Former Air Force intelligence officer Charlie Felsenthal with family members of T-28 pilot Vang Sue

Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin

Pictured in the red tie is former Air Force intelligence officer Charlie Felsenthal with family members of T-28 pilot Vang Sue (KIA). Charlie explains their amazing discovery and reunion on dedication day: "Vang Sue was General Vang Pao's senior T-28 pilot. He had flown over 4,000 combat missions when I met him, and one day he finally ran out of luck. He was shot down and I attended his funeral. On September 20th dedication day, I introduced myself to Vang Sue's widow. Within minutes I was talking to his sister and his four children as well. They invited me to sit with them for the banquet, and Toufong, the older son, has invited me to next year's family reunion. I had with me the little government-issue notebook that I used in Laos for everything from target lists to shopping lists, and I showed Toufong a few entries pertaining to his father. On October 17, 1972, I noted that I had received 54,000 kip (about $70) from Vang Sue -- for what I can't recall. And on October 23 there was a note to myself to get a funeral wreath for him. Toufong (his son) has a couple of photos of the funeral procession and ceremony that his uncle had taken. I had never seen them before. He asked whether I could identify an American in one of them. "Yes," I replied, "that's Harry Moustakas, the CIA Chief of Unit at Long Tieng." And then, peering closely at the photo, I added "And I think that may be me right behind him." Toufong looked closely and opined that it definitely was me. That kind of cemented our bond with each other."