After running on the mountain bike trails this morning, and before heading home, I drove to Main Gate 1 where I knew that there were three planes resting quietly on the grounds outside the gate.
Not long after moving back into our house in Tullahoma I stopped briefly at Gate 2 and took these pictures.
Pictures filled with Fall colors, a lot of green, and three other planes:
Gate 1 is located only a few miles from the Interstate and I have driven by this gate hundreds (if not thousands) of times, but have never taken the time to stop.
And so after my run today I headed down the main highway, turned left off Wattendorf Highway (that leads from Tullahoma to I-24 and beyond) and pulled into a parking spot at the Visitors Center which is located right outside the gates.
I have never been through these gates and onto the base proper, but as someone who was once married to a military man in Canada, who worked on a contract basis for the Canadian military for a few years, and whose youngest son was in the USAF I have a pretty good idea of what is there.
Regardless, I climbed out of my truck on a cool and perfectly sunny day, happy to be outside and excited about the prospect of finally stopping to learn more about these aircraft and why these specific crafts were chosen to rest on the grounds of Arnolds Air Force Base.
Walking across the parking lot I stopped first at this dedication to the name sake of the highway that I had just driven..............
About General Robert M. Bond:
LIEUTENANT GENERAL ROBERT M. BOND
Died April 26, 1984.
Lt. Gen. Robert M. Bond is vice commander, Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
General Bond was born in Trenton, Tenn., in 1929. He graduated from Ashland (Miss.) High School in 1948 and attended Marion Military Institute in Marion, Ala., and the University of Mississippi. He graduated from the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in 1966.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1951 and after a year in the aviation cadet program earned his pilot wings and commission in October 1952. He completed advanced gunnery training at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and was assigned to the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing at K-13 Airfield, South Korea, where he flew 44 combat missions in F-86s. From 1954 to 1959, General Bond was stationed at Alexandria (now England) Air Force Base, La. As a member of the 389th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, he participated in several of the early non-stop deployments to Europe, flying F-84s, F-86s and F-100s. From July to October 1958, he attended the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base.
Upon deactivation of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing in spring 1959, the general returned to Nellis and served as an instructor pilot in the Fighter Weapons School and was a member of the 1960 Nellis Weapons Team. He transferred in the fall of that year to the Training Research and Development Section of the Fighter Weapons School as an F-105 project test pilot.
In 1963 he was assigned to the 6002nd Standardization and Evaluation Group at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, and was chief of the Strike Branch. While stationed at Kadena he flew F-105 combat missions in Southeast Asia.
The general attended Air Command and Staff College from 1965 to 1966 and then joined the Directorate of Safety, Headquarters 1002nd Inspector General Group, Norton Air Force Base, Calif., as the F-105 and F-111 project officer. In August 1968 he was assigned to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. He flew 213 combat missions in F-4s and progressed from flight commander to operations officer.
He was assigned to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in July 1969 as an F-100 instructor pilot. In January 1970 he assumed command of the 310th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, the first Air Force A-7 unit. While stationed at Luke he progressed from squadron commander to director of operations for the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing.
The general returned to England Air Force Base in June 1972 as vice commander of the newly reorganized 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing. During this assignment he served on temporary duty in Southeast Asia flying combat missions in A-7s.
In June 1973 he became deputy director for general purpose forces, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. He was responsible to the director of operational requirements, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Research and Development, for establishing and validating operational requirements and system modifications for tactical fighter and airlift aircraft and their associated weaponry and subsystems.
General Bond was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in August 1978, as commander of the Armament Division (formerly the Armament Development and Test Center), Air Force Systems Command. He assumed his present duties in June 1981.
He is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours, primarily in tactical fighter aircraft. His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ribbon with four oak leaf clusters and several foreign decorations.
He was promoted to lieutenant general June 1, 1981, with same date of rank.
General Bond was killed in an aircraft crash at the Nevada Test Site April 26, 1984.
The second aircraft was dedicated to Major James Duricy.
A newspaper article about the dedication ceremony:
8/13/2007 - ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- "The father is the hero, or he hopes to be -- Jim was my hero," said Art Duricy, the father of Maj. Jim Duricy, an Air Force test pilot who had an F-15 Eagle static display aircraft dedicated in his memory at Arnold Air Force Base, Aug. 9. "We are very proud of him. He never ceased to amaze me."
Mr. Duricy, with his wife, Irene by his side, spoke those words to those attending the dedication ceremony. Others present included Major Duricy's widow, Elaine Johnson, children, Erin and Kate, other family members, friends, guests, community leaders and AEDC contractor and military personnel.
Mrs. Duricy said even though her son's life was cut short, he led a full and rewarding life and showed a love of flying from an early age.
"When he was about 14, he came home one day and said, he wanted to fly jet planes," she recalled. "Like every other mom, I said 'What in the world do you want to do that for?'
"He loved all of his jobs in the Air Force, from his first job as an instructor pilot to his last job in the test wing. But above all, he just loved to fly."
Major Duricy was a 12-year test pilot who was killed when he was forced to eject at high speed as the F-15C he piloted crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, April 30, 2002.
The major was assigned to the 40th Flight Test Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and was on a captive flight development test of a new air-to-air missile when the aircraft crashed. His body was never found.
The guest speaker for the dedication ceremony was Brig. Gen. C.D. Moore II, commander of the 478th Aeronautical Systems Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours in 30 types of aircraft. At the time of Major Duricy's death, General Moore served as the commander of the 46th Operations Group at Eglin.
General Moore said Major Duricy was the epitome of what makes the U.S. Air Force great.
"I really am humbled and grateful to be here today as we honor a fighter pilot, a test pilot, loving husband, father, devoted son and truly an outstanding American -- Major Jim Duricy," the general said. "It's an honor to be here, not only to help dedicate this 46th Test Wing aircraft, but in recognition of the sacrifice Jim and his family have made for our nation."
He also expressed his appreciation for all those who work at AEDC.
"I also want to thank all of you at Arnold for your role in preserving our freedom and national security," he continued. "Five years ago, I was the commander of the 46th Operations Group. That's where I first met Jim. We worked together to test and integrate the new weapon onto our fighter force - F-15s, F-16s, A-10s and Jim was one of our premiere F-15 test pilots.
"From the moment I met Jim, there was no doubt that you were in the presence of a really remarkable test pilot and individual. He was the kind of person you would expect to rise to that level -- a valedictorian in high school and star athlete who went off to the Air Force Academy and graduated with honors. Just a handful of the graduates are sent to graduate school -- only the smartest. Jim went on to George Washington University -- not an easy school."
AEDC Commander Col. Art Huber said the dedication also had some personal significance to him.
"As it turned out, when Major Duricy lost his life in 2002, he was performing a captive loads mission with then new AIM-9X air-to-air missile," he said. "Back in the 1990s, I too flew the F-15 and was involved in the initial planning for the AIM-9X test program as a flight test engineer. I did that with the air-to-air missile test wing within the 46th Test Wing at Eglin. It was this unit that oversaw the last mission in which Major Duricy flew.
"While I never met Jim, I did meet his widow when she graciously and courageously shared her experiences at my group commanders' course at Maxwell Air Force Base. From my perspective, Major Duricy was clearly the right choice for this memorial."
The F-15C that was dedicated at AEDC was assigned to the 46th Test Wing, the same wing that Major Duricy flew with at the time of his death. The 46th is part of the Air Force's Air Armament Center at Eglin.
The third aircraft was located closest to the main road and when I read the plaque was surprised to learn that it was dedicated to Lt Kara Hultgreen.
Surprised to see the name of a woman, I did not recognize her name, and resolved to do some research online when I returned home.
Lt Hultgreen was the first female Naval combat fighter pilot................
An excerpt from an article on Lt Hultgreen:
Then and Now: Forging the way
14 November 2004
Scott Huddleston - Courtesy of the Express-News
It's been a decade since a young woman from San Antonio, the first female Navy fighter pilot cleared for combat, lost her life when her F-14 Tomcat crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.
Her death was controversial almost immediately.
Some who opposed the use of female combat pilots said the Navy, hoping to downplay the Tailhook sexual abuse scandal, had hastened promotion of female pilots, placing them in danger with inadequate training.
Critics suggested she had approached the USS Abraham Lincoln at an improper "glide slope."
Others defended the 29-year-old pilot, whose left engine stalled on descent to the carrier on that Tuesday afternoon. Some in naval aviation said the crash was unavoidable.
The one thing both sides agreed on was that the October 25, 1994, death of Lieutenant Kara S. Hultgreen was as much a tragic loss for her family as it was for her country.
When I pulled into the parking lot close to the main gate I had expected that my visit would be short.
That I would simply and quickly take a few pictures and then head for home, tired and sore and sweaty and getting cold.
But as I read the plaques and walked in front of and beside and behind each of these aircrafts I found myself unexpectedly enthralled with both the machines and the pilots to whom they were dedicated.
History. Lives. Honor and duty and sacrifice.
Without intending them to be, these seem to have been the running themes of my last few blogs.
Compelling pictures and compelling stories on a very beautiful Tuesday morning................
I believe the risks I take are justified by the sheer love of the life I lead............Charles A. Lindbergh
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