The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association – a. k. a. The River Rats

Story by Ken Kula, with plenty of help from the “River Rats” Association

U. S. military aircraft began bombing targets in North Vietnam in March 1965 and completed their campaigns by December 1972. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine tactical and strategic bomber aircraft battled their way through thick defenses containing North Vietnamese MiG jet fighters, artillery, and missile batteries.

USAF B-66 leading F-105s on a mission flown on June 14, 1966. Photo: National Archived and Records Administration NIAD 541862

By 1967, a group of combat pilots convened to discuss tactics and countermeasures to use against these defenses, as they were taking an alarming toll on U. S. aircraft and aircrew. Colonel Howard “Scrappy” Johnson, who was Deputy Commander for Operations of the 388th TFW at Korat RTAFB, invited combat pilots to gather together to discuss the problems of the Red River valley and devise tactics to meet the challenges they faced. Colonels Robin Olds and Daniel “Chappie” James, Commander and Vice Commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon RTAFB, accepted that invitation, traveling to Korat for what would be the first of 5 “practice reunions” or Tactics Conferences as they were called, held in Thailand.

B-52G returning from a bombing mission over North Vietnam. Photo: DefenseImagery VIRIN DF-SN-84-11614

This fraternal group of pilots formed an official organization called the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, or “River Rats” to its members. The Red River Valley was an industrial complex of some 180 square miles, including the North Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi, which became the focal point of the US bombing effort in the North. Housing 85% of the country’s industrial capacity, it was the most heavily defended target in the history of aerial warfare.

What started as a forum for discussing tactics grew into a commitment to support those who had lost their freedom or their lives and their families. By the end of 1969, the Association moved its operations stateside, and Colonel Lawrence “Larry” Pickett became a motivating leader of the organization, establishing the first charter and organizing the first stateside reunion in Wichita, KS.

Initially, the River Rats highlighted the plight of Prisoners of War (POWs) and the pursuit of Missing In Action (MIA) aircrews. After several meetings, the group began planning “practice reunions,” which would occur after all POWs had been released and could attend. A Scholarship Fund was set up in 1970 to assist families who either lost loved ones (Killed In Action – KIA) or awaited for the release of POWs, or for information on MIA members in 1970; this fund is still operating today.

US Navy F-8 Crusader returning to its aircraft carrier, US Navy photo K-90599

The first “Real” Reunion was held in Las Vegas in 1973 after the U. S. NAMPOWs were released in Operation Homecoming. In 1974, the River Rat Articles of Incorporation officially changed the organization’s name to “The Red River Valley Association, Inc”. This name change led to the expanded membership availability for the River Rats to include “current or former U.S. Military designated aircrew member – all services, all ranks, all airframes, and all aircrew positions”. Annual reunions are still occurring, and the organization recently held its 50th “Real” Reunion in 2023.

Today, the group’s purpose is to “Generate national awareness of military service and sacrifice and provide comfort and support for the family members of those uniformed service aircrew personnel MIA/KIA who were associated with the war in Southeast Asia to the present for both combat losses and operational accidents.” To date, there are some 4,500 members in the organization.

USAF aircraft flying over a burning oil field during Desert Storm, 1991. VUSAF photo: IRIN 020926-0-9999G-008.jpg

The scholarship fund criteria has expanded from spouses and dependents of aircrew lost in combat, now including non-combat losses, and has expanded beyond the Vietnam War to include conflicts since that War’s end, such as Operation Desert Storm. Since 1970, more than 1,400 scholarships have been awarded, totaling over 3 million dollars.

Today’s Red River Valley Association has formed several committees, one of which assists with health issues to aviators; known as the “Aviator Medical Issues Committee” or AMIC. The AMIC is today’s leading advocate for military and veteran aircrew health issues at the national level. Now five years old, the AMIC is composed of six retired but currently practicing USAF Flight Surgeons and six other retired USMC, USAF, and USN aviators. There are three cancer survivors on the AMIC and a fourth currently battling advanced cancer. The AMIC lost its first committee member to cancer in 2022. The AMIC’s legislative accomplishments produced three pathfinder aircrew cancer studies in four years. The first was the Air Force study in 2021, and two DOD studies in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The AMIC advocates within Congress and is active in promoting the Aviation Cancer Examination Study (ACES Act) that would fund a VA Study to determine the root causes of surging aviator cancer among the flyers of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. RRVA is the only nonprofit Veteran flyer organization undertaking the work focused on aircrew cancers.

The Museum Committee was formed to help preserve the River Rats’ history with its River Rats Museum at Aviation Heritage Park Museum, located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The River Rats Museum was opened in October, 2023. Anecdotally, Col. Howard “Scrappy” Johnson – one of the founders of the River Rats – was born in Kentucky and is a member in the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame. Externally, examples of Vietnam War aircraft sitting outside the Aviation Heritage Park museum building include an F-111 Aardvark, F-4 Phantom, UH-1 Iroquois, T-33 Shooting Star, T-38 Talon and a SH-3 Sea King helicopter. Other aircraft at the museum include a F9F Panther and a J3C Cub. The Red River Valley Association occupies part of the interior of the newly-opened hangar-styled museum building, which houses artifacts from the Vietnam War era through modern conflicts, biographies of Kentucky military aviators, and lots of professionally made models to depict aircraft associated with the River Rats’ history. Two aviation simulators are housed inside, too.

The Air Warrior Courage Foundation was formed in 1998 by members of the River Rats as a separate but affiliated organization in response to a need that couldn’t be fulfilled within the legal parameters of the River Rats’ charter. The non-profit organization was formed to recognize “problems being increasingly faced by active, retired, and/or former members of the U.S. military, their families, and our nation at large.” The Foundation strives … “to preserve the “who” of its intended constituency – military aviators and their families – and the “what” of those it expects to serve – those “air warriors” with the courage to fight the financial ravages of illness or injury, those whose air combat actions deserve recognition of their “courage,” and the youth of our country striving to become military aviators.” Importantly, the Foundation has garnered awards for its transparency and accountability. Their programs… “strive to help in whatever way is most impactful by meeting the veteran and their family wherever the need is; we achieve our goal of maximizing impact as quickly as possible.”

The River Rats follow the principle that… “Those who came home must never forget those who could not.” As shown by their camaraderie, Scholarship Funds, Foundations, and Museum, the Red River Valley Association also remembers Vietnam War veterans and the subsequent conflict participants through their benevolence.
For more information about the Association and its membership possibilities, their website is: www.River-Rats.org

Special thanks to Craig Pope of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association for his assistance with this story.