Enlisted Heritage

From the 80th Fighter Squadron Assocation organization head Col Jay Riedel,
USAF Ret, on a project to recognize the Enlisted that have kept our squadron
going from WWII in the Pacific in P-38s to the present with F-16s.

"Thanks for the contact--good to hear from you. No, we don't have a specific
Enlisted Heritage of the 80th; however, I wholeheartedly agree with you--it is
a very important part of our Squadron History, and needs to be assembled. At
each reunion banquet, I recognize all of our Squadron Aces in the audience
(getting to be a very short list), then all the past Sq Commanders, general
officers, and the spouses that keep things running smooth at home. Then, last
but not least, all the Enlisted men/women in the audience--as I point out that
even our Aces couldn't get off the ground, if it were not for all of our ground
personnel that maintain the birds, fix and load the weapons, keep our personal
equipment working perfectly, and all our Squadron records up to date and
accurate. "Not one of these groups of Squadron people could do the mission on
their own--it takes ALL of these parts working together to make the fine honed
whole of what our Squadron is, and always has been--a symbol of excellence in
the Fighter Community."