Hanoi Taxi Hanoi Taxi is a Lockheed C - 141 Starlifter strategic airlift aircraft ( serial number 66 - 0177 ) that was in service with the United States Air Force and became famous for bringing back the first returned prisoners of war in Operation Homecoming . This aircraft , which was delivered to the Air Force in 1967 , was the last C - 141 to be withdrawn from service after a career of almost 40 years , as the last of the fleet was retired in 2006 as sufficient C - 17 Globemaster III aircraft became available in the regular Air Force to allow C - 141s still serving with Air Force Reserve units to be replaced by the C - 5 Galaxy aircraft being seconded from the regular Air Force . The " Hanoi Taxi " is currently housed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force , near Dayton , Ohio . Operational history . Vietnam War Service . For much of the late 1960s and early 1970s , 66 - 0177 flew out of Norton Air Force Base , San Bernardino , California with the 63rd Military Airlift Wing ( MAW ) . The " Hanoi Taxi " flew Bob Hope to USO shows in South Vietnam . The " Hanoi Taxi " was used in 1973 , in the final days of the Vietnam War , to repatriate American POW s from North Vietnam . Arizona Senator John McCain was one of the POW s who flew home on the " Hanoi Taxi " . The Hanoi Taxi ' s name comes from the writing on the flight engineer ' s panel by the POWs aboard the plane for the freedom flight . Later service . Later in its career it was transferred to the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright Patterson Air Force Base ( WPAFB ) Area A in Ohio . In 2002 the aircraft ' s history was discovered by its crew chief and when the aircraft was upgraded to a C - 141C the Air Force repainted it in the same white over grey livery as it wore in 1973 during its evacuation mission to Hanoi . Signatures of the freed prisoners have been preserved on the panel over the years and are the centerpiece of what is essentially a " flying museum " . Plaques , documents and photographs of the homecoming are part of the on - board exhibit researched and created by the 445th Airlift Wing . Etchings of the names of those who are missing in action were taken from engravings on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and are mounted on the plane . Framed photographs , plaques , and other memorabilia adorn the interior . Following its restoration the aircraft was first exhibited to the public at the 2003 Dayton Air Show . It appeared at numerous other venues until its retirement in May 2006 . Hurricane Katrina . In 2005 , " Hanoi Taxi " was one of the aircraft marshalled by the Air Force to provide evacuation for those seeking refuge from Hurricane Katrina . This aircraft and others evacuated thousands of people , including the medical evacuation ( MEDEVAC ) of hundreds of ill & injured . At the end of its career as at the beginning , this aircraft brought Americans out of a hostile environment and back to safety . Retirement . With the scheduled 2006 retirement of the last 8 C - 141s , the " Hanoi Taxi " embarked on a series of flights , giving veterans , some of whom flew out of captivity in this aircraft , the opportunity to experience one more flight before its retirement . At 9 : 30 AM on Saturday , 6 May 2006 , the " Hanoi Taxi " touched down for the last time and was received in a formal retirement ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force , located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base ( WPAFB ) Area B in Riverside , Ohio near Dayton , Ohio . Area B is the " Wright Field " portion of the base which its runways are no longer in operational service except for inbound flights to the museum . " Hanoi Taxi " is now part of the permanent static display collection of the Museum .