Memorial Day

Pete Moriarty was the training officer for my pilot training class. Our class had 50 student pilots, and Pete was our den mother. It was his job to oversee all aspects of our rigorous schedules as we participated in training flights, academic classes, and physical conditioning. He would sit in on some of our classes, fly with each of us as an instructor pilot, and participate in the various athletic events we had. Pete left Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia about halfway through our yearlong class. He had volunteered to go to Viet Nam to fly F-100s. Pete said he was a fighter pilot, and flying fighters in Viet Nam was what he had trained for.

I next saw Pete a couple of days after I arrived in Viet Nam in early April, 1971. He was stationed at Phan Rang Air Base, and that was where I was first assigned to. We exchanged hellos, and then had dinner at the Officers Club. Pete was well into his yearlong tour and said he loved what he was doing. Two days after our dinner, I was attending my initial intelligence briefing. As the intel officer was talking about the various threats we would face while flying in Viet Nam, I looked up at a “loss board” on the wall. This board listed the aircraft lost to enemy fire or other causes. The names of the aircrew members were also listed. Pete’s name was the latest entry on the board. He had been shot down over Laos while on a bombing mission. The last entry after Pete’s name said “no beeper, no chute”. This meant that his wingman watched the airplane crash but never heard an emergency radio transmission or saw a parachute which would have meant Pete was able to eject from his airplane. The diamond next to his name on the wall means his remains were never recovered, and he remains "Missing in Action" (MIA) over 40 years.