Attack Squadron 163 ( United States Navy ) Attack Squadron 163 ( VA - 163 ) " Saints " was an aviation unit of the United States Navy . VA - 163 flew the Douglas A - 4 Skyhawk from 1960 to 1969 . History . On September 1 , 1960 , Attack Squadron 163 was established at Naval Air Station Cecil Field , Florida . Shortly thereafter , the Saints moved to Naval Air Station Lemoore , California where they began training for their first deployment . During her operational history , Attack Squadron 163 made six Pacific Fleet cruises , including four combat cruises during the Vietnam War . The first five were with Carrier Air Wing 16 in USS " Oriskany " between 1962 and 1968 , and the last with Carrier Air Wing 21 in USS " Hancock " in 1968 - 1969 . In the first three WESTPAC combat cruises to SouthEast Asia ( SEA ) ( 1965 – 68 ) , VA - 163 sustained periods of heavy losses , including 14 aircraft destroyed by enemy action , with at least five pilots killed , five captured , and two severely wounded . The ' Saints ' also lost two squadron Commanding Officers ( CO ) to combat action , with the first during the 1965 WESTPAC combat cruise , CDR Harry Jenkins , in November 1965 ( shot down , and made a POW ) . The second was CDR Wynne Foster , who lost an arm to flak in July 1966 , but ejected and was rescued . ( Foster later recovered , and waged a successful battle to remain on active duty . ) These unit losses were then followed by the tragic at - sea fire aboard their carrier , the USS ORISKANY , in October 1966 , which then claimed more unit personnel ( among the total 44 men who were lost in the fire ) . Among the four total WESTPAC combat cruises that VA - 163 completed , the 1967 - 68 cruise was by far the costliest , in losses of both pilots and aircraft . During this cruise alone , five ' Saints ' pilots were Killed In Action , or went Missing In Action , over North Vietnam . ( As of mid - 2009 , of these five lost men , the remains of three have been found and recovered from their loss sites in Vietnam , and identified using DNA analysis . The remaining two men have not yet been accounted for . ) A total of 12 A - 4E aircraft were lost during the 1967 - 68 WESTPAC alone , with ten lost to enemy action , and two as operational losses . Two notable VA - 163 ' Saints ' pilots who became POWs were then - Commander James B . Stockdale , Commander Air Group of " Attack Carrier Air Wing 16 ( CVW - 16 ) " in 1965 ( who as ' CAG ' , was never actually a VA - 163 member , but he was flying a VA - 163 A - 4E at the time of his loss ) , and then - Lieutenant Commander John S . McCain , III in 1967 . Amidst the intense air combat of the early war period , and the subsequent losses , the ' Saints ' continued to display outstanding courage and bravery , resulting in many awards for valor being issued to many ' Saints ' pilots . Among them , three ' Saints ' were awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary combat heroism : Commander Bryan Compton ( then squadron CO ) , and Lieutenant Commanders James Busey and Marvin Reynolds . ( Not surprisingly , these three awards were earned during the infamous 1967 - 68 WESTPAC , with the first two mentioned awards earned during the same mission ( a ' Walleye ' missile strike on the Hanoi Thermal Power Plant in August 1967 ) . On April 1 , 1969 VA - 163 was placed on inactive status , and two years later the squadron officially disestablished on July 1 , 1971 .