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Air Force heritage: more than a textbook history lesson

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jonathan Fox
  • 375th Operations Support Squadron Maintenance Flight commander
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  As Americans, we learn about the history of the United States beginning in grade school. Even when we join the military, we study military history in basic training, commissioning programs and in our personal professional development. With all that time and effort, many people never fully obtain an appreciation for history, which often means it does not stick. It's difficult to get a clear picture of what someone or something was really like by just reading words about it. 

It is for this reason that our Air Force heritage programs and displays are so important. They offer us a chance to see and feel our Air Force history in a way that could never be possible by reading it in a textbook or learning it in a class. These displays make our history come to life. 

Scott has a rich history with several heritage centers and historical buildings available to visit. Even the name of the base itself has a unique heritage. Named after Cpl. Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to die in a military plane accident, Scott is the only Air Force base named after an enlisted member. 

Opening soon will be the Scott Field Heritage Airpark, which is currently under construction outside the Shiloh Gate. The park is a joint venture between the 375th Airlift Wing, the 126th Air Refueling Wing, the 932nd AW and the Scott Field Heritage Airpark Foundation. It features a C-141B Starlifter, a KC-135E Stratotanker, a C-140A Jetstar, a C-9A Nightingale and a C-130E Hercules. 

Several of these aircraft on display have a storied history. The C-141B was one of the aircraft used to fly 367 POWs home after the end of the Vietnam War. The C-140A took three hits from ground fire while flying missions in Vietnam, and later while assigned to the Air Force Communication Command at Scott, tested navigation aids at bases across the country. The C-130E on display flew a variety of missions throughout her 47 years of service to include extinguishing forest fires in California. The C-9A also assigned at Scott, was the only aircraft in the Air Force inventory specifically designed for movement of litter and ambulatory patients. Finally, the 53-year-old KC-135E was the designated 50th anniversary aircraft of the KC-135 fleet. 

I encourage you to visit the various historic sites on our base and contact the 375th AW historian to learn more about the each of the displays and other historical sites on base. A firm understanding of the people, events, missions and capabilities of the past are an integral part of understanding and effectively shaping our future. There are many lessons we can learn, both right and wrong, from the people that came before us to help us make the right decisions going forward. The Air Force heritage displays are a fun way to gain an understanding and appreciation of our storied history.