Saturday, July 13, 2024

The F-4 Phantom

 This is an F-4 Phantom where I got aftermarket decals.

One of the times I was in Washington D.C., I stopped at the Vietnam memorial.  Near the memorial there was vendor that was selling POW/MIA bracelets.  They seemed to be random, so I picked a Navy person.  It turns out that I picked Commander Harley H. Hall.

Harley Hall was shot down over South Vietnam in 1972 just before the cease fire.  In fact, if he had done his mission a couple of hours later, it would have been during the cease fire and he probably wouldn't have been shot down.  A chute was confirmed by his radar intercept officer who was returned after the war.  Later it was determined, that Hall had died in Vietnam but there are still questions.

Prior to his assignment as Commander of VF-143, he served as the leader of the Blue Angels.  Before that, he was assigned to VF-154, the Black Knights on the USS Ranger.  This plane represents that unit but I'm not sure if it was the actual plane he was in.  I am currently working on a model of the plane he was shot down in.


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