THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

Dear A1C Kenneth Weightman, Thank you for your service with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Thanksgiving was yesterday. Happy Thanksgiving. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

Phan Rang Air Base was located five miles northwest of Phan Rang city in Ninh Thuan Province, RVN. Built by the Imperial Japanese Army around 1942, the airfield was used by the French Air Force during the First Indochina War, then abandoned in 1954. In 1965, the United States began rebuilding the airfield, and it was used by the U.S. Air Force and the Republic of Vietnam Air Force during the Vietnam War. The 366th Tactical Fighter Squadron arrived at Phan Rang Air Base in March 1966. The 366th was the first permanent USAF organization to be stationed at the base. The wing was composed of a mixture of F-100 Super Sabre and F-4C Phantom II squadrons, deployed from several Tactical Air Command wings. Missions flown by the 366th TFW consisted generally patrols to protect strike aircraft from attack by marauding North Vietnamese fighters and fighter-bomber strikes carried out with iron bombs against ground targets. On the late afternoon of June 10, 1966, wind and thunderstorms moved in over Phan Rang from the west. As dark clouds gathered, strong winds buffeted the base, lifting dust and reducing visibility to no more than 20 feet. Without warning, a tremendous thunderclap was heard followed by a flash of light. Near the 366th’s mess hall, an airman was knocked down after being struck by lightning. A1C Kenneth G. Weightman Jr. from Headquarters Squadron was fatally injured after being hit by the flash of lightning. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Vietnam 1966: Letters From Phan Rang Air Base” by Stephen A. Lynch]

Taken from the Rutland Daily Herald (Rutland, VT), June 13, 1966, courtesy of Vance Asselin, Vermont Department of Libraries, Barre, VT.

Taken from The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT), June 22, 1966, courtesy of Vance Asselin, Vermont Department of Libraries, Barre, VT.