USS Oriskany (CVA-34) 1965 WESTPAC/VIETNAM Unisex Sweatshirt

USS Oriskany (CVA-34) arrived in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1965 for her first full combat deployment of the Vietnam War. Under Operation Rolling Thunder, the sustained American air campaign against North Vietnam that began in March 1965, Oriskany's air wing flew strikes against military installations, supply routes, and transportation infrastructure across North Vietnam. Navy pilots faced increasingly formidable defenses including MiG interceptors, radar-guided surface-to-air missiles, and some of the heaviest conventional anti-aircraft fire in the history of aerial warfare. Oriskany's crews flew with extraordinary skill and courage day and night, launching from the Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin and pressing their attacks deep into North Vietnamese territory. It was during these demanding Vietnam deployments that Oriskany earned the nickname The Mighty O, a testament to the fighting spirit of the ship and her people. This sweatshirt honors all who served on the 1965 WESTPAC/Vietnam deployment.