By Lon Holtz, Col, USAF (Retired), President, A-37 Association, Inc. At the end of April 2019, 26 members of the A-37 Association, spouses, and friends had the pleasure of holding a reunion in Wichita, KS, “The Air Capital of the World.” We chose Wichita because it is also the birthplace of the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly aircraft, which members of the Association flew in combat in Vietnam between 1967 and 1972. We wanted the
50 years ago. I was there. Thereafter, however, Vietnam was still going hot and heavy and those of us present at that first meeting got scattered and just couldn’t get another one together. It was only after we retired and got a bout of nostalgia that a second “reunion” occurred in 1992, and we found our friendships and experiences had not been lost over the decades. The
Members of the A-37 Association gathered after 50 years to honor and thank Cessna. (Photo courtesy of A-37 Association)
opportunity to honor the people of Cessna Aircraft Company, who in August 1966 met the challenge of providing the US Air Force a combat-ready, low-cost close air support aircraft for Vietnam within a year. This reunion was the second gathering of A-37 veterans in Wichita. The first occurred in July 1970, almost
A-37 Association was formed in 1995 and we have gathered every other year since then at various sites across the country. This year’s reunion lasted three days and we actually found a few retirees from Cessna, who had worked on the aircraft those many years ago, and they visited the Association’s hospitality
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suite at Wichita’s Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview, and regaled us with tales of their experiences. Our members in turn told war stories of how the aircraft had performed in combat and how much we loved it. In addition, several attendees participated in the “Witness to War” program, which allowed us to videotape our individual experiences in combat for posterity and as a record for our families. We also had the opportunity to listen to a briefing by Textron Aviation on the Scorpion aircraft, which was a candidate for the USAF’s low intensity combat aircraft. At our closing banquet, we were welcomed by Mayor Jeff Longwell of Wichita and Textron’s Brett Pierson, who represented Cessna. In turn, those of us who flew and maintained the bird shared our success in building an outstanding combat record in the aircraft’s five years of combat operations. We also shared a moment of reflection by remembering the 13 pilots we lost in combat over those years. That success was due to three very important components. Most important were the people at Cessna. Honoring Cessna’s efforts was long overdue as the Dragonfly, the development of which began almost 54 years ago, set new standards as a close-air-support aircraft for US and allied ground forces in the www.aircommando.org
