49th FTS dedicates rooms to 49th heroes

Lt. Col. David Bickerstaff, 49th Fighter Training Squadron Commander, hangs a plaque at the entrance of the 49th Fighter Training Squadron Heritage Room, renaming it to Tracer's Tavern Feb. 3, 2017, at Columbus Air Force base, Mississippi. The room was dedicated in honor and memory of Maj. Rick "Tracer" Shafer, a 49th FTS instructor pilot who lost his life during a general aviation accident on Aug. 31, 2014. The 49th FTS was joined by Ashley Shafer, Maj. Shafer’s widow, and their children. Additionally, the main briefing room at the 49th FTS was renamed in honor of Capt. Frank Mullinax Jr., 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron World War II pilot who downed two German aircraft before being shot down, captured, spent nine months as a POW, escaped, spent nine months evading, was repatriated when the Allies took Italy and finally returned to U.S. soil July 4, 1944. (U.S. Air Force photo by Richard Johnson)