Aviation Heritage Park

CWO3 Charles Browning graduated from Bowling Green High School in 1965 and joined the Army in 1969, where he was trained to be a helicopter pilot. He deployed to Vietnam in 1970. He flew the UH-1 Iroquois into scores of combat assault missions to either insert or extract infantry soldiers who were actively engaged in combat operations, MEDEVAC, or on resupply missions.  He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions during Operation Lam Son, the largest helicopter assault operation of the war. In addition, he was awarded the Bronze star and 26 Air Medals.

Louisville native Todd Moore earned his pilot’s license in the Civilian Pilot Training Program and won his wings and a commission as a 2nd Lt in the US Army Air Forces in 1942. He learned to fly P40 Warhawk fighters in Hawaii and began to rack up aerial victories across several Pacific theater assignments. In November, his squadron got P-51 Mustangs and relocated to Iwo Jima (while the battle to take back the island from the Japanese was still raging). While attacking enemy-held islands and escorting bombers to Tokyo, he became a “Double Ace” and the leading Ace of the 7th Air Force.

Bowling Green native Lt. Gen. Steven L. Basham is the Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. As the air component to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, USAFE-AFAFRICA is responsible for providing full-spectrum warfighting capabilities to both combatant commanders throughout their area of responsibility, which encompasses 104 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. He has completed numerous flying, staff, and command assignments and is a command pilot with more than 3,400 flying hours in the B-1, B-2, and B-52.

Born in Bowling Green, John C. Carmichael began his combat career in the skies of Korea, flying 60 missions in the P-51 Mustang and the sleek and deadly F-86 Sabre jet fighter.  He became the USAF’s expert in the T-39 Sabreliner, serving as Chief Flight examiner and Chief of Standardization. He returned to combat in Vietnam, and flew an additional 106 combat missions. He eventually served in the Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) where he flew with and trained South Vietnamese pilots in 8 different aircraft. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals over his career. 

Bowling Green native and WKU grad Lieutenant Colonel John W. Capito was a second generation Marine and combat aviator, flying the F4 Phantom for 105 missions in Vietnam, the F8 Crusader, and the AV8 Harrier, then the newest and most innovative aircraft in the USMC inventory. Capito joined the Harrier community at its beginnings, and was instrumental in the understanding and tactical implementation of this new weapon for the Marines. John rose through the ranks of the Harrier community. eventually commanding the only training squadron for the force.  He retired in 1987, and passed away in 2020.

Western KY State Teachers College graduate Jim Cooper began his USAF career flying the 4-engine KC-135 Stratotanker, flying with the Strategic Air Command for nearly a decade. In 1967, he was chosen to go to Vietnam to fly the tiny O-1 Bird Dog as a Forward Air Controller. His job was to search the jungles for enemy activity and call in airstrikes to destroy it. He was able to give critical air support to ground troops, and coordinate rescue efforts for downed pilots. He earned the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Bronze Star for his actions.

Jesse L. Birchett was a pilot for three different services… The US Army Air Forces (Flying the P-40 Warhawk and the P-47 Thunderbolt), the US Air Force, and the West Virginia Air National Guard (Flying the P-51 Mustang and the SA-18 Grumman Albatross amphibious aircraft.)  Jesse’s love of aviation brought him to a job with the Federal Aviation Administration as an air traffic controller, and eventually assigned to the Federal Flight Service Station at the Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport until his retirement in 1986. He passed away in 2008 at age 90.

As many young men did in WW2, Jackie Carwell wanted to be a fighter pilot. He became an Aviation Cadet and began his training, flying the T-6 Texan and the P-40 Warhawk. In 1944, Carwell was selected to move to the mighty P-47 Thunderbolt. He joined the 56th Fighter group (The “Wolfpack” led by Colonel Hub Zemke) and began to escort B-17 and B-24 bombers in raids over Europe. He flew two missions at a very low level supporting the D-Day invasion. He amassed over 3,000 combat flying hours over 96 missions. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. 

Born in Bowling Green in 1951, Greg Smith began his 26-year USAF career in 1974. He completed pilot training, and began flying the Air Force’s Airborne Command Post, the EC-135 “Looking Glass”. This aircraft is designed to provide airborne command and control of US nuclear forces if ground-based command centers have been destroyed. In 1983, he began to fly the Boeing 747-based E-4B “Nightwatch” aircraft. This aircraft serves as a survivable airborne command post for the President of the United States. There are only four such planes in the USAF. 

David Render Berry was a young Naval Aviator aboard USS Yorktown when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. During the fierce fighting in the Pacific that followed, Berry was in the thick of it, flying a dive bomber. As an ensign, Berry won the Navy Cross, the Navy’s highest decoration for fliers, 3 times, a distinction shared (as of March 1944) by only a dozen men. He was also awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.  30-year-old LCDR Berry fought his final battle in May 1945, as he was serving as CO of Bombing Squadron 83. and was posthumously awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses.