Dinner under SAM 27000
Under the wings of SAM 27000, February 28, 2026
Is it an unusual wish to savor a dinner beneath the immense fuselage of a Boeing VC-137C, a military variant of the Boeing 707?
To gaze upon that awe-inspiring aircraft, to consider the vast expanse of the skies and countries that it traversed?
To reflect upon the individuals from history who entrusted this iconic jet and the pilots with the responsibility of transporting them?
This aircraft, named SAM 27000, was President Ronald Raagan's primary presidential airplane. It is housed inside the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. SAM 27000 served seven US Presidents from 1972 to 2001 and holds significant historical importance. President Reagan was its most frequent flyer, logging over 660,000 miles aboard the aircraft to 26 foreign countries and 46 U.S. states. It was the primary transport for his historic summit meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
USMC Captain Roger N. McMullin
So, a wish comes true! A dinner to celebrate the amazing Vietnam Veterans took place under the wings of SAM27000 on February 28, 2026. The Annual "For The Troops" Tribute Gala celebrated our Vietnam War Era veterans. This high-profile charity event is Simi Valley-based is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that packages and ships "We Care" care boxes to deployed U.S. service members around the world.
Vietnam War-era veteran, Roger N. McMullin was an honoree, who stepped forward in 1966 after University of California, Berkeley graduation, to join the Tactical Air Missions in Vietnam. He flew dangerous combat operations in F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers. He was joined on stage by several men who shared a direct bond with him as decorated officer-pilots who flew high-stakes missions over Southeast Asia, and also a medical officer friend who kept them flying. They were C. Quilter, D. DeSilva, K. Trainer, Dr. I. Sharlip and D. Ashworth.
Standing together under the nose of Air Force One, this specific cohort of veterans were celebrated not just for their individual wartime sacrifices, but for their collective timeline of turning military service into lifetimes of professional and philanthropic leadership.
Barbara Evans Kinnear
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