At the Veterans Breakfast Club,
Stories Unite Us.
Check out our online & in-person veterans storytelling programs and see our full event schedule below. All are welcome to join us!
What happens when a group of young men enters U.S. Air Force pilot training at the dawn of the 1960s—and earns its wings just as the Cold War is entering one of its most dangerous periods?
On November 19, the Veterans Breakfast Club hosts a special two-hour virtual reunion of U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Class 62A, bringing together members of an extraordinary group of aviators whose careers would span the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and some of the most consequential chapters in modern Air Force history.
And this won’t be an ordinary panel discussion.
Thanks largely to the remarkable work of Shana Intille Wilcox, volunteer historian for Class 62A, we expect dozens of members of the class to join us online from around the country—perhaps 40 or more—for what will be part reunion, part oral history, and part aviation storytelling marathon.
Shana’s connection to the class is personal. Her father, Lt. Col. Michael Intille, was a member of 62A, and in 2021 his fellow pilots made her an honorary member of the class. Since then, she has helped document its history, preserve its stories, and keep alive the friendships formed more than six decades ago. Her work has helped make this unusual VBC gathering possible.
From Pilot Training to Vietnam and the Cold War
The men of Class 62A came from remarkably different backgrounds and trained at five different bases, progressing from civilian contract flying schools into advanced Air Force jet training. After earning their wings, they scattered across the Air Force and around the world.
Collectively, they flew an astonishing range of aircraft and missions: F-102 interceptors, F-4 Phantoms, F-105 Thunderchiefs, Wild Weasels, F-15s, F-16s, A-7s, C-123s, C-133s, C-141s, AC-130 gunships, O-1 Bird Dogs, HH-3 and HH-53 rescue helicopters, and more.
Their stories include combat over North Vietnam, desperate low-fuel landings, carrier operations, forward air control, airlift emergencies, gunship missions, search-and-rescue operations, and the experience of a classmate shot down and held as a prisoner of war for more than six years.
We’ll hear from pilots themselves as well as family members preserving the stories of classmates who have taken their final flight.
Among the stories we hope to explore:
- Col. Cliff Tatum, who flew the F-102, F-4, F-84F, and Navy A-7E and completed 152 carrier landings—including 52 at night—during the final carrier cruise of the Vietnam War.
- Col. David Tippett, a Vietnam combat veteran who flew the F-102, F-4, F-4 Wild Weasel, and F-16 and later commanded an F-16 wing.
- Col. Rod Gunn, recalling an F-4 mission over North Vietnam involving enemy defenses, a pursuing MiG-17, and a dangerously low-fuel return.
- Brig. Gen. Dan Sherlock, whose career took him from the F-102 and F-4 to the F-15 and F-16 and included more than 200 combat missions.
- The story of Col. Murphy Neal Jones, shot down in an F-105 and held as a POW for more than six years before returning home and resuming his Air Force flying career.
- Capt. Bob White, gravely wounded while flying an O-1 Bird Dog yet continuing to direct his aircraft’s return to base.
- Col. William “Bill” Kehler, whose five Vietnam combat tours ranged from C-123 airlift operations to AC-130 gunships.
- Col. Bob Horne, recounting a six-hour HH-53 rescue mission over Laos in 1969.
- Col. Bruce Ware, whose HH-3E crew rescued Charles Lindbergh and 45 others from an isolated jungle ridge in the Philippines in 1972.
- Col. John Attebury, whose 32-year Air Force career included Vietnam service and more than 20,000 flying hours. Now 91, he still builds and flies airplanes and helps fellow members of Class 62A remain in the air.
Shana will also share the story of her father, Lt. Col. Michael Intille, including a harrowing C-133 emergency and the larger story of how the U.S. Air Force gave a young man from South Philadelphia opportunities that would transform his life and his family for generations.
A Reunion More Than 60 Years in the Making
Perhaps the most remarkable story is Class 62A itself.
After training together as young men, its members scattered around the world. Yet the friendships endured. For the past two decades, classmates have gathered for reunions around the United States every two years, remembering those they have lost while maintaining bonds first forged in pilot training in 1960 and 1961.
This special two-hour Veterans Breakfast Club program will bring that reunion online. We’ll hear the featured stories, look at photographs and aircraft from the class’s history, invite other members of 62A to join the conversation, and take questions from our live audience.
It is a chance not simply to hear about Air Force history, but to hear it from the people who lived it—and to watch a remarkable group of old friends come together once again.
Join us for this special USAF Pilot Training Class 62A Virtual Reunion, November 19, live with the Veterans Breakfast Club.
One of the oldest surviving U.S. Army buildings in America is the Hessian Powder Magazine in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This sturdy limestone structure was built during the darkest days of the American Revolution to store the gunpowder and ammunition that helped sustain George Washington’s army. But who built it? And why has it long been known as the “Hessian” Powder Magazine?
Join us for a special America 250 program featuring a screening of the new 40-minute documentary The Hessian Powder Magazine, followed by a live conversation with historian Jack Leighow of the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center and Army University, who helped lead the years-long research behind the film.
Drawing on newly uncovered documents, architectural analysis, ground-penetrating radar, and archaeological excavations, the documentary follows the remarkable effort to solve a centuries-old historical puzzle. The investigation confirms that the building is indeed the Revolutionary War powder magazine constructed in 1777 as part of the sprawling military depot at Carlisle, one of the Continental Army’s most important centers for manufacturing weapons, ammunition, and military supplies. It also reveals compelling evidence that Hessian prisoners captured at Trenton likely helped build the magazine, giving new meaning to a name that had long been dismissed as little more than local legend.
The story illuminates the enormous logistical effort behind American independence, the workshops, foundries, carpenters, blacksmiths, laborers, and military planners who supplied Washington’s army when victory depended as much on production as battlefield success. It also reminds us that history is never finished. Even after 250 years, archaeology, archival research, and careful scholarship continue to reshape what we know about the Revolution.
Following the film, Jack Leighow will discuss the investigation, answer questions, and explain how this remarkable survivor of the Revolutionary War is helping us better understand the nation’s founding as America approaches its 250th anniversary.
When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Americans mourned a fallen leader. But behind the scenes, the U.S. military launched a worldwide response that remains little known today.
Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for a conversation with researcher and former Marine officer John F. Davies, whose years of work in newly released government records and veterans’ accounts examines how the armed forces reacted during the tense hours and days following the assassination. Davies argues that military commands around the world were placed on heightened alert and that concerns about Soviet involvement created fears of a much wider international crisis.
We’ll explore what happened inside the Pentagon and overseas commands, hear from veterans who were serving at the time, and discuss how one of the most shocking events in American history intersected with the dangers of the Cold War.
This event is free and open to all. To join the conversation live on Zoom, please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6402618738.
Or tune in on Facebook or YouTube at 7:00pm ET. Whether you have something to share or simply want to listen and learn, we welcome you to be part of the conversation!
Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for a remarkable conversation with William S. Reeder Jr., the last U.S. Army soldier taken prisoner during the Vietnam War and author of Through the Valley: My Captivity in Vietnam.
In 1972, then-Captain Reeder was flying Cobra gunship missions in support of South Vietnamese forces near the besieged Special Forces camp at Ben Het, close to the Cambodian border. During an intense battle, his helicopter was shot down. After evading capture for three days, he was taken prisoner by North Vietnamese forces.
What followed was an extraordinary ordeal. Reeder spent weeks confined in jungle cages before enduring a brutal forced march along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Seven men in his group of twenty-seven POWs died during the journey. Eventually imprisoned in Hanoi, he spent nearly a year in captivity before returning home during Operation Homecoming in 1973.
Reeder’s memoir, Through the Valley, vividly recounts not only the horrors of captivity but also the bonds among prisoners, the strength drawn from family and country, and the determination to survive under unimaginable conditions.
A decorated Army aviator, Reeder flew dangerous reconnaissance and attack missions throughout Southeast Asia, including classified operations over Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. His service earned him numerous decorations, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Prisoner of War Medal.
During this live conversation, Reeder will reflect on his service and, as always, we’ll leave plenty of time for audience questions and conversation.
About William S. Reeder Jr.
William Reeder is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, combat aviator, and former prisoner of war. Captured in 1972 after his helicopter was shot down near Ben Het, he spent nearly two years as a POW before his release in 1973. His acclaimed memoir, Through the Valley: My Captivity in Vietnam, is considered one of the most compelling firsthand accounts of the American POW experience during the Vietnam War. His story has also been featured by the Smithsonian’s Air & Space magazine and numerous military history organizations.
