It's a pity that the F104 will forever be linked to bribery and the whole "Lockheed Affair" because that's what made the F104 a selling succes while it certainly was not the best suited fighter jet ever.
In Vietnam, the F104 was used as a decoy to lure vietcong fighters into battle. But the Starfighters themselves never fought the Migs, the F4 Phantom would take care of that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-104_Starfighter
The Royal Netherlands Air Force probably would've flown either Dassault Mirage III, English Electric Lightning or Saab Draken fighters if the F 104 wouldn't have been there.