John Stram joined the Air Force at 19 and was assigned to the 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron. In 1968, the squadron was moved to Takhli, Thailand, where they began flying combat missions into Vietnam. However, after a month, the F-111s they were flying began to crash due to a design flaw. The squadron was grounded and assigned to high-speed taxi runs to keep the aircraft functional until the problem could be resolved.