F-4 fighter to be dedicated to two fallen heroes

  • Published
  • By Stephanie Warren and Janae Daniels
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  The month of November is often a time when people reflect and give thanks for the many people and blessings in their life. November is also a time to remember those who have served and have given the ultimate sacrifice for America's freedom. 

In keeping with the theme, the F-4C Phantom II static display at Arnold Air Force Base's Gate 2 will be dedicated Nov. 27 at 10 a.m., in honor of Col. Lawrence Golberg and Maj. Patrick Wynne, brother of Michael W. Wynne, Secretary of the Air Force. 

The ceremony will be open to the public. The section of Wattendorf Memorial Highway by Gate 2 will be closed during the ceremony--people attending should arrive by 9:30 a.m.

Colonel Golberg and Major Wynne were a part of the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, known as the Triple Nickel, stationed at Ubon Royal Thai Air Base when they were killed in action Aug. 8, 1966. The F-4C Phantom displayed here is similar to the one they were piloting when they crashed in the jungle over North Vietnam after a reconnaissance mission and at one time was assigned to the 555th. 

The two pilots were listed as "Missing in Action" until 1977 when their remains were located and returned to the United States. Major Wynne's remains rest at the Air Force Academy and Colonel Golberg's rest in his hometown in Minnesota. 

Col. Lawrence Golberg
Born near Duluth, Minn., in 1932, Colonel Golberg was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and the Reserve Officers' Training Corp. (ROTC) program. 

Ben Shuppert, a classmate of Colonel Golberg's who went through flight training with him at Laredo Air Force Base, Texas, said Colonel Golberg was a jovial, fun-loving guy. 

"His quick wit, infectious laugh and smile made Larry a welcome addition to our group," he said. 

Shuppert explained how Colonel Golberg received his call sign.

"Although he was of the Jewish faith, he jokingly advertised himself as an Irishman," he said.  "His call sign was 'Shamrock,' and he sported a large green shamrock painted on the back of his brown leather flying jacket." 

Colonel Golberg's first love was flying airplanes, until he met his future wife, Margaret, on a blind date at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. They were married five years before his plane crashed. Colonel Golberg also left behind a son, Stephen who was three at the time and a daughter Susan who was one. 

The colonel was one of the first Air Force F-4 pilots to shoot down a communist MIG-17 when he did it April 30, 1966 during a Combat Air Patrol mission for a downed RF-101 pilot. 

In a letter to his parents after his first kill, Colonel Golberg, then a captain, wrote, "By now you must have heard about the good work our squadron is doing even if they don't say who is doing it." 

Back then, squadrons by number or home base were not specified, but the captain told his parents that any jets in the "F" series were from his squadron. 

Prior to his Vietnam duty he was a jet fighter pilot instructor at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.

Maj. Patrick Wynne
Major Wynne, born in Fairbanks, Alaska, Oct. 8, 1941, was raised in a large military family, which included three brothers and two sisters. 

His father, Col. Edward P. Wynne was a graduate of West Point and was assigned to a RADAR installation in the Aleutian Chain, a string of islands off the Alaskan Peninsula. 

After turning down three scholarships and a West Point appointment, Major Wynne decided on a career in the Air Force.

While at the Air Force Academy, he became editor for The Talon magazine. He won a prestigious award for debate--the Major General James E. Fechet Award--as the outstanding cadet in intercollegiate speech and finished in the top 10 percent of his class. 

During his senior year at the academy, the aspiring pilot purchased a red corvette, and took home a young lady to meet his family named, Nancy, who would later become his wife. 

After graduating from the Academy in 1963, he earned a degree in political science from Georgetown University.

In 1965, then lieutenant Wynne became a fighter pilot and was later assigned to the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Thailand, under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Robin Olds. His radio call sign was "Ozark." 

Major Wynne had only been flying missions for four months in North Vietnam when he and Colonel Golberg were shot down by hostile anti-aircraft fire.

Dedication Guest Speaker
The guest speaker for the dedication will be Clarence "Dick" Anderegg, director of Air Force History and Museums Policies and Programs. He provides policy and guidance to four key components of the Air Force history program: the Air Force Historical Research Agency, the Air Force museum system, the Historical Studies Office and the worldwide history program. 

Anderegg also serves as the historical adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff. 

Prior to assuming his current position, he was an air and space power strategist in Project Checkmate during the planning and execution of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. 

Anderegg served as an Air Force officer for 30 years, during which he commanded an F-15 squadron, was twice a fighter group commander and twice a fighter wing vice commander. 

He is a former F-4 Fighter Weapons School instructor pilot and flew more than 3,700 hours in the F-4C/D/E/G and the F-15A/C/E, including 170 combat missions during the Vietnam War. 

Following his retirement from the Air Force at the rank of colonel, Anderegg wrote "The Ash Warriors," a history of the Mount Pinatubo eruptions and subsequent evacuation of Clark Air Base in the Philippines, and "Sierra Hotel," a history of the cultural changes that occurred in the U.S. Air Force fighter force during the decade after the Vietnam War.