Base to honor three Airmen

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Brandon Patterson
  • 48th Flying Training Squadron
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Columbus Air Force Base Memorial Day Retreat will be held at the Wing Ceremonial Plaza in front of the wing headquarters building May 23 where we will memorialize the sacrifices made by three of our fellow Airmen. This year we will add the names of two pilots, Capt. Jeffery A. Haney and Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, to the wall that is dedicated to those individuals who have served at Columbus Air Force Base, and one name to the Medal of Honor recipient wall, Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger.

The Ceremonial Plaza was renamed Richard "Gene" Smith Plaza in honor of retired Lt. Col. Richard "Gene" Smith during the Columbus AFB 65th Anniversary events in 2007. Smith was an F-105 pilot and former POW of more than five years during the Vietnam War. He later became the 50th Flying Training Squadron commander and Director of Operations (now called the OG) for the wing. One side of the monument honors Airmen who have received the Medal of Honor. Next Thursday, we will be adding Chief Etchberger to that distinguished list. The other wall of the monument honors both pilots who earned their wings at Columbus or instructor pilots assigned here that have died in military aircraft accidents. The pilots names commemorated on the wall began when the pilot training mission returned to Columbus AFB in the early 1970s. At the center of the monument is a large replica of pilot wings, reminding us of our mission to produce pilots.

Captain Haney of Clarklake, Mich. was flying the F-22 Raptor on November 16, 2012, when he lost contact with air traffic control and later crashed during a training mission in Alaska. Haney was stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska where he joined the 525th Fighter Squadron. He was part of class 05-06 and received his wings through the 50th FTS. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Major McCormick of Belmont, N.C. was among the six crew members aboard the Charlotte-based N.C. Air National Guard C-130 Hercules on July 1, 2012, when it crashed while fighting wildfires in the Black Hills region of western South Dakota. McCormick was an instructor pilot and chief of training for the 156th Airlift Squadron. He was part of class 04-13 and received his wings through the 48th Flying Training Squadron. He is survived by his wife and four children.

Chief Etchberger was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for actions on March 11, 1968, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Etchberger and his team of technicians were manning a top-secret defensive position at Lima Site 85, Laos, as a Ground Radar Evaluation Superintendent when the base was overrun by an enemy ground force. Receiving sustained and withering heavy artillery attacks directly upon his unit's position, Etchberger's entire crew lay dead or severely wounded. Despite having received little to no combat training, Etchberger single-handedly held off the enemy with an M-16, while simultaneously directing air strikes into the area and calling for air rescue. Because of his fierce defense and heroic and selfless actions, he was able to deny the enemy access to his position and save the lives of his remaining crew. With the arrival of the rescue aircraft, Etchberger, without hesitation, repeatedly and deliberately risked his own life, exposing himself to heavy enemy fire in order to place three surviving wounded comrades into rescue slings hanging from the hovering helicopter waiting to airlift them to safety. With his remaining crew safely aboard, Etchberger finally climbed into an evacuation sling himself, only to be fatally wounded by enemy fire as he was being hoisted into the aircraft. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on September 21, 2010.

This is your invitation as officer, enlisted, civilian and contract Airmen to take time out, as we approach the Memorial Day weekend, to pay tribute to three of our fellow Airman who paid the ultimate price in the service to their nation. Retreat will start promptly at 4 p.m. at Smith Plaza.