BG Heinie Aderholt was known and loved by all our Air Commandos who ever knew and worked for him. His initiative keep the Air Commando Association alive and well for almost 30 years which he helped organize and served as President. He will be sadly missed by all Air Commando. He had an exciting career in the Air Force and had the Vietnam War not ended he was to be promoted to Major General. I knew him since 1962 and always was amazed by his unique leadership style to motivative both enlisted and officer with his southern charm and his willingness to be involved. He was considerate of all his people and everyone was aware of it. There was no spin effort in his leadership. There are hundred of stories of his efforts to watch out for his troops and his ability to take complex problems and make them simple so that they could be achieved. He was a highly intelligent leader and his achievements were made without a degree. He had no proble3ms of getting people to follow him wherever he went.

Col Walker Mahurin was a WWII Air Commando and the highest ranking Ace in the Air Commandos. He shot down 24.25 in the European, Asian and later in Korea. He was often referred to as the Hollywood star because of his good looks. He was a member of the first Air Commando Group and was very active in Southern California in helping some of our local aviation museum. I knew him since 1985 and found him to be a real gentleman and did not try to impress us with his heroism -- he was a very humble man.. He told us a story of getting a letter from an English lady who said he was her father. This really shook him up but after checking her date of birth he found out that he could not have been her father. Her was frequently a guest speaker at various military functions. He will be sadly missed by all his fellow warriors.

Charles "Chuck" Keller came into the Air Commandos in 1961 and he and I served in Vietnam at Det 2A, Bien Hoa in 1962. We have know each other for almost 50 years and previously we served at Eglin in a test unit. He was quiet an achiever and with the degrees he achieved, his position as police chief and city manager of Fort Walton Beach, FL and two time president of the Air Commando Association. He had worked closely with BG Benjamin King who first organized the Vietnam Air Commandos and who was working to get BG King recognized at Hurlburt for what he established there some 49 years ago with very little except some old WWII airplanes and a gun ho bunch of USAF volunteers. Chuck Keeler has been recognized for his many contributions to the city of Fort Walton Beach , the Air Commandos and to his fellow warriors.

The Air Commando Association has lost all these tremendous achievers and they will be missed by all.