Joseph Lyons Chestnut was one of a rare breed of men who fought in the Vietnam War. He volunteered to serve in the Steve Canyon program. This was a unit of FAC (forward air controllers) that were flying in Laos. They were officially, not there. The fact is though, they were, and they were doing an incredibly valiant job at fighting against the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao who were trying to take over the country.
As a "Raven", it was COL Chestnut's job to fly missions marking targets for air strikes, often flying single engine Cessna O-1 "bird dog" or the Cessna U-17 planes. Often armed with only smoke marking rockets, they were extremely susceptible to ground fire and anti-aircraft fire. The Ravens put their lives on the line every single time they took to the air. Many of them made the ultimate sacrifice because of this.
There is a website made by surviving Ravens that has loads of great content. I highly suggest you visit ravens.org. There was also a fantastic book written by Christopher Robbins, The Ravens.
We honor Col. Chestnut and remember him today, 45 years later. We also honor all of the other Ravens who flew with Chestnut. Many besides him gave their lives also. This group of men are collectively some major heroes of the war. Let us never forget them and their sacrifices.
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