The Jolly Greens | Wings over Vietnam

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During the Vietnam War, the costly rescue of Bat 21 prompted the US military to find a new approach to searching and rescuing high-threat people. They recognized that if a SAR mission is doomed to fail, it should not be undertaken and other options must be considered, such as special operations, diversionary tactics, and other creative approaches tailored to the situation. Recognizing the need for an aircraft that could provide more effective close air support, the USAF introduced the A-7 Corsair, originally a Navy carrier-based light attack aircraft, to replace the Air Force A-1 Skyraiders, an aircraft that was also originally a carrier-based Navy strike bomber.

Thanks to CSAR's experience in Vietnam, the U.S. military has also improved the nighttime capabilities of helicopters and area-denial munitions.

During the Vietnam War, US SAR forces saved 3,883 lives at the cost of 71 rescuers and 45 aircraft.

In 1972, during the Vietnam War, Lt. Col. Iseal Hambleton, a U.S. Air Force navigator and electronic warfare officer with ballistic missile and countermeasures experience, was the sole survivor of an EB-66 shot down during the Easter Offensive. He evaded capture by North Vietnamese forces until he was rescued 11.5 days later. During the rescue operation, five American military aircraft supporting the CSAR effort were shot down, eleven American service members were killed, and two men were captured. The rescue operation was "the largest, longest, and most complex search and rescue operation of the entire Vietnam War." Two books and the feature film “The Bat” are dedicated to him.