Aviation Heritage Park

Glasgow native Charles “Buck” Jones joined the US Army Air Corps almost immediately after Pearl Harbor and served as Instructor Pilot for advanced single-engine fighters. He remained in the USAF after the war and qualified in the new F-86 jet fighter. He fought in Korea as a Squadron Executive officer and returned to the States to fly the F-100C and command the 452nd Fighter Squadron at Foster AFB, Victoria, Texas— The first, supersonic, air-refuelable fighter squadron in the USAF. He was promoted to Lt Col and assumed the position of Deputy Commander of Operations of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing in Lakenheath England. 

Born in Bowling Green in 1947, Bill Basham joined the US Army and served three years and a tour in Vietnam before completing Rotary Wing Flight School in 1969, and AH-1G Cobra gunship school. Bill’s second tour in Vietnam was with the 334th Aerial Weapons Company of the 145th Combat Aviation Battalion. While in-country, he earned 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses for heroism and three Air Medals with a “V” device for exceptional valor. After his discharge, he pursued a career in the private industry, later returning to Bowling Green, where he passed away in February 2022.

Willa Beatrice Brown was born in Glasgow, KY. In 1927 Brown earned a Bachelor's degree from Indiana State Teachers College and ten years later an MBA from Northwestern University. In 1935, after taking flight instructions, Brown earned a Masters Mechanic Certificate. 

In 1937 Brown became the first African-American woman in the US to earn a commercial pilot's license. she and her husband Cornelius Coffey found an aeronautics school, the first black-owned and operated private flight training academy in the US.

In 1941 Brown and Coffey received a contract to train many men who later became members of the famed Tuskeegee Aimen. 

Col. Arthur (Mac) Reynolds of Bowling Green, Ky served his country through a meritorious career in the Marine Corp. Col Reynold was assigned duties with HMX-1 serving the President. He assumed command of the HMX-1 in 1999 and held the title of the Presidential Helicopter Pilot, serving three presidents: Reagan, George W. Bush, Clinton, and one vice-president: George H.W. Bush. 

After graduating from Western KentuckyUniversity in 1974, Russellville native Terry Wilcut taught high school math in his hometown. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1976, and entered pilot training, qualifying in both the F4 Phantom and as an instructor pilot in the F18 Hornet. He served as a test pilot and has over 6,000 flight hours in 30 different aircraft. Wilcut became a NASA astronaut 1991, and has served aboard four Space Shuttle missions, two as commander, logging over 1,000 hours and 17 million miles in space.  This NASA T-38 Talon has an impressive history on her own, being flown by every Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronaut, (including every man to walk on the Moon), and a majority of Space Shuttle crewmen.
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Narrated by Larry Bailey.

Following his service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Russ Dougherty entered the USAF, receiving his pilot wings in March 1943.  During World War II, he served as an instructor pilot aboard B-17 and B-29 aircraft. Throughout three decades of intense involvement in the Cold War, Dougherty excelled in Air Force leadership positions, both nationally and internationally. In 1972, Dougherty was promoted to four-star general and assigned as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. He returned to the United States in 1974 to lead the Strategic Air Command (SAC).  This Lockheed T-33  Shooting Star represents the aircraft used by General Dougherty to fly to his far-flung SAC bases, and is authorized by the National Museum of the United States Air Force to wear the insignia of SAC in honor of General Dougherty.
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Narrated by Larry Bailey.

John Magda was an Ace at age 23, credited with downing five Japanese aircraft in air combat and destroying at least seven on the ground. He was a member of the famed Fighter Squadron Eight at the Battle of Midway.  Among his wartime decorations are the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two Gold Stars, for heroism and extraordinary achievement. After returning to the US from the Pacific he flew with and became the commander of the Blue Angels. Magda died in combat during the Korean War at the age of 33 and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. This aircraft, a Grumman F9F Panther, has been authorized by the National Museum of Naval Aviation to represent the Panther flown by Magda during his Blue Angels command.
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Narrated by Larry Bailey

 Colonel Raymond Nutter was one of the most highly decorated soldiers of the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (second only to the Medal of Honor) for leading his downed crew in one of the most fantastic escapes of the Vietnam War. Nutter was also awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Soldiers Medal, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Air Medal.  During his distinguished Army career, Colonel Nutter served as a Senior Aviator, Helicopter Pilot, Gunship Pilot, Master Parachutist, Battalion Commander, and senior advisor to the Kentucky National Guard.  This Bell UH-1 helicopter, through the authorization of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, is painted to represent the aircraft he flew.
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Narrated by Larry Bailey

 While serving as the commander of the 493rd Tactical Squadron based in Lakenheath, England, Colonel Arnold "Arnie" Franklin was selected to plan and lead the USAF portion of Operation El Dorado Canyon, the US retaliatory strike on Libya on 15 April, 1986. This General Dynamics F-111F aircraft flew on his wing for the 14-hour mission, and also served with distinction in Desert Storm. This aircraft dropped the last bomb on the last night of the operation.
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This episode is narrated by Larry Bailey.

 On April 16, 1972,  F-4D Phantom pilot Major Dan Cherry engaged in a difficult, often frustrating four-minute pursuit of an elusive MiG-21 before finally scoring a victory and narrowly passing the enemy pilot, who had just ejected. Little did Cherry know that three decades later he would be reunited with the exact Phantom he was flying that day and that it would be the spark of what is now known as Aviation Heritage Park, here in his hometown of Bowling Green. Even more amazingly, this led to an invitation in 2008 to appear on television in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he met Nguyen Hong My, the North Vietnamese pilot he had shot down.
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Narrated by Larry Bailey