Cincinnati Reunion
Hosted by
Don & Susan Wykoff
19-22 Sep 1996
Omni Hotel
This great reunion, although attended by a smaller number of
members than others, was another huge success! When we analyzed what the
reason was for the lower turn-out, it was determined that, although Cincinnati
was a beautiful place, the fact remained that very few of our retired members
and none of our active duty members are in that area. With the next
reunion at that time planned for Seattle, WA, the same reasoning dictated we
change that reunion to Las Vegas. So it came to pass!
(Click on the small Thumbnail pictures for more detail)
Host Susan with Aces
(L-R) Don McGee, Kirby, Murphey
One of the highlights of this Cincinnati Reunion was the
dedication of our Squadron plaque at the USAF Museum on Wright-Patterson
AFB. This beautiful bronze plaque and the dedication follow:
Dedication by
JayBird
Headhunters at the
dedication
80th Squadron
Memorial Plaque Dedication
United States Air Force Museum
Wright-Patterson AFB
20 September 1996
1500 Hours
Distinguished Guests, Fellow Headhunters,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The 80th Pursuit, Fighter,
Fighter-Bomber, and Tactical Fighter Squadron has had a long and distinguished
history. I would like to mention just some of its highlights.
The 80th Pursuit Squadron had its
beginnings on 6 January 1942 at Mitchell Field, New York. The 80th,
along with the 35th and 36th Pursuit Squadrons, formed the
8th Pursuit Group. The Group left Mitchell Field 20 days later,
and landed in Brisbane, Australia on the 6th of March.
On 15 May 1942, the official designation
changed from "80th Pursuit" to "80th
Fighter" Squadron.
On the 20th of July, twelve P-39’s
of the 80th flew up to 12-Mile Strip outside Port Moresby, New
Guinea, and on August 26th 1942, Lt Danny Roberts got the first two
air victories for the 80th, the first of more than 225 such Squadron victories
of WWII. Lt William Brown also accounted for two Zeros that day.
Rogers was making a subsequent pass at a Zero that was trying to land, when
other Japanese fighters got on his tail. He was forced to ditch his
fighter in the bay after it was badly damaged, and then swam to shore, making it
back to Port Moresby two weeks later with the help of a local tribe of
headhunters.
A turning point in the history of the 80th
occurred on 8 April 1943 when Capt Edward "Porky" Cragg, who had
joined the 80th in early 1942, was tapped to be its commander.
Capt Cragg commissioned crewchief Yale Saffro, who had worked as an artist for
Walt Disney before the war, to design the 80th’s legendary symbol. Cragg
also gave the squadron the name it still proudly carries today, "The
Headhunters" after the local New Guinean Headhunter tribes who helped to
rescue downed pilots.
Feistiness of this young commander became more
apparent, when the "Powers That Be" decided that only one of the 8th
Group’s squadrons would initially be given new P-38 aircraft. The
commanders of the 35th and 36th, respected units whose lineage traced back to
before World War I, didn’t even consider the brash newcomer eligible for
consideration of the honor being bestowed upon the group, and tossed a coin
between themselves to determine the winner. Informed of their decision,
"Porky" raised no protest. Early the next morning, however, he
climbed into his P-39, "Porky I" and proceeded to Port Moresby to
consult with the "Powers That Be" personally. Apparently Cragg
talked as well as he flew, because less than two weeks later, on January 28th,
the 36th Squadron relieved the 80th and on 6 February 1943, the entire squadron
moved to Mareeba, Australia for conversion to their brand-new twin-tailed
Lockheed P-38 Lightnings!
Two months later, on 7 April 1943, the
personnel of the 80th were flown back to go into business at 3-Mile Strip.
The P-38s were not long in joining them, sporting the sparkling brand new color
scheme: the bright green spinners with silver and green striped rudders that
Japanese pilots soon learned to dread.
On December 26, 1943, during one of the first
missions flown from Dobodura, Major Edward "Porky" Cragg’s P-38,
"Porky II" was shot down soon after downing his 15th Japanese
fighter. His parachute was seen to open as he fell to the sea, but he was
never seen again. Cragg had been leading his flight of 12 P-38s against a
force of 20 Japanese bombers and over 50 fighters. At least nine Japanese
aircraft were downed during the gallant "Headhunter" attack, and the
bombers were forced to drop their loads and return to Rabaul without hitting
their target. Although he was only 24 years old when he was lost, Major Cragg
was one of the most decorated officers in the Pacific Theater with 15 confirmed
aerial victories. "Porky" Cragg is still remembered in song to
this day by the "Headhunters".
On the 30th of March, 1944, the
80th, in support of General Douglas MacArthur’s ground offensive, participated
in a great turkey shoot over the Japanese Base at Hollandia, destroying over 33
enemy aircraft in 4 days without a single loss to themselves—a Pacific Theater
record. On the 12th of April, the 80th became the
first US fighter squadron ever to shoot down over 200 enemy aircraft, and on
that same day, while flying with the 80th, Maj Dick Bong scored his
26th, 27th, and 28th victories, surpassing
Eddie Rickenbacker’s old record making him the new American
"Ace-of-Aces." Praise poured in for the pilots and the
maintenance personnel after that operation. The pilots flew outstanding
missions, and maintenance kept all 26 P-38 aircraft at their peak with all 26
participating in the action, performing at least three missions a day, for all 4
days!
The legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, also
flew with the "Headhunters" as an instructor, earning several
kills. The squadron moved to Okinawa on 29 August, 1944, and flew its
first mission against the Japanese mainland on the following day. On 12
August, 1945, the "Headhunters" flew their final combat mission of
World War II, in which the squadron commander was shot down.
During the course of World War II, the
"Headhunters" traveled over 60,000 air-miles, deployed to 21 different
locations in 3.5 years, and accounted for over 225 enemy aircraft
destroyed in the air (second highest squadron in the theater, and overall second
highest twin-engined allied fighter squadron in the entire war). Among the
24 "Headhunters" pilots who became aces were Major Jay T. Robbins, the
group's leading ace with 22 confirmed kills, and Major Richard I. Bong with 40
confirmed aerial victories, the American "Ace-of-Aces."
On 26 Dec 1945, as part of the massive
draw-down of American forces following World War II, the 80th Fighter Squadron
was deactivated. The squadron remained inactive until 20 February 1947,
when it was once again activated and assigned to the newly reformed 8th Fighter
Group, which had moved to Itazuke, Japan. The 8th Fighter Group was again
composed of the 35th, 36th, and 80th Fighter Squadrons and had converted from
the P-38 to the F-51D Mustang. The 80th began to transition to its first
jet aircraft in 1949, trading its Mustangs for the F-80 Shooting Star. The
F-80 was the first operational American jet fighter. The conversion to F-80s was
completed in 1950, and the squadron designation changed to the 80th
Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 20 January 1950.
North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June
1950, and the "Headhunters" once again entered combat. The day
after the invasion, the 80th and the rest of the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing
provided air defense for the frantic evacuation of American forces from Seoul as
it was being overrun. Other than these initial air defense missions, the
80th spent the rest of the war flying bombing and close air support missions.
The 80th was the first American unit to employ jet fighters in combat, another
"First" for the "Headhunters." On 5 Jul 1950, the 80th’s
commander, Maj Amos L. Sluder, became the first American pilot to give his life
in the new war when his F-80 was hit by a tank shell during an attack on an
enemy column, a not-so-happy "First."
In a 14-hour period on 14 April 1953, the
squadron flew 120 combat sorties, surpassing all previous records. Shortly
before the war ended, the squadron converted from the F-80 to the F-86 Sabre,
but continued to fly air-to-ground missions.
The "Headhunters" had remained in
continuous combat during the entire conflict.
On 21 October 1954, the 80th moved from Suwon,
Korea to Kadena, Okinawa. While at Kadena, the 80th converted to the F-84
Thunderjet. On 7 August 1956, the "Headhunters" rejoined the 8th
Fighter-Bomber Wing, which had again moved to Itazuke. Here the squadron
began flying the F-100 Super Sabre. During this time the squadron
designation changed again, with a 1 July 1958 redesignation as the 80th Tactical
Fighter Squadron.
In 1962 the 80th began to transition to the
F-105 Thunderchief, and in May 1964 moved to Yokota Air Base, Japan. The
squadron performed two combat deployments to Southeast Asia in 1964 and 1965,
serving first for two months at Korat Air Base, Thailand and later for two
months at Takhli Air Base, Thailand. During this period, the 8 TFW/CC, Col
Robin Olds, gave the 8th Wing its nickname of "Wolf Pack." It
has stuck ever since.
These two deployments made up the total of the
80th Tactical Fighter Squadron's involvement in Vietnam.
During the late 1960s, the Air Force used the
squadron for the defense of Korea. The squadron converted to the F-4
Phantom in late 1967 and early 1968.
On 15 February, 1971, the 80th moved from
Yokota to Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea. After a few months, the 80th was
in the process of being deactivated. Fortunately, former
"Headhunter" Lt Gen Jay T. Robbins, who was Vice Commander of TAC at
the time, caught the action and rescued us at the last minute. Instead, we
were re-staffed with new personnel, primarily from the 391st Tactical Fighter
Squadron. The 391st motto was "AUDENTES FORTUNA JUVAT" which
translates from Latin: "Fortune Favors the Bold". This motto
subsequently became the new "Headhunters" motto. As the new
"Headhunters" were removing their old patches, they would grasp the
triangular patch by the upper left hand corner to tear them off. All would
tear off except the last word, "JUVAT". It caught on
immediately, and is used today for the Squadron’s nickname.
On 16 September 1974, the 8th Tactical Fighter
Wing replaced the 3 TFW at Kunsan, reuniting the "Headhunters" with
the "Wolf Pack."
In September of 1981 the 8th Tactical Fighter
Wing became the first unit stationed overseas to convert to the F-16 Fighting
Falcon. On 3 February, 1992, the 80th Tactical Fighter Squadron was
redesignated the 80th Fighter Squadron and reassigned to the new 8th Operations
Group (a direct descendant of our original 8th Pursuit Group). The 80th
Fighter Squadron continues to support the United States Contingent in Korea with
the same pride and excellence instilled by the "Headhunters" of the
past. In demonstration of this, we proudly bear the name given to us by
"Porky" Cragg in 1943, wear a patch very similar to the one designed
for us by Yale Saffro, and use some of the Flight-Lead call-signs
("Chevy," "Olds," and "Buick") dating back to
World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Our Squadron has had a proud history, and it
still stands ready today, at Kunsan Air Base, Korea, to once again serve our
Country and protect others.
Therefore, this plaque is dedicated, NOT to
our 24 WWII Aces and other pilots who accounted for over 225 enemy aircraft
destroyed in the air, NOT to our 3 Korean War Aces and other pilots who knocked
down 17 aircraft, and destroyed thousands of ground targets, including the gun
emplacements destroyed by Medal Of Honor winner, Maj Charles J. Loring, as he
dove his crippled F-80 into their midst’s, thus allowing the trapped infantry
to advance—at the cost of his own life.
NOR are we dedicating this plaque to the
pilots who preserved the fragile peace between the wars, NOR our Ace, pilots,
and crew members who flew in the Vietnam War, NOR the newer pilots and crew
members known as "Juvats" today.
This plaque is NOT dedicated to all the ground
personnel of WWII, Korea, between the wars, Vietnam, and the present who kept
the planes flying, weapons loaded, aircrews ready, and Squadron administration
running efficiently.
NOR is this plaque being dedicated to the
numerous members who went on in their careers to become General Officers, NOR
the 77 members, as of today, who were 80th Squadron Commanders.
No, not even to our many comrades who gave
their lives in all these wars and during peace time to help prevent wars.
Then why are we here today? We’re here
today to dedicate this 80th Squadron Memorial Plaque to ALL
members and former members, who, working only as a close-knit team of men and
women, excel in all they do—from its inception on 6 January 1942 to the
present. Without any one of these critical parts, the whole would not be
the unique same. Therefore, let us unveil OUR Memorial Plaque—dedicated to ALL
of us. We, as a team, can be very proud of our Squadron and our individual role
we each play to insure it’s the best fighter squadron in the world.
As the plaque is unveiled, and the ceremony is
concluded, the fly-over you’ll see is a flight of four single-seat F-16 Vipers
from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, being flown by four former members of
the 80th Squadron.
1525 -- ( Unveil Plaque at this time, and read
it )
1530 – Fly-over TOT
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming
today to witness this dedication. Please feel free to come up and view
YOUR beautiful plaque. This concludes the ceremony.
* END *
DEDICATION BENEDICTION
Dear God,
Today, we have gathered here to honor the men
and women of the 80th Fighter Squadron. This unit was born in
time of war, and has survived the challenges of our countries enemies, but at
great sacrifice during its 54 years.
We ask you, God, to please keep those brave
people of the 80th who have gone before us, with you, and we ask that
you watch over our young people in this Squadron today who are still protecting
our country by maintaining the peace in a far-off land.
And lastly, dear Lord, please watch over the
rest of the people of the 80th Squadron who couldn’t be here today
in person, but are here with us in spirit.
Thank you, God, for all our blessings, and
please keep us always close to You and each other. We ask it in Your name,
Amen.
Head
Headhunters
80th Commanders
Kirby &
JayBird
(L-R) JJ Cummins, Dana
Duthie, Sol Harpe,
JayBird, Barry Johnson
(Photos on this page by Joe Howard & Tom
Slee)
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