Posted 2:08 pm Friday, January 13, 2012
Fighter Jet Arriving For Veterans Memorial
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
An F-4D Phantom fighter jet will travel through Canton this weekend to its display at the Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial Plaza.
The jet, which will be the centerpiece for the memorial, is part of a parade that begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. It will be towed from Texas Highway 64 and Texas Highway 243 to the memorial site, at the intersection of Texas Highway 19 and Texas Highway 243.
Former pilot Field McConnell, who flew the F4 jet plane for six or seven years, will serve as the grand marshal.
Local dignitaries also are slated to participate, and Cub Scouts will lead the front of the parade with flags, said Bob Borth, retired United States Air Force and secretary of the Veterans Memorial Committee. High school band members from across Van Zandt County will be part of the festivities, as will the Patriot Guard and several antique jeeps, he said.
Staff Writer
An F-4D Phantom fighter jet will travel through Canton this weekend to its display at the Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial Plaza.
The jet, which will be the centerpiece for the memorial, is part of a parade that begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. It will be towed from Texas Highway 64 and Texas Highway 243 to the memorial site, at the intersection of Texas Highway 19 and Texas Highway 243.
Former pilot Field McConnell, who flew the F4 jet plane for six or seven years, will serve as the grand marshal.
Local dignitaries also are slated to participate, and Cub Scouts will lead the front of the parade with flags, said Bob Borth, retired United States Air Force and secretary of the Veterans Memorial Committee. High school band members from across Van Zandt County will be part of the festivities, as will the Patriot Guard and several antique jeeps, he said.
Once flown in the Vietnam Conflict, the jet has been in service since 1966 and originated at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, Borth said.
In 1971, the plane was assigned to the Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam, but it was moved to the Clark Air Base in the Philippines the next year. Borth said it later went to Taiwan before returning to the George Air Force Base in California, followed by the Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
The jet eventually wound up in North Dakota, Borth said. After that, it participated in a 1982 fighter competition, went to Niagara Falls in New York, went back to the Hill base in Utah, and ended up in California. Borth said Canton got the jet from the Air Force, and it was refurbished, repainted and stored at a drilling site off Texas Highway 64.
Now, its placement at the memorial plaza is the next step in completing the plaza project, which has been in the works for about seven years.
In 1971, the plane was assigned to the Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam, but it was moved to the Clark Air Base in the Philippines the next year. Borth said it later went to Taiwan before returning to the George Air Force Base in California, followed by the Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
The jet eventually wound up in North Dakota, Borth said. After that, it participated in a 1982 fighter competition, went to Niagara Falls in New York, went back to the Hill base in Utah, and ended up in California. Borth said Canton got the jet from the Air Force, and it was refurbished, repainted and stored at a drilling site off Texas Highway 64.
Now, its placement at the memorial plaza is the next step in completing the plaza project, which has been in the works for about seven years.
“This is one of the many pieces that were focal points that were put into a plan in trying to honor (military members),” said Carter Clark, designer and engineer of the memorial.
Borth said the jet will be at the forefront of the plaza grounds, with missiles attached to the bottom so it appears to be armed.
“To us, it's just a significant piece of the puzzle and one of the things we need to get done” before completion, he said.
Other items associated with the project include granite and engraved headstones, a statue, and a granite obelisk.
Borth said the obelisk and the statue of a kneeling soldier are works in progress. However, the memorial committee has obtained the granite tablets, which will feature the names of Van Zandt County veterans who were killed in action.
Clark said the committee is also trying to represent each branch of service. A Marine helicopter is already in place, a Navy anchor is on a pedestal, and an Army cannon is on site, he said, adding that it is still waiting on a Coast Guard cutter.
Clark, who was never in the military, said his father-in-law got him interested in the memorial project, and he views it as a way he can “pay his dues” to those who went before him.
“It's been a really nice project,” he said.
But he said the group is still in need of about $125,000 to make the project a reality.
For more information about the project and parade, call 903-567-0657.
Borth said the jet will be at the forefront of the plaza grounds, with missiles attached to the bottom so it appears to be armed.
“To us, it's just a significant piece of the puzzle and one of the things we need to get done” before completion, he said.
Other items associated with the project include granite and engraved headstones, a statue, and a granite obelisk.
Borth said the obelisk and the statue of a kneeling soldier are works in progress. However, the memorial committee has obtained the granite tablets, which will feature the names of Van Zandt County veterans who were killed in action.
Clark said the committee is also trying to represent each branch of service. A Marine helicopter is already in place, a Navy anchor is on a pedestal, and an Army cannon is on site, he said, adding that it is still waiting on a Coast Guard cutter.
Clark, who was never in the military, said his father-in-law got him interested in the memorial project, and he views it as a way he can “pay his dues” to those who went before him.
“It's been a really nice project,” he said.
But he said the group is still in need of about $125,000 to make the project a reality.
For more information about the project and parade, call 903-567-0657.
