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Captain Steve Ritchie was destined to become the U.S. Air Force's only Pilot-Ace during the Vietnam War. On June 27, 1972 he would risk it all to save the crew of a Jolly Green Giant Rescue helicopter being tracked by a North Vietnamese MIG. Rescue helicopters were extremely vunerable to air to air attacks while refueling. The 40th ARRS had lost both a KC-130 tanker and a HH-53 while refueling to a MIG-21 two years earlier. Ritchie was determined that these aircraft would not fall prey to the North Vietnamesse MIG. There was just one problem, Ritchie's F-4E was almost out of fuel!