Heritage of Freedom event set for April 15 at Minuteman Club

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gilmartin
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  The next Heritage of Freedom Speaker Series, set for April 15 at 4 p.m. in the Minuteman Club ballroom, will feature presentations from an Electronic Systems Center officer, an A-10 pilot performing a Combat Search and Rescue role and a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant who was a pararescue jumper in two famous Vietnam-era missions. 

The Heritage of Freedom Speaker Series is a free event held quarterly that features three speakers, each of whom discuss their experiences serving in combat or while deployed. Their hard-hitting 15-20 minute presentations are followed by short question and answer periods. The event is informal, and features a follow-on reception hosted by the Paul Revere Chapter of the Air Force Association. Attendees are encouraged to remain after the addresses and talk informally with the speakers. 

The first speaker will be Capt. Kate Stowe of the 551st Electronic Systems Wing, who will discuss how ESC has provided the Joint STARS airborne radar system with a critical Beyond Line of Site capability, allowing operators to stand off further from fixed or mobile ground stations while increasing range and coverage capabilities. 

The second speaker, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Phil "Goldie" Haun, an A-10 pilot, will relay the details of a dramatic 1999 search and recovery mission for a downed F-117 pilot. In March 1999, then Major Haun was stationed at Aviano AB, Italy as the A-10 weapons and tactics officer and a CSAR pilot, or "Sandy." It was his job as a Sandy to fly the lethal A-10 in response to any jet that was shot down and to orchestrate its pilot's rescue from overhead. On March 27, he led the rescue of downed F-117 pilot Lt. Col. Dale Zelko, who was shot down over Serbia during Operation Allied Force. 

The final presentation will be from retired Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Fisk, who participated in the 1970 raid on Son Tay prison in North Vietnam as well as in the rescue of the crew of the USS Mayagüez in Cambodia. In November 1970, then-Staff Sergeant Fisk participated in the famed POW Camp Raid and received the Silver Star for his actions. In May 1975, when Cambodian communist forces hijacked the Mayagüez, Sergeant Fisk was a member of the assault force that successfully recovered the ship, rescued the crew, and liberated the entrapped US Marines. 

Sergeant Fisk received his second Silver Star during this operation. In 1980, he left pararescue duty to serve as an instructor at the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Gunter AFS, Ala., where he led the effort to establish the USAF Enlisted Heritage Hall. 

"This is just an incredible line up of speakers, including one of our own ESC warriors, a heroic pilot from Operation Allied Force, and one of our service's bravest and most recognized enlisted members from the Vietnam era," said Col. David Orr, commander of the 66th Air Base Wing. "I anticipate a packed ballroom for this great line up, and I encourage all commanders and supervisors to lead their members to the club for this professional development opportunity. I guarantee they will be inspired and motivated by the professionalism of these incredible warriors."