Lest We Forget

On this day in 1969, North Korean MiGs shot down a US Navy EC-121 flying a BEGGAR SHADOW recon mission over the Sea of Japan, killing 31 Americans. Tail Number PR-21 crashed 90 nautical miles from the Korean coast. The shoot-down was ostensibly a birthday gift to NK's "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung.

(The plane's sister, PR-22, pictured left with an F-4 escort.)








My USAF Propwash Gang brothers of the era flew in a similarly configured Lockheed "Warning Star." Here's to all Silent Warriors, especially those who paid the highest price for "freedom through vigilance."