operations Association Reunion, 21 October 2014. Five veterans at the SPADS display, beneath a photo-montage banner reading 'SPADS for MACVSOG' and centered on a shark-mouthed Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Two orange flight 'party suits,' thick with embroidered squadron patches and pilot wings, hang from the display rail. 'Spad' was the affectionate name for the piston-engined A-1, whose endurance and heavy ordnance load made it the aircraft of choice for covering MACV-SOG reconnaissance teams operating across the borders of Laos and Cambodia. Badges identify Larry Cavender, 'Jax' Roberts, Don Engebretson — here in an A-1 Skyraider shirt — and Melvin Swanson. Project: 219867