I built Trumpeter’s F-105G last summer. The plane I built was tail number 62-4440 and was assigned to the 17 Wild Weasel Squadron, 388 Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat Royal Thai Airforce Base in 1972-1974. I just got an email from a fella who was in the 17WWS at Korat in 1972, and remembered that particular plane.
It isn’t often that we hear from someone who remembers not just a particular type of aircraft, but the exact airplane that we build a model of. I thought that was pretty unique for a 30+ year old plane.
That is a pretty unique event.
regards, Rick
Thats great to hear about. I heard a similar story from an old friend at Nats in OKC(04?) about a P-51. My grandfather ended up building an aircraft after getting an autograph from a pilot which led to correspondence. I’m very glad the man was still around to recognize the plane you built after 30 years. We’re losing all our veterans and encounters like your’s are becoming increasingly rare. So much the worse for the following generations.Allen
IT’s funny how small the world can be some time. Things just pop up out of nowhere, like this guy happening across my web site and seeing a model of a plane that he remembered from Viet Nam.
When I was a toddler, back in the mid 50’s, my mother owned a small drug store near Ft. Campbell, KY. It had a soda fountain, and a lot of soldiers from Ft. Campbell hung out there in their off-duty time. A few of them sort of adopted my sister and I, and they would come in every day and play with us.
Time passed, people grew up, and I never gave it a second thought. About 25 years later I got into ham radio and was talking to a guy one night who had been stationed at Ft. Campbell. I related the story about the drug store and came to find out that he was one of the soldiers that came in every day to play with my sister and me. What are the odds … both of us on the same frequency at the same time. According to him I was an evil little brat as a kid [}:)]
Military veterans ARE fast disappearing. WW-I vets are essentially non-existant. The last Illinois Great War vet died last week at 103 years old. The ranks of WW-II vets are decreasing at a high rate. There is a group of veterans in my area from various wars that go around to the local schools and give impromtu talks on “their” war. It is very pleasing to note the rapt attention paid to them by most of the students. A very close personal friend of mine was a pilot in WW-II, Korea and Viet Nam. He flew C-46 and C-47 “Hump” missions in the CBI during WW-II, C-119 missions between Japan and Korea and C-130 missions in Nam. He is 83 and in extremely frail health. I will certainly miss our lengthy, rambling conversations when he departs for that big hangar in the sky. If you know a veteran, talk to them. Encourage them to talk about their experiences. You will be amazed at what you can learn!
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
that is really cool Scott!![tup] later.