No part of this page may be reproduced in any form without the prior written approval of R.J. Freitag.
This photo and commentary appeared on the website main page form April 24 to July 24, 2010. The submitter was Gregory Ludtke, and the follow up answers came from Don Turner
I am sending this picture from Korat, in 71' or 72' and I want to know if anyone recognizes these guys. I am Gregory S. Ludtke, I was TDY with the 67th Wild Weasel Squadron from Okinawa, Japan. Contact Bob if you know any of these guys and the situation.
1st Response from Don Turner:
"The date was 1972 for sure. A buddy of mine was the crew chief of 291. He, Bob Wood, painted Muttly the Flying Dog on the intakes. We were there fall of 72 through fall of 73. Either the ordinance was hung on the plane special for the picture, or it happened during the Christmas bombings in late 72. We almost never flew with an AGM 78, and a AGM 45 Shrike missile at the same time. Just during Linebacker II.
I was surprised that I did not recognize any of the flight crew in the picture. They all have Thud patches on their flight suits, so they had to be part of the 561st, or the 17th WW. I was in both. Sorry that I couldn’t be more helpful.
Don Turner"
2nd Response from Don Turner:
Okay, I have found a way to solve the question about the photograph of the aircrews in front of aircraft 291. I found a copy of it in a book written by Colonel Edward T. Rock, commander of the 17th Wild Weasel Squadron, and also my 561st TFS commander at McConnell. His book is titled “ First In, Last Out : Stories by the Wild Weasels“. The picture is on page 356. The date was January 27, 1973. It shows the names of everyone in the picture including Col. Rock. My AC, Captain Gary Porter is not in the picture. Please let me know if you need anymore information
Dec. 9, 2010 response from Neal Polsky:
Just wanted to let you know, concerning the picture of the F105 at Korat. I was the administrative clerk for the Squadron from Dec 1971 to Dec 1972. I am the individual right behind the commander and executive officer.. I am the only one not wearing a flight suit. My name is Neal Polsky.