Page 13 - Aerotech News and Review, Aug. 4 2017

BOB, from 12
all the times it would rotate in front of me into flight or come across the desert on the deck at Cuddeback Gunnery Range, with the gun blazing and barking loudly. But long before it came into my life, it was flying the skies of Vietnam in what was called the Wild Weasel configuration, causing headaches for North Vietnamese SAM operators. Out of the hun- dreds upon hundreds of missions, this Weasel survived countless sorties over Vietnam and in the end came home to serve out her time pre- paring and training those that would continue on with the very important role of taking the fight to the enemy.
Reaching out and touching the aircraft’s skin, you feel the history if you are of a spiri- tual nature: the formations heading to Hanoi, the heroism, the planes lost, the combat, the constant refreshment of inflight refueling, the landings and take-offs halfway around the world in a war that many questioned. How- ever, the men and the mission carried on as did old 62-4416, unlike 46 other of her stablemates that met their fate in a violent explosion. Sit- ting here quietly, she will never again shatter the silence with a kick of the afterburner head- ing off to an uncertain future in a war zone, or coast to a stop with a drag chute deployed and a crew drenched in sweat, with the realization that it all would happen again way to soon.
In July 1980 this all came to end for the F-105 Thunderchiefs at George Air Force Base with a ceremony that said ‘your place in history is complete.’ The war-weary Thuds that had seen individual numbers of 6,000 hours of flight would fly no more in the skies over America or foreign countries. Just a few static displays would remain of a proud bird that once ruled the skies. At George AFB, the
powers-that-be wanted a worthy survivor as a gate guard to honor the pilots, crews and the plane for generations to come. After a review of combat missions and successes, F-105 # 62-4416 was chosen to wear that crown.
As the tides changed and the military re- structured, George AFB became just a mem-
Right: #416 as she now sits, having seen better days. We who remember them in a different era have a hard time seeing them uncovered in the elements, but are thankful for those that do their best to keep them in view of the public and in the best condition they can.
ory, and the once proud birds that graced the lawns of headquarters have now been shipped off to other locations. On this day as I stand or walk around this old friend, I find it ironic that we both have ended up here to carry on our life’s missions in the Antelope Valley. Two old warriors at Joe Davies Airpark baking in
the sun, one with more history than one can imagine, the other just wishing to see his old friend one more time in all her glory. Stat- ic displays for those of us that lived it just doesn’t do it — however sometimes it’s all we have.
Till next time, Bob out ...
Photograph by Bob Alvis
Left: Farewell old friends: The end of an era as the last sortie flown by F-105s at George AFB returns to the hardstand for the very last time.
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August 4, 2017
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