HMA-263, #153389. This very aircraft was involved in the earning of a Medal Of Honor. Towards the end of this aircraft's career, while it was serving in the Middle East, someone realized its historical significance and managed to see it preserved.

From the web page www.leatherneck.com: "Bruce Cruickshank was the last one rescued. That day, Jan. 31, 1970, he was a 24-year-old Marine fighter pilot on loan to an infantry platoon and directing airstrikes against North Vietnamese troops near Da Nang in South Vietnam. The Marines had mistakenly strayed into an American-planted minefield. Cruickshank stepped on one, losing both legs. A second explosion knocked him out. When he awoke, he saw a Marine on the back ramp of a helicopter 30 yards away, motioning him to hurry. He couldn't walk. So the Marine, crew chief Mike Clausen, dragged him to safety. It was the sixth time that Clausen had left the helicopter -- under withering enemy fire -- and crossed the minefield to drag or help rescue 11 wounded Marines and a dead one. He was awarded the Medal of Honor."

(2012)