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12TFW Memorial
Florence -- More than a year after his remains were identified, members of the 12th Tactical
Fighter Wing Association honored Col. Leo S. Boston, for whom the memorial was named at the Fremont County Airport during its informal rededication Friday at the Leo. S. Boston War Memorial Park.
"Col. Boston has been classified as missing in action in North Vietnam from 1966 until (2011) when his remains were identified," said 12th Tactical Fighter Wing member Everett Sherwood, of Mesa, Ariz., who served in Vietnam in 1965.
Boston graduated from Cañon City High School in 1953 and later from the Air Force Aviation Cadet Program as a second lieutenant and a pilot. Col. Boston disappeared on a search and rescue mission March 26, 1966, near Hanoi, North Vietnam.
"His remains were recently discovered in North Vietnam and a funeral was held at the Air Force Academy in July 2011," Sherwood said. "We salute Col. Boston."
Welcoming the members, Retired Major Ron Doughty, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., who served as an F-4 fighter pilot with the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base in Vietnam in 1969, talked about why they continue to gather every year.
"We have organized this informal annual ceremony to honor those who gave their lives while assigned to the U.S. Air Force 12th Tactical Fighter Wing," he said.
The 12th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated in April 1962 at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.
"First equipped with F-84 aircraft, the 12th stood as an important alert commitment during the Cuban missile confrontation with the Soviet Union," said Sherif Lepi, of Albuquerque, N.M., who served as an F-4C aircraft maintenance technician at Cam Ranh Bay from 1966-67. "The 12th was chosen to be the first Air Force combat wing to convert to the new F-4 Phantom II, and the wing was soon involved in firepower demonstrations, exercises and ultimately, the Paris Air Show."
In 1965, the wing rotated squadrons quarterly to Naha Air Base in Japan during the escalation of the conflict in Southeast Asia. In the same year, the 12th began its permanent deployment to Vietnam at the airfield at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, where the wing carried out close air support, interdiction and combat air patrol missions over North and South Vietnam and Laos. After the USS Pueblo was captured, it also augmented U.S. Forces in Korea.
However, the wing suffered significant losses, including three aircraft and five crewmembers prior to arriving in Cam Ranh Bay and more than 100 personnel during the Vietnam War.
"Today, we are gathered here to remember and honor those who gave their lives to rededicate this memorial monument to the people whose names are listed on the brick wall," Lepi said.
The tradition began about 12 years ago when former 12th member Gene Rust, of Denver, discovered the memorial monument at the Leo S. Boston War Memorial Park, which was developed by the Fremont County government. According to the tail code on the F-4 at the park, it had been assigned to the 12th at one time. In conjunction, native of Cañon City, Ron Packard, served in the 12th when he was killed in North Vietnam.
With the help of the Cañon City War Memorial Park Commission, the Fremont County Veterans Service Officer and the Fremont County Commissioners, the 12th signed an agreement to have Panel J of the wall closest to the F-4 to inscribe the names of all known 12th casualties. After fundraising efforts took place, the bricks were engraved and completed in 2001. At that point, the members set Sept. 16, 2001, to dedicate the wall with former 12th Flying Wing commander Gen. Peter Sutton providing the remarks.
"The 12th Tactical Fighter Wing has a long and distinguished history of selfless commitment to defending our great nation, beginning with the wing's activation in 1962," he said during the first ceremony. "Through the Cuban Missile Crisis and the war in Vietnam, the 12th was home to hundreds of real American heroes -- true patriots who risked their lives to protect freedom and democracy."
Sherwood and Wilbur "Andy" Anderson read the 103 names on the walls as those attending stood at attention, followed by a recording of "Taps."
