RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
On the same day that the space shuttle Endeavour docked at the international space station, and just three days from the 40th anniversary of astronaut Neil Armstrong's historic "giant leap for mankind," a group of instructor pilots and former fighter pilots assembled at Randolph felt their own connection to the American space program.
On July 17, members of the 560th Flying Training Squadron and the San Antonio Area Chapter of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, also known as the River Rats, witnessed a presentation of flags by Col. Lee Archambault, commander of the March space shuttle mission, to Lt. Col. Kenneth Frollini, 560th FTS commander, and Gary Baber, president of the River Rats chapter.
Colonel Archambault flew the stars and stripes on behalf of the 560th FTS and the River Rats' banner on the Space Transportation System-119 Discovery mission, which featured the successful installation of a truss segment at the international space station.
Mr. Baber met Colonel Archambault four years ago when he brought a group of wounded warriors from the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center to NASA for a tour of the facility. When the astronaut later asked Mr. Baber to nominate a squadron that should be honored on the STS-119 mission, the River Rats official selected the 560th FTS.
"I am extremely humbled and extremely honored that Gary would nominate our squadron," Colonel Frollini said during the ceremony. "Most everyone in the room knows our association with the POWs and our Freedom Flyers tradition, which we do every March, and our association with the River Rats. I know that's why Gary nominated us."
Mr. Baber said the local River Rats chapter, also known as the Ralph Parr Pack, started working with the 560th FTS in 1998, though its ties to the squadron actually go back to the Vietnam War. A golf tournament that is held in conjunction with the squadron's Freedom Flyer Reunion, an annual event that honors the prisoners of war who were requalified as pilots by the 560th following the Vietnam War, has raised more than $100,000 for the River Rats' charities.
"We have a good working relationship with the squadron," he said. "We're really pleased that we could get some recognition for these guys. They've done so much for the POWs."
Mr. Baber said his first trip to NASA, which resulted in an "unbelievable tour" for the wounded warriors, was just the beginning of Colonel Archambault's relationship with the River Rats and the wounded warrior program.
"He's been a big supporter of us ever since," he said. "He's a great guy."
Colonel Archambault, an Illinois native and longtime Air Force fighter pilot who was selected as a pilot by NASA in 1998, breezed into Randolph flying one of NASA's T-38s, and was escorted through the 560th FTS' headquarters at Hangar 12 by Colonel Frollini.
The tour highlighted Randolph's early status as the "West Point of the Air," the squadron's history and its "Pilot for a Day" program that brings joy to children with chronic illnesses.
It also took Colonel Archambault to Freedom Hall and the POW museum, which tells the story of the Freedom Flyers who endured years of torture and deprivation during the Vietnam War. Retired Brig. Gen. Kenneth Fleenor and retired Lt. Col. Lauren Lengyel, both former POWs and Freedom Flyers, also participated in the tour.
Following a luncheon in Three's Inn at the squadron's home, Colonel Archambault showed a video on the STS-119 mission before presenting the flags to Colonel Frollini and Mr. Baber. He joked that he aired the River Rats' flag out in space because he "could tell that it had been in a smoke-filled bar for a number of years."
"I'm humbled to be here amongst you guys to have the opportunity just to do something very small to show my appreciation for the service you have given our country," Colonel Archambault said, addressing squadron members, the River Rats and their spouses and the former prisoners of war who visited Randolph on this special day. "I thank you very, very much."