Published May 19, 2015
ROLLING THUNDER Missions over the North. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Lt. Tom Coney (left) flew as the backseater on the last mission of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron commander, Lt. Col. Charles McGee (right). During World War II, McGee was a Tuskegee Airman. (U.S. Air Force photo)
RF-4C pilot Capt. Robert Clark being congratulated after finishing his second 100-mission RF-4C tour. The “2 to go” on his aircraft represented his wish to fly two more 100-mission tours. He later flew missions as a B-52G pilot over North Vietnam during Linebacker II. (U.S. Air Force photo)
On April 7, 1968, Capt. Eben “Jonesy” Jones became the first F-100F Misty FAC pilot to reach 100 missions. One-quarter of all Misty FAC aircrews were shot down, including Jones, who was shot down (but recovered by rescue forces) on his 100th mission. (U.S. Air Force photo)
DAYTON, Ohio - On display: 42nd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (TEWS) patch worn by Staff Sgt. Underwood. F-4 aircrews had several styles of 100 mission patches. Maj. William Clarke, an RF-4C pilot in the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Udorn, Thailand, donated this patch and party suit showing two different kinds. His party suit also has a Night Owl patch for flying at least 25 night reconnaissance missions and a Railroad Runners patch for flying along the railroad line from Hanoi to the Chinese border.F-4 and RF-4C aircrews also had their own playing card style patch for 100 missions and for 200 missions. Lt. Joel “Tom” Coney’s 100 mission RF-4 playing card patch (with North Vietnam tab). Coney, an RF-4C weapon system’s operator (WSO), also had a custom patch made to show his 228 mission total. From March 1968-March 1969, Capt. Wayne Pittman, 12th TRS, flew on 186 RF-4C combat missions over North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. He could not reveal his classified missions over Cambodia, so he had this patch made as SEA MISC (Southeast Asia Miscellaneous). Clark wore these F-4 patches together on his party suit like a poker four-of-a-kind hand. It represented his objective to stay in combat until he had 400 missions. Tour limitations and being shot down once, however, limited his nonetheless impressive total to 269 missions during three tours. Modeled after the F-105 North Vietnam patch, this shows 200 missions in Southeast Asia in an F-4 Phantom. F-100F Misty FACs spent much of their time over North Vietnam looking for targets, so they made patches that noted the number of hours flown over the North, like these donated by Misty FAC P.K. Robinson. Many aircrews put their 100 mission patches on their “party suits,” like this one from Capt. Patrick Savelli. An electronic warfare officer (EWO), he flew 100 missions in EB-66s and 100 missions in B-52Ds. (U.S. Air Force photo)